Inside Chicago's Groupon
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Groupon is considered the fastest-growing company in the country, and it started right here in Chicago.
The online company's simple idea of offering a daily group-purchasing coupon has turned into a billion-dollar business. Groupon, which has already spawned several copycats, recently turned down an estimated $6 billion offer from Google.
CBS 2's Kate Sullivan recently got an inside look at the company -– and its unusual way of doing business.
Who doesn't love a good deal? Ten dollars off pizza at Gino's East; a 50 percent discount at Barnes & Noble.
Somehow, the super young, super-charged Groupon employees have made coupons cool. According to Forbes magazine, no tech company has grown this fast this quick. Not eBay, not Amazon -- not Yahoo, AOL or even Google.
Two years ago, Aaron With was the only writer at Groupon. Today, as editor-in-chief, he oversees 300 writers in an editorial department that is hiring dozens of people each week. Seventy-five were hired last month alone.
"It's totally crazy. It's a surreal experience," With said.
Groupon has grown to 50 million users in 40 countries and declined a buyout offer from Google, which wanted to purchase them for $6 billion. So why is Groupon so successful?
The writers, plucked from the Chicago improv scene, line the cubicles or sit on exercise balls and help define Groupon's creative vibe.
"It's so laid back. You notice, most people here are a little bit younger, carefree and still professional," Chris Gurley said.
There's even a humor department. Yes, employees get paid to lounge around and think of funny material. Workers make their own hours -- take as much paid vacation as they like -- and wear whatever they want. It's like a college dorm where people actually do work.
Once the sales team secures a deal, fact-checkers make sure each deal is what it says it is.
One recent Groupon offer was for Pegasus Restaurant in Greektown. It offered $40 of Greek fare for $20. They sold 1,000.
"We split the revenue that comes in, what the customer spent," With, the editor-in-chief, says.
What does Pegasus get out of it?
"We would get the opportunity to get some new customers in and hopefully make them ours," Ceaser Melidis said.
Groupon, meanwhile, is compiling valuable information about consumers. They promise to keep your information private, but every time you purchase a Groupon they are keeping track of what you like and what you want to buy. Therefore, they can target Groupons specifically to you, and that raises their value enormously.
What's next for Groupon? Goldman Sachs reportedly visited Chicago to pitch a possible IPO, or initial public offering of stock. Groupon isn't commenting.
Not everything has gone Groupon's way. Last weekend, the company received some negative attention when it launched its first-ever TV ads for a national audience, during the Super Bowl.
The ads were meant to be a lampoon of celebrities and their pet causes, but one spot that highlighted turmoil in Chinese-controlled Tibet before veering into a punch line drew criticism for being insensitive. Groupon officials on Thursday said they were pulling the ads and apologized for offending anyone.
