Groupon ‘Like Morphine’ According To Founder

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How fast do consumers’ appetites for flavor of the week-like apps change? More importantly, how fast do executives’ opinions of their own companies change after leaving for greener (or lack thereof) pastures?

If Andrew Mason, the former CEO of Groupon, has anything to say about it, all it takes is some distance and a blog post on Medium for the true feelings to come out.

In a missive that Mason begins by stating that none of his former colleagues at Groupon are aware of its writing, the former head of the discount deal marketplace explained his evolving views on Groupon‘s place in a wider economy that has come to look down on “daily deal sites,” as he puts it. In particular, Mason wrote that Groupon’s singular reliance on deals and discounts, as well as its overemphasis of them, puts it in a precarious position for businesses — the more they work with Groupon, the more they might be shooting themselves in the fiscal foot.

“Groupon is powerful like morphine is powerful,” Mason wrote. “If you use it too much, you’ll overdose and die. But take it in moderation, and it can do wonders.”

Mason explained that his article came in response to another blog post written by current Groupon CEO Rich Williams. In a predictably 180-degree assessment of Groupon’s current standing, Williams noted that while the business may not have done enough work over the past few years to communicate its brand values to consumers, there is still plenty of progress it can make with local business to help drive in-store traffic.

“We are pioneering, we are growing, and we are the market leader, which means we know that not every test will come out beaming rainbows and unicorns,” Williams said. “Sometimes we will fail, and sometimes we will win and win big. Winning big is absolutely possible in local.”

Possible — maybe. Probable? Mason and Williams have different answers.