Groupon founder says company was a 'stupid, boring idea'


Andrew Mason, the founder of Groupon, was ousted as the company's CEO two years ago. That fact doesn't seem to bother Mason, though: He now thinks Groupon was a "stupid, boring idea that just happened to resonate," according to a new interview with The Seattle Times.
Mason is now working on Detour, an iPhone app that offers audio tours of major cities. Under his leadership, Groupon was valued at $13 billion in 2011. But by 2013, its stocks plunged by almost 80 percent below its IPO of $20 per share, which apparently led to his firing. After the collapse, which came in part due to increasing numbers of competitors, Mason's stake in Groupon fell from $1.5 billion to $228 million.
Mason told The Seattle Times that he isn't bitter about how things turned out at Groupon, though. "I Google it from time to time, but I have moved on," he said.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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