In the wake of turning down a reported $6 billion offer from Google, Groupon‘s founder Andrew Mason gave his first in-person video interview to Charlie Rose this past Thursday.
The interview, which runs for about 23 minutes touches on all facets of Groupon, but it isn’t until the 20th minute in which the Google deal is approached. And when it is, Mason dances around a direct answer until he gives Rose this response: “You can’t talk about all kinds of things, largely because…for the same reason that every person you go on a date with you don’t bring them home to your parents right away.”
I hope that hasn’t spoiled the video below for you – it’s one of the of best conducted Mason interviews I’ve seen. While he’s known for providing answers such as the one above, usually bringing humor into the picture, Rose is able to get Mason to speak candidly about the origins of Groupon as well as where it’s headed. It’s definitely a must watch.
And a few stats that stand out: Groupon is now in 35 countries, it just hit 40 million subscribers, there are nearly 500 “Groupon clones” in existence, and on average, for every business they feature they have to pass on seven businesses.
BECOME A SPONSOR
Join us in championing the narrative of success, resilience, and ingenuity that defines Nebraska’s startup community. Learn more »
Here’s an outline of the interview with the subjects approached and questions asked by Rose:
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 0:52 – How would you define Groupon?
- 1:24 – History
- 3:10 – How fast are you growing?
- 3:33 – Reason growing so fast
- 5:20 – Why do people buy?
- 6:35 – Groupon as an advertiser
- 7:55 – Competition
- 10:20 – Outside of expanding to new markets, what’s the future of Groupon?
- 11:40 – Working with local businesses and daily deal model
- 12:55 – What’s the origin of the idea?
- 16:00 – What does Groupon say about where the internet is today?
- 17:10 – What might be happening in five years?
- 17:49 – What do Facebook and Twitter mean to you?
- 18:34 – Instructions on how to use Groupon
- 19:24 – “The museum story”
- 20:00 – Google scenario
Click on the following image to be taken to Rose’s website to watch the interview, or visit charlierose.com.
