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Could this be the beginning of the end of Bubble 2.0? I understand this is just one company, but what I'm wondering is if this could have a domino effect.

antr 14y ago
such statement is a bit far fetched. imho GRPN is no real tech company, and investors (traditional asset managers) know this. on the other hand, if GRPN goes bust, the reputation of Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, DST and Kleiner Perkins, will be clearly damaged towards IPO investors.
- davidmr 14y ago
  If the last 5 years have taught us any lessons at all, it's that assuming traditional asset managers know anything--no matter how obvious--can get everyone in a terrible amount of trouble. Assume, but verify.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
ChuckMcM 14y ago
No. However, it will delight folks who are predicting the death of Groupon
- jinushaun 14y ago
  Correction: Folks who have been predicting Groupon's death since pre-IPO.
huggyface 14y ago
Groupon is hardly even a tech company, and their business model is one that has been seriously criticized since the outset. There will be little collateral damage from their decline.
- calpaterson 14y ago
  Pets.com was not ostensibly a tech company either. Their business model was also criticised. There was much collateral damage from their decline.
  - corin_ 14y ago
    Back then selling products online was enough to make you a "tech company", it's a very different landscape out there now.
    - Mizza 14y ago
      So how many YC companies are "tech companies" by today's definition, then?
      - corin_ 14y ago
        Good question, and I think the answer has to be subjective. My attempt at an answer: companies that either do things that couldn't be done before they were online because of the nature of the product/service, or where it couldn't be done before because the code has is complex. So pets.com, really they were doing what shops had been doing for years, they just happened to do it online. Reddit on the other hand, there's not really an offline equivilent. Hipmunk, there's offline equivilents (travel agents) but the tech behind Hipmunk is what makes is a good company, not just "we've moved our travel agency online". But yeah, no doubt there are YC companies that aren't necceasrily "tech companies", and on the other side there are companies not thought of as tech companies where technology plays a huge, huge role.
        hdctambien 14y ago
        I think by this definition Groupon is a tech company.
        Retric 14y ago
kin 14y ago
I think that at most it will make investors maybe think twice about the potential of a company. For the most part there shouldn't be any adverse affects on other companies. Especially the other ones that have gone IPO recently, they're all doing well.

antr 14y ago

such statement is a bit far fetched. imho GRPN is no real tech company, and investors (traditional asset managers) know this. on the other hand, if GRPN goes bust, the reputation of Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, DST and Kleiner Perkins, will be clearly damaged towards IPO investors.

davidmr 14y ago
If the last 5 years have taught us any lessons at all, it's that assuming traditional asset managers know anything--no matter how obvious--can get everyone in a terrible amount of trouble. Assume, but verify.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

ChuckMcM 14y ago

No. However, it will delight folks who are predicting the death of Groupon

jinushaun 14y ago
Correction: Folks who have been predicting Groupon's death since pre-IPO.

huggyface 14y ago

Groupon is hardly even a tech company, and their business model is one that has been seriously criticized since the outset. There will be little collateral damage from their decline.

calpaterson 14y ago
Pets.com was not ostensibly a tech company either. Their business model was also criticised. There was much collateral damage from their decline.
- corin_ 14y ago
  Back then selling products online was enough to make you a "tech company", it's a very different landscape out there now.
  - Mizza 14y ago
    So how many YC companies are "tech companies" by today's definition, then?
    - corin_ 14y ago
      Good question, and I think the answer has to be subjective. My attempt at an answer: companies that either do things that couldn't be done before they were online because of the nature of the product/service, or where it couldn't be done before because the code has is complex. So pets.com, really they were doing what shops had been doing for years, they just happened to do it online. Reddit on the other hand, there's not really an offline equivilent. Hipmunk, there's offline equivilents (travel agents) but the tech behind Hipmunk is what makes is a good company, not just "we've moved our travel agency online". But yeah, no doubt there are YC companies that aren't necceasrily "tech companies", and on the other side there are companies not thought of as tech companies where technology plays a huge, huge role.
      - hdctambien 14y ago
        I think by this definition Groupon is a tech company.
        Retric 14y ago

kin 14y ago

I think that at most it will make investors maybe think twice about the potential of a company. For the most part there shouldn't be any adverse affects on other companies. Especially the other ones that have gone IPO recently, they're all doing well.