Mr. Mason

Typically, when CEOs are ousted from the businesses they founded, they go "spend more time" with their families, take up a hobby like yachting or move immediately on to the next company they can try not to drive into the ground. Not so for former Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, who was fired earlier this year. Though he's going to join Y Combinator as an advisor, Mr. Mason has another trick up his sleeve: dropping an album, of course.

TechCrunch reports that the daily deals site founder spent a week in L.A. recording "Hardly Workin'," which Mr. Mason describes as "a seven song album of motivational business music targeted at people newly entering the workforce." Sounds like the perfect graduation gift for aunts and uncles to give you that you'll leave stuck between the seats of your parents' SUV.

Mr. Mason told TechCrunch that young people would frequently show up to meetings unarmed with business wisdom. What kind of riffraff would do such a thing? Since business books weren't really their style, he decided to record an album that youngs could make fun of with their friends while getting stoned.

"These songs will help young people understand some of the ideas that I’ve found to be a key part of becoming a productive and effective employee," Mr. Mason told TechCrunch. "I’m really happy with the results and look forward to sharing them as soon as I figure out how to load music onto iTunes, hopefully in the next few weeks."

How long 'til this thing is fully annotated on Rap Genius?

(Photo: Daily Tech)

Quinn Norton speaks out on what life inside the Aaron Swartz investigation was like. "This will not be the final word on Aaron's story, nor is it intended to be. Two years later, these are the events as I remember them, and the feelings as I knew them." [The Atlantic]

Former dotcom millionaire Jennifer Sultan plead guilty to selling prescription drugs and conspiring to sell a firearm in exchange for four years in prison on Friday. Ms. Sultan, who sold her company Live Online during the first boom, burned through her fortune after becoming addicted to prescription pain killers. Let this be a cautionary tale for bubble 2.0. [New York Times]

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz took to Rap Genius this weekend to decode Andrew Mason's goodbye letter. Swag? [TechCrunch]

If you got an email this weekend from Evernote that it had reset your password, that’s because the company suffered a major security breach. [The Verge]

SpaceX Dragon has successfully docked at the International Space Station, which is great because we don't really need any more griping from Elon Musk right now. [Ars Technica]

Just not the best fit, probably.

“What’s just depressing to me is how—and it’s not just for us, let me generalize it—the moment a company goes public the conversation shifts from how they’re trying to change the world and the product they’re building to how they’re making money.” Andrew Mason probably wasn't ready to be the CEO of a publicly traded company. [Fast Company]

Meanwhile, at TED: Vint Cerf is dreaming of a day when we can use the Internet to communicate with aliens. Dude must make it a point to believe six impossible things before breakfast. [Gizmodo]

Former Gilt CEO Susan Lyne is now Brand Group CEO at AOL. Resident enfant terrible Alexia Tsotsis published the memo and added, "As far as we can tell, Arianna, with her Hellenic iron fist, has retained her dominion over the HuffPost stronghold, and we’ll continue to push the boundaries of what we can do until we get fired." Noted! [TechCrunch]

In other shuffles, Federated Media founder John Battelle is once more CEO of the blog network that he founded, taking over for Deanna Brown, who is leaving for an unspecified new project. [Forbes]

Apple Fellow Guy Kawasaki is now advising Motorola. [Android Authority]

(Photo: Vanity Fair)

Rumors of Andrew Mason's imminent demise as Groupon CEO started swirling back in November, but the bubble officially burst today following Groupon's "disastrous" financial report.

Yesterday, in response to question about how the numbers would affect Mr. Mason, Groupon spokesperson Paul Taaffee told Bloomberg, "He’s here today." He was speaking literally.

Groupon just announced that Mr. Mason is being replaced. The company has named a "newly created Office of the Chief Executive," led by executive chairman Eric Lefkofsky and vice chairman Ted Leonsis, who will "serve in this role on an interim basis."

Mr. Lefkofsky, whose venture firm Lightbank recently set up shop in New York, got some attention pre-IPO when he and cofounder Brad Keywell used a Groupon funding round to cash out shares worth $451 million--a tactic he's used in the past.

As Business Insider points out, Mr. Lefkofsky also "has interests in several companies that have close relationships or contracts with Groupon that, for a long time, have represented a conflict of interest for the company, as disclosed in its SEC filings."

Take this disclosure from a recent 10-Q filing:

"[Lefkofsky's] investments may be in areas that present conflicts with, or involve businesses related to, our operations. There can be no assurance that our business will not be adversely affected as Mr. Lefkofsky devotes less time to our business in the future."

Groupon's board, which is currently searching for a new CEO, has its work cut out for them.

This week, the company revealed that Q1 revenue would be $560 million to $610 million, when analysts (on average) predicted $647.7 million. Groupon also said it lost $81.1 million (12 cents a share) in Q4, when analysts predicted a loss of 2 cents per share. That led to the largest intraday decline since November, with stock diving 19 percent yesterday afternoon.

However, shares are up in after-hours trading once Mr. Mason's ouster was announced.

In the press release, Mr. Lefkofsky thanked Mr. Mason, on behalf of the board, "for his leadership, his creativity and his deep loyalty to Groupon."

But through an unverified Twitter account, @AndrewMason tweeted a link to an unconfirmed good-bye letter that says he was fired.

https://twitter.com/andrewmason/status/307239473165516800

The letter has since been deleted, but we have a screencap from earlier this afternoon. And it has mensch written all over it.

Mr. Mason took accountability for his role in the company's financial weakness--a first from Startupland? He also praised his employees, admitted failure, referenced the NES videogame Battleroads, and asked for recommendations for how to lose the Groupon 40. (Nota bene: this is coming from a leader who presided over some sophomoric stunts and "financial voodoo," that adversely affected his company.)

OK, I’m good on the fat camp recommendations.You may stop.Thank you.

— Andrew Mason (@andrewmason) February 28, 2013

Enjoy your new waistline, Mr. Mason. Sounds like you earned it.

Only models look this good in Glass. (Photo: Google)

Speaking at TED, Sergey Brin called the smartphone user experience "emasculating," on the basis that "You're standing around and just rubbing this featureless piece of glass." Maybe Google that word when you get home, Sergey. [CNET]

Could perennial concerns about cancer keep Google Glass from realizing its full potential as a wearable communication device? [Quartz]

Groupon didn't do so hot in Q4, causing a big drop in the company's stock in after-hours trading. "The forecast is underwhelming," said one analyst. No kidding. [Reuters]

Time Warner Cable is pretty sure you don't even want gigabit Internet. Because when you think "attentive to customer desires," you think Time Warner Cable.  [Verge]

I.B.M. is still figuring out money-making uses for the supercomputer Watson. Besides all the big data applications, he apparently makes a mean croissant. [New York Times]

Mr. O'Kelley.

For a city that has wears its ambition to become a technology hub on its sleeve, New York lacks those coveted billion dollar exits that lend credibility to the ecosystem and help buttress the ever-multiplying ranks of startups.

Sure, consumer-facing companies like Gilt Groupe, Foursquare and Tumblr have sucked up attention, not to mention venture funding in recent years, but none of those companies appears to be close to the type of major exit or sustained profitability it takes to be king of New York.

But maybe it's not going to be a consumer-facing company that rules the Silicon Alley roost: Maybe what the ecosystem needs is thriving pure play technology firm to serve as New York's totem. At least, that's what AppNexus CEO Brian O'Kelley told Betabeat over the telephone yesterday, fresh off his companies announcement that it had closed a $75 million Series D round.

"New York needs a real technology firm to be the heart of the community," Mr. O'Kelley said. "We want to be that, we want people to point to us and say, 'You can build an innovative tech firm in New York.'"

Of course, New York has long been an ad tech kind of town. Mr. O'Kelley himself helped pioneer the ad exchange as the CTO of Right Media, which sold to Yahoo for $870 million in 2007. Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of ad tech firm DoubleClick that same year remains the exit to beat for Silicon Alley firms—and in turn spawned a series of successful New York companies, including Kevin Ryan's Gilt-10gen-Business Insider empire.

But Mr. O'Kelley said that his company's role in the ecosystem wasn't tied to its particular corner of the industry.

"It's not because we’re an ad business, it's because we’re a real business," he told us. "Our revenue model is proven and understood."

To that end, he said the company was serving 13 billion ads a day, and managed more than $700 million of ad spending last year, with 40 percent of the business coming from abroad.

"Marketing money is really at the core of the Internet," Mr. O'Kelley said. "Is it crazy to say that New York is going to be the hub of the financial ecosystem for the Internet? No, New York is already the hub for the global financial system."

If the company is going to wear that mantle, AppNexus's Series D, which boosted the company's total raise to $140.5 million, won't hurt. Lead by Technology Crossover Ventures, a firm noted its experience helping Facebook, Groupon and Netflix go public, and may put the company on the path to an eventual IPO.

In the meantime, Mr. O'Kelley said he wants to be increasingly active in the tech community, building on past activities like the company's sponsorship of Girls Who Code, or a fireside chat with Fab CEO Jason Goldberg that Mr. O'Kelley hosted this week at company headquarters.

As for the Series D, Mr. O'Kelley said the funds will help AppNexus scale its operations, and hinted at a big announcement this spring, as the company works on what it has called the third generation ad network.

When Betabeat checked in on AppNexus last April, the company had just opened offices in London and Paris, and boasted a staff of 230 employees.

Nine months later, the company had more than 400 employees and says it's serving 16 billion ads a day. The next year could see the company double its head count again, a hiring spree that Mr. O'Kelley said would bring fresh waves of engineering talent to New York.

Some have speculated that a $75 million raise prices AppNexus out of reach potential acquirers. “You’re never too expensive for someone to acquire,” Mr. O’Kelley retorted. However, company’s mission is to “change the advertising world,” he added, and no amount of money would divert him from that path.

As far as an eventual exit goes, Mr. O'Kelley didn't scorn the idea of going public.

"It's just another financing round," Mr. O'Kelley said of the prospect. "We're not going to have pressing need for quite some time. But there's something very special about being public. The idea of being at the center of the ecosystem, and that New York could use a real solid innovative tech company that’s public. We'd love to be that company at the right time."

Everyone will knowwwww (Photo: flickr.com/jamiesrabbits)

Obama just signed into law a bill that makes it legal for Netflix to share what you watch on your Facebook page (provided you give them the okay, of course). [Gizmodo]

Yikes: CNET was forced to withdraw a "Best of CES" award by its parent company, CBS, which is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Dish, the company that makes the product in question. [Buzzfeed]

Hey, Groupon stock is trading at double its all-time low! Before anyone breaks out the champagne, that's around $5.20. [TNW]

GM is hiring a thousand high-tech workers--software developers, database experts, etc.--for a new "innovation center" in a suburb of Atlanta. [Wall Street Journal]

“We’re fucked. These guys don’t want to take over our land—they want to come over and take our water and go back. They like where they are.” [AllThingsD]

Twice yearly, Google releases data on government requests to remove content from the internet. Can we see that on an interactive map? [Slate]

Share buttons notwithstanding, people still like to cut and paste. [AdWeek]

The Museum of Modern Art added 14 video games—including Tetris, Mist and Dwarf Fortress—to its collection. Hear that, Mom? Video games do so have cultural relevance. [NYT]

Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason gets to keep his job—for now. [WSJ]

The United Nations makes an embarrassing Twitter typo. [Business Insider]

IDK.

Bet you thought the next big story in the ailing daily deals business was going to be Andrew Mason's ouster. And yet, it's a competitor making headlines: Bloomberg News reports that LivingSocial has laid off 400 of its 4,500 employees. That's about 9 percent of its staff, for those keeping score at home.  

Hardest hit were the customer service, sales and editorial departments, spokesperson Andrew Weinstein told CNNMoney, and cuts were concentrated in the U.S. Washington, D.C. lost 160 jobs, because customer service ops are being moved to, ugh, Tucson. Mr. Weinstein explained that the cuts "will free up additional resources for the company to invest in some of the critical things in our business, like mobile efforts."

Just last month, Amazon reported that it had lost $169 million of a $175 million investment in the company. The wrath of Bezos is not to be trifled with.

Suddenly, Mr. Mason's week looks a lot better.

Mason (screen grab).

What's a young CEO to do amid rumors that he may soon be relieved of his duties? Hunker down and lobby privately for an extended tenure? Or sit for a public interview on the subject of his imminent demise?

That was the question from Groupon CEO Andrew Mason faced this week, as gossip swirled that he would cancel a planned experience at Business Insider's Ignition conference following AllThingsD's dish suggesting management changes could be in the offing at the Chicago-based company.

In the end, Mr. Mason decided to attend as scheduled. The first question he faced from Henry Blodget: "Is the board going to fire you tomorrow?"

"Here's a news flash, our stock is down 80 percent," Mr. Mason answered. "It would be weird if the board wasn't asking if I was the right guy to do the job."

Maybe going forward with the interview was a savvy decision. If, as The Wall Street Journal reported last night, discussions about replacing Mr. Mason centered on the company's need to do a better job communicating its successes, the chatter ahead of the conference only ensured that journalists far and wide would be hanging on his every word.

To that end, Mr. Mason presented as self-assured, acknowledging the company's struggles—"When you're creating a new category, there's going to be bumps along the road" and taking in stride Mr. Blodget's repeated prodding—"if I ever didn't think I was the right person for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."

It wasn't until Mr. Blodget invoked his own reputational rise-and-fall to ask how Mr. Mason handled the criticism—"Does it suck?"—that the Groupon founder resorted to sarcasm: "No it's awesome Henry, it's the greatest thing of the world."

Meanwhile, Mr. Mason took the moment in the spotlight as the opportunity to tout Groupon's strong point, including 38 percent year-over-year growth in gross billings in North America, high volume of mobile transactions and never-ending search—including new forays into travel and shipping goods directly to people's houses—for ways to make money. Mr. Mason admitted that Groupon's international business was lagging--the result of a rapid expansion, but said it was all part of the long-term plan.

"There's so much exciting stuff happening in the company, that tends to be what we're focused on," he said. "We've built up a resiliency to the external noise, because we know what's in the best interest of our shareholders is not optimizing for three months from now, but optimizing for three years from now."

Be that as it may, there's a reason for the chatter about who will lead Groupon in the future. The stock, as Mr. Mason noted, has fallen precipitously since the company's Novemeber 2011 IPO, and third-quarter earnings didn't exactly make investors smile. Where Mr. Mason sees Groupon's diversity of offerings as a strength, others might see a lack of focus. Last month brought news that the Securities and Exchange Commission is sniffing around the company again. The breakneck pace of Groupon's growth—zero to 12,000 employees in four years—had made it a very different company than the quirky deals service Mr. Mason founded.

Mr. Mason didn't actually say whether he expected the board to fire him. But he did take a subtle dig at the notion that the company needs an adult—someone such as Google's Eric Schmidt—to help the rapidly growing startup mature.

"We've had plenty of professionals that we've brought into Groupon in various roles," he said. "And we've seen the speed and at times, the chaos of Groupon, crush them as seasoned professionals."

On the other hand, if seasoned pros can't handle the chaos of Groupon, what makes Mr. Mason think that he can?