
Groupon founder Andrew Mason's farewell letter to employees (2013) - bobbiechen
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/mar/01/groupon-andrew-mason-fired-letter
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erikig
I remember seeing this and being extremely impressed by his candor, his
forethought and his graceful humor. These tidbits especially stood out:

\- As CEO, I am accountable.

\- I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey.

\- This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits
and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don't waste the opportunity!

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swivelmaster
For the curious, Mason’s story is really interesting and he did a great
interview on the Without Fail podcast a few years ago.

[https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-
fail/j4hrl8](https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-fail/j4hrl8)

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itsoktocry
It's funny to go back and read what this forum and the tech world was saying
about Groupon a decade ago. It was valued at $30 billion!

Everyone likes to point to the "infamous Dropbox comment" whenever people are
negative here about a hyped startup, but it seems to me these stories are far
more common; "you just don't get it!". This company minted millions
(billions?) for SV insiders cashing out on the public, and was heralded as the
fastest gowing company _ever_. All hype.

It's still alive, apparently (market cap < $1 billion), and still bleeding
money.

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didip
It missed the opportunity of its lifetime by not selling to Google.

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codazoda
"My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my
intuition on what's best for our customers."

I think we can learn something from that quote.

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imperialdrive
Pretty refreshing to read. I can't imagine being 40 lbs overweight and would
sacrifice 90% of my wealth to be my normal self if it ever happened...
hopefully his destiny led him to a better place.

~~~
jjeaff
Ok now... I've been a healthy weight and also 40lbs overweight. While I of
course prefer being a healthy weight, it wasn't so bad I would give up nearly
everything to get thin.

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accosine
Battle Toads is still an awesome game.

