Forbes' Sloppy Wet Kiss to Supercharged Groupon
In its upcoming edition, Forbes publishes a glowing profile of Groupon, the group-buying Internet phenom that was valued at $1.35 billion back in April when it raised $135 million from Digital Sky Technologies. Little wonder: the company is reportedly on track to pull in more than $500 million in revenue this year. Indeed, if I'd sat down with its 29-year-old CEO, Andrew Mason, I'd have swooned over the numbers being thrown out, too. Here's just one snapshot from the piece: In May Groupon sold 6,561 tickets to a King Tut exhibit in New York's Times Square for $18 apiece, little more than half the list price. The campaign brought in $120,000 at virtually no marginal cost to the exhibit; Groupon pocketed about 50% for a day's effort. The most popular item so far: a $25 ticket for a Chicago architectural boat tour sold for $12. In May Groupon moved 19,822 tickets in eight hours and split the $238,000 with the tour operator.
