[joe_the_user]

But there was also other shtick...

"They've solved a problem that no one else was able to solve ... how to go that last mile to the merchant"

And

"They've assembled a team like no one else [implication they can pivot if necessary]"

And

"Anything done by [supposed-superstar-manager] is worth a lot"

And naturally, all this was wrong-headed. The retail sector as a generic is pushed to the boards in this economy. The idea that you can squeeze excess capacity for profits is simply false given that no industry has ever attained economies of scale without building for it from the ground-up. Blood? Stone? You cannot squeeze...

TL;DR; You could say Groupon was built on looking at plans that worked for sky diving businesses and pretending they'd apply to restaurants.