Why Do The Deal?

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One of the questions I am most often asked these days is why Half Off Depot acquired CrowdSavings. It's a fair question. To many the skyrocketing deals business now feels like a fading shooting star.

The answer is really quite simple. As Sarah Lacy recently wrote:

We will see another company that seeks to become a modern Web-based customer acquisition engine for small businesses, likely relying on discounts and coupons. It may look a lot like Groupon — if it’s close, it’ll be met with wild derision. But at some point, someone doing this will succeed. And give it a few years, but people will try again. The need is just too big and Groupon’s execution was too obviously flawed.

The transaction gives us the scale to be a sustainable independent local marketing oriented company that is just a bit below all the noise of Groupon/LivingSocial and the exit requirements of their capital structure.

We are large enough to have staying power and still nimble enough to effectively pivot.

We have the flexibility to create offers that stand out for consumers and have uncovered other ways to drive online acquisition for local businesses.

We can make money beyond the initial offer to our consumers, from our core customer, the merchant. 

We are moving beyond merely online couponing to post couponing customer retention.

We are giving our merchant partners the ability to drive incremental revenue.

We execute on these basic premises we succeed. It is all about execution.

Related articles
Daily deal site Half Off Depot acquires Tampa competitor
After Acquiring 15 Groupon Clones, CrowdSavings Finds a Buyer for Itself
March 15, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Half Off Depot

Atlanta Hoops Hackathon

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Yesterday afternoon Indiana University rallied from five points down in the final minute to win the Big Ten title, most likely securing a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. As a duel alumni household the Weatherby's are pretty fired up about basketball. Fourth ranked Louisville being favored to win the Big East tournament makes it doubly exciting for me. I am dreaming of these two making their way to Atlanta for the Final Four.

Before that happens the group over at the Hype has teamed up with the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee of the Final Four to create the Atlanta Hoops Hackathon. The aim is to create a real-time mobile-centric volunteer coordination system and drive attendance to the Division II & III Championship games which are also being held in Atlanta.

Atlanta Hoops Hack has over $1,500 in prizes to give away including VIP access to the Final Four weekend events. The fun takes place on Friday and Saturday. Register here to participate.

March 11, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Fun, Sports

More Americans Working From Home

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Timely article in The Wall Street Journal today. Seems like there has been a big jump in people working from home in the U.S according to the Census Bureau. 

More Americans Working Remotely

Some 13.4 million people work from home at least one day a week. Surprised that management leads the way.

Favoriate quote "home-based workers are more likely to work from home on Fridays and Mondays, potentially extending their weekends."

March 6, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Management

Take An Extreme Position

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One of the top five classes I have ever taken was a shortened version of a negotiation course during a Mergers and Acquisitions executive education program at The Wharton School. The class was led by Stuart Diamond. It was darn good.

It has been over ten years since I have taken that class. But there is one thing that I will always remember from it. If you can't seem to get anywhere in a negotiation take an extreme position that any rational person would agree to. Get to that first yes. 

An example that Mr. Diamond used was around the Israel-Palestine conflict. Pretty tough nut. Those folks can't seem to agree on anything. In such a situation you have to take an extreme position to get agreement.

"Can we agree that it is wrong to kill babies." Well yeah. From there take incremental steps, "How about toddlers?" "First graders?" "Teenagers?" until you meet a point of resistance. At that point get them to tell you more so you can address the underlying concern. Ask why.

Great tactic that generally works. Take an extreme position, it will often times lead to a deal.

March 5, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Business, Deals

Gaps At Grady

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Last Thursday night Atlanta Public Schools had a meeting at Grady High School to discuss the shooting incident that took place on its campus Wedensday morning. I attended the meeting. My opinion is Atlanta Public Schools is not acting urgently enough, is not being vigilant enough, and is not communicating with the community enough on how it intends to make schools safe.

Students are in harm’s way. I am compelled to voice my opinion to raise awareness of the issues at hand so that the Atlanta Public Schools will rapidly take action to correct their policies and procedures. If what is transpiring at Grady were widely known the public might come to the conclusion that given the circumstances there has been a failure to
exercise reasonable care by the school administration. My intent is to motivate Atlanta Public Schools to act with more urgency to protect students.

Before I go on I must add that what I am about to say is not reflective of the quality students, teachers, and parents that make Grady one of the top public high schools not only in the city of Atlanta but the state of Georgia. Its debate, journalism, and robotics programs are renowned. These people deserve more than what they are getting from the Atlanta Public Schools system.

I also want to commend the teachers for their reaction the day of the shooting. They acted swiftly. They let students use cell phones (counter to official Atlanta Public School policy). Because I was able to speak with my daughter via cell phone I knew what she was unharmed. She was also able to search news sites to learn what was going on, and I was
able to communicate to her that she was safe. It seems that most teachers made the decision to let students use their mobile phones to contact their parents. Bravo.

Back to the Thursday night town hall type meeting. It was called by Atlanta Public Schools and held at the Grady High School auditorium. Associate superintendent Steve Smith led the meeting. Grady principal Vincent Murray, Atlanta Public Schools security chief Marquenta Sands, and regional K-12 executive director David White made opening statements that lasted for about 30 minutes. Student body president Lauren Alford was also on the dais.

I was initially extremely impressed with what these administrators were saying. “The safety of our
students” is of utmost importance. “What happened yesterday was unacceptable.” “We are not here to sweep anything under the rug.” Ms. Sands talked a lot about “gaps” in the security process. Then she made a statement that they were not going to talk about plans to fix the security issues at the school. The sole reason why over 100 people
showed up was to learn what Atlanta Public Schools was going to do to keep students safe and they were not going to address it. That is one big rug and broom.

Fortunately anyone that is smart enough to make it through at least nine years of schooling is smart enough to see the
gaps in Atlanta Public Schools security policy at Grady High School. And it was time for the Grady community to speak. This is what I took away from that conversation.

Gap 1: Grady is an open campus.

Grady High School is an open campus. It is not a monolithic building but five buildings linked together by walkways and courtyards. The ability to secure the entire campus is challenging if not impossible. If someone wanted to go on campus to do harm they could do so with relative ease.

Gap 2: Security measures only in main
building.

If you are a non bus-riding student (bus riders have to enter via the main building) with a class that is not in the main building (technically buildings C & E which are connected internally) there are no security measures. Students with first period classes in the auditorium, Black Box Theatre, music hall, new gym, old gym, or god forbid a trailer, do not have to go through any security measures. To use an analogy it is somewhat akin to having security only at the main terminal at Hartsfield airport but leaving the access to terminal T unsecured.

Much has been made about the shooter skirting school security because two students opened a gym door for her. It is my understanding that she could have just walked in the gym unaided at anytime via an unlocked door with no metal detector on it. There is nothing to stop anyone from bringing a weapon to school if they have classes in a remote building. When directly asked if a metal detector had been installed in the gym since the incident Ms. Sands replied “no.” When asked when one would be she did not respond. When asked if any charges would be brought against the two students that aided the shooter she did not respond. Makes you question her “the time table is now” statement.

Update 3/5/13: Students were required to go through the main building today to enter auditorium and music hall.

Update 3/6/13: Turned first period into home room to force most students through main building.

Gap 3: Security measures stop when
school starts.

The teachers are responsible for implementing morning security. Once they do this they go to teach class. If a
student has a first period class in a remote building by the time that class is over security has been turned off. If such a student were so inclined they would be free to roam the entire campus with a weapon.

Gap 4: Backpacks and purses do not go
through security.

Students are required to go through metal detectors. Their backpacks and purses are not scanned. These bags are
supposed to be properly hand searched, but many parents, including this one, are being told by their offspring that this is not happening. Mr. White made a comment that unbeknownst to him the school must not be following proper
procedure. Grady High School is not following proper procedure and according to the students that I interact with
on a regular basis “nothing has changed” since the shooting.

Update 3/4/13: I learned today that a change was made where bags are currently being properly searched. ROTC leader is currently overseeing bag searches.

Gap 5: Teachers are not trained
security professionals.

Good grief, what would they even do if they found a weapon? Teachers need to be preparing for the school day. They
need to be teaching. They are currently arriving to first period classes as much as 30 minutes after class starts. Trained professionals are needed during security check in. Superintendent Davis has stated that he would rather have
school resource officers elsewhere. I honestly don’t understand what they could possibly be doing that is more important then ensuring a student does not bring a weapon on campus.

Gap 6: Education.

There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on this at the meeting. Providing methods for students to contact authorities. Maybe things have changed since I was in high school but it was pretty uncommon back then to report illegal activity to the school administration or police. But I will play along in good faith. Students can report potential illegal activity to the Atlanta Public Schools tip line at 877-801-7754 or to Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

Gap 7: Holes in lockdown procedures.

My daughter had a substitute teacher the day of the shooting. The sub did not have a key to the door of the trailer.
They were locked down without a lock. Anyone could have opened the door and walked right in. During a hard lock down. Imagine if something evil instead of careless was taking place. Imagine that you are a kid in a trailer with an
unlocked door during a hard lock down because a gun had been shot on your school campus. Imagine that you are so afraid that you are trying to hide under a desk. Unacceptable indeed.

Gap 8: Communications

A number of parents at the meeting indicated that they did not receive any communication about the incident even
though they received normal communications from Atlanta Public Schools. Neither my wife nor myself received any communications from Atlanta Public Schools on the day of the incident. We have not received any communications from Atlanta Public Schools since the day of the incident.

With all that said the highlight of the night for me came from a student toward the end of a meeting. A female freshman
pleading for the administration and teachers to address the emotional trauma this whole affair has brought on the student body.

“This is a real life problem, that is a grown up problem that we are dealing with as
kids.”

This is our problem. Our communities deserve safe schools. The shooting incidents at Price Middle School and Grady High
School (there have been two shootings within a month) demonstrate that Atlanta Public Schools is failing to provide safe
schools.

Atlanta Public Schools needs to communicate what it plans to do to keep our schools safe and not hide behind the cloak of not going into details for safety reasons. If some outsider wants to do harm at a school it cannot be prevented. What can be prevented are students carrying weapons on campus. The community deserves to know what is being done to prevent this before the next incident fatally harms an innocent.

I urge you to spread the word on what is transpiring at Grady High School and Atlanta Public Schools in any manner
you see fit.I urge you to demand accountability and action by Atlanta Public Schools. They are not doing everything they can to protect our children. This must change.

March 4, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Current Affairs, Personal

I Was Fired

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Not me. Andrew Mason. The founder and CEO of Groupon. His letter to employees and the fact he publicly posted it because he knew it would leak are classic.

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

The guy does have reason to be terribly proud. My take is that moving on is the best thing for both Groupon and Mason. The guy is set and it will be interesting to see his next adventure.

Have the courage to start with the customer. Good advice.

March 3, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Customer Focus, Management, Startups, Stocks

Working From Home

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Last week All Things D broke the news that Yahoo's Marissa Mayers was banning remote working. The move was widely panned. Wired called it "stupid". Forbes an "epic fail."

I disagree.

Mayers has been raked over the coals with comparisons to Facebook and Google. Yet Google's CFO, Patrick Pichette, has said that working at home or teleworking is not the best environment for new ideas to grow and thrive and that very few Google employees work remotely.

I am with the search giant on this one. To me working at the office not only increases sharing, collaboration, and productivity it also leads to better personal career development.

While I believe that remote working can be effective in more mature companies and markets for those with individual contributor roles, it does not work well in fast growing technology companies. And for a big company that needs to wake up, eliminating remote working is the right move. According to a Yahoo insider remote working was a way for people to slack off and essentially work part time.

Before I am accused of being some management neanderthal I do believe in the concept of ROWE. I do believe in offering proven performers the flexibility to manage both their lives and their job responsibilities. I have let two first time mothers go from full-time employees to part-time job sharers. In the office.

When I have observed employees being given set times that they do not have to come into the office the result has also been the same. Decreased productivity. Because they are not working a hard as if they were in an office environment.

Remote working. Just say no.

March 1, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Management

Shooting At Grady High School

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My daughter is a freshman at Grady High School in Atlanta. Grady is an intown public school that is a part of the Atlanta Public Schools system, about a mile from the center of Midtown Atlanta. We leave about a mile from the school. We live in the city and send our kids to public schools. We believe experiencing diversity while young better prepares you for the rest of your life. But we could be wrong. 

On Wednesday morning at about 10:20am I got a call from my wife. "Kate texted me" she said, "there's been a shooting at Grady". The fact Kate was texting was good. I called her, she answered, something that does not happen all the time with a 14 year old. It certainly does not happen with a 14 year old during the school day. She was shaken but laughing. The school was on hard lock down but she was in a trailer with a sub who did not have the key to lock the door. Students were hiding under desks. Fearing for their lives. Why she was laughing I knew not, her own nervous fear I suspect.

Students were using their smart phones to figure out what was going on. Seems a girl shot herself in the leg. My daughter was in lock down in a trailer with no lock and a sub that had no idea what was going on. Just after noon I got a text from my daughter. "Pick me up please." "Be there" was the response.

Walking onto the Grady campus where some student just shot themselves was a little surreal. It actually seemed too normal. Lots of kids were in the parking lot deciding where they were going to gather for lunch and the rest of the day. I went to the main courtyard darn close to where the gun went off, waiting for my daughter. As I did so I was serenaded by the sound of metal detectors as students went into the cafeteria. Detectors singing out warning to which no one took heed.

She came out. "What happened" I asked. This is what she said, more or less.

"Big Morgan was changing classes. Her first class is PE and you do not have to go through security to go to your first class. She had a gun in her purse and the safety was off. She shot herself in the leg, threw the gun in the bushes, and went to the nurses station."

"So how would she get from her first class to her second class with a gun?" I innocently asked. "Well when you go through the metal detectors you but your purse and backpacks on a table, the teachers give them a pat or two but they really do not look at what is in the bag" she replied. "Somebody told a friend of mine that they knew of at least five people that were carrying guns to school on a daily basis."

Let that sink in for a moment.

Students are packing heat at high school. And the reaction from the Atlanta Public Schools administration is that schools are "not designed to be fortresses” and that Big Morgan did not “did not follow protocol to check in.” The girl is 17, packing a gun to school, and has already been to court this week for some other matter. She is committing a felony along with all those other students on campus carrying weapons. I suspect that she, and the others carrying weapons that are smart enough not to shoot themselves, do not really care about protocol. I suspect that she and other students know how to get weapons into the school. They are free roaming convictable felons.

According to one student interviewed by The Atlanta Journal “It’s not that hard to get anything into Grady.”

And that has to change.

And the only way that is going to happen is for the Atlanta Public School system to lift their head out of the sand and admit they have a big problem. If not only one, but two student shooting incidents within a month is not enough to do it I am just going to have to nudge them along a bit.

First condoned cheating and now condoned violence. Geez-o-pete.

February 28, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Current Affairs, Personal, Politics

We Interrupt This Program For An Atlanta Public Schools Shooting

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I mostly write about the Internet, management, marketing, and startups on FoG. But every so often something happens that makes me change the focus here. A few years ago it was a change in Georgia law that limited the mobility of workers.

Today it was a student at Grady High School shooting herself in the leg. Seems she was packing a pistol. Which I have discovered in the past 12 hours is not a practice that the Atlanta Public Schools system (with its 2008 website copyright date) believes it needs to concern itself with on more than a sound bite basis.

I disagree with the Atlanta Public Schools system and its leadership. I think as a society and species that we must protect our young until they are old enough to protect themselves. I think we all can agree, with the exception of Atlanta Public Schools leadership, that no one should be allowed or enabled to hurt a child.

I am going to be writing about this for a little while until the Atlanta Public Schools system takes action to protect our youth. I urge you to join me in this mission and to tell everyone that you know to do the same.

For those of you that follow FoG for its normal content I beg your patience. My kids are in a school system where the leadership does not believe it is their responsibility to keep them safe from harm. Some things are just too important to remain silent on.

This is one of them.

February 27, 2013  |  Comments  |  Tweet  |  Posted in Current Affairs, Personal, Politics