In 2006, Andrew Mason got frustrated with the cancellation of his cell phone contract. He thought, “Perhaps I can create a website that allows for groups of people to protest things.” It was an enlightening idea, but Mason soon found out it was a money loser.
So, he came up with a twist: Why not use the platform to allow people to get huge discounts on deals from local merchants? The result, of course, was the birth of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN).
While it was a brilliant idea, it was easy to replicate, which meant Mason has had to find creative ways to set Groupon apart. A big key was his wackiness, and he made “daily deals” fun — and big. Groupon now has a market value of $12 billion, greater than names like Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), Mattel (NYSE:MAT) and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR).
The most recent sign of Mason’s success: He was interviewed by 60 Minutes‘ Lesley Stahl. The interview will air during this week’s episode at 7 p.m. Sunday on CBS (NYSE:CBS). It should be interesting. And if you want a peek, here’s a preview:
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He also is the author of “All About Short Selling” and “All About Commodities.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.
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