I confess that I have never bought a Groupon, because it always seemed to require paying money to do something I didn't want to do.
I feared I might feel the same way about listening to former Groupon CEO Andrew Mason's new album "Hardly Workin'."
I had understood that Mason was a bit of a wag and a prankster, and I thought that when his opus hit iTunes Tuesday morning there might be, well, a Groupon. Or at least a deal.… Read more
Ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason wants to drop some knowledge on the younger generation, so he recorded an entire album of songs about "business wisdom."
Mason is known for having a sense of humor so he's probably joking (let's hope he's joking). Otherwise prepare yourself for seven songs of "motivational business music targeted at people newly entering the workforce," according to his blog entry posted Thursday.
More importantly, Mason is ready to move on to a new gig. He's creating a startup and will mentor startup newbs at Y Combinator. He didn'… Read more
CNET Update never did beat Battletoads:
Facebook will unveil a new look for the News Feed on March 7, but we may have a hint at what's to come judging by the new profiles being tested in New Zealand (via The Next Web). And Google is also testing a new look with a navigation grid icon.
Other headlines from Friday's tech news roundup:
- Groupon's CEO was fired, but you should read his farewell memo to staff. He compares the challenges leading Groupon to getting through the difficult Battletoads video game without dying. We hear ya, Andrew. … Read more
Not waiting for a leak, newly ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason made his departing memo public this afternoon.
In it, Mason claims responsibility for missing expectations and the company's stock price, and says that a "fresh CEO" earns the company a chance at a second chance.
Mason also shows a geeky, youthful spirit, making the comparison of running the company this far to the popular, though notoriously difficult 1991 video game Battletoads.
You can read the whole memo below, which Mason linked to in a Tweet:
(This is for Groupon employees, but I'm posting it publicly … Read more
The company announced the management change in a terse statement this afternoon. It said that Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis would participate in a newly created Office of the Chief Executive, effective immediately, serving in this role on an interim basis until the board finds a CEO replacement.
"On behalf of the entire Groupon Board, I want to thank Andrew for his leadership, his creativity, and his deep loyalty to Groupon. As a founder, Andrew helped invent the daily deals space, … Read more
For Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason, there are a lot more questions than answers.
The young executive wasn't exactly verbose during an interview today with Fast Company's E.B. Boyd at the Mobile Loco conference in San Francisco. It was evident pretty quickly (aka after the first question) that there are a lot of things he's not really interested in chatting about right now.
He didn't want to talk about the rumor that Google was interested in buying Groupon, and he didn't want to broach the topic of possibly being acquired by someone else. That'… Read more
Groupon said today it has no plans to replace CEO Andrew Mason after its board met to discuss whether senior management changes were necessary at the struggling daily deals company.
Unhappy with the Chicago-based company's plummeting stock value, Groupon's board of directors were reportedly looking to make leadership changes at the top, including the option of bringing in a more experienced CEO to replace Mason, one of the company's co-founders. After the meeting concluded, the company announced that Mason would remain as CEO.
"The board and the management team are focused on the performance of the … Read more
Reports that Groupon's board members will in a meeting on Thursday discuss whether to begin searching for a new CEO appear to be true. In a conversation with Henry Blodget at the Business Insider Ignition conference, founder and CEO Andrew Mason said, "News flash: Our stock is down about 80 percent since the IPO...It would be weird if the board wasn't discussing if I were the right guy for the job. It would be more noteworthy if the board wasn't discussing whether I was the right guy for the job."
"As the founder … Read more
As the stock fell, questions about Mason's stewardship have multiplied and now there's a new report that his tenue may be in jeopardy. With the company's board of directors meeting this week, All … Read more
Brian Stevens faces some challenges as Groupon's new chief accounting officer.
The daily deals site found itself in financial hot water earlier this year after admitting to an accounting error that triggered a higher fourth-quarter loss and lower sales than initially reported. This past April, the company was forced to restate results for last year's final quarter, increasing the net loss by $22.6 million and cutting revenue by $14.3 million.
The accounting snafu triggered shareholder lawsuits and concerns from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The "material weakness" in controls over its financial statement followed … Read more
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