Don't mock Groupon for being too angry.

Absrtact: When we started the cover story of the Unicorn era for fortune, we had an internal discussion, trying to find some similar cautionary tales. A fab for flash shopping? OK. Software box? It seemed precarious at the time, but it was not the same day

When we started the cover story of the Unicorn era for fortune, we had an internal discussion, trying to find some similar cautionary tales. A fab for flash shopping? OK. Software box? It seemed precarious at the time, but it was no longer the same. Someone chuckled: "What about Groupon?" ”

Groupon, the originator of Groupon, was a standard unicorn. Less than two years after the company was founded, the venture invested more than 1 billion dollars in its valuation. It was said to have subsequently rejected a 6 billion-dollar takeover bid by Google, which was listed in November 2011, when its market capitalisation reached $12.65 billion trillion, and its market value had exceeded $23 billion in the first day of trading.

It wasn't long before Groupon started to fade. By June 2012, the company's market capitalisation had fallen below Google's takeover offer. Groupon's founding CEO, Andrewmeisen, was fired in March 2013. The other function of the warehouse-style headquarters of the company, which should have revitalized Chicago's dynamism, seems to be on the verge of drying up the oil-burning lights.

Then, with the rise of a larger group of 1 billion-dollar startups, everyone seems to have forgotten the group--I'm talking about "everyone," excluding those who want to joke about the high valuations it used to have.

But it seems to me that there is no justification for such ridicule.

Groupon was not only a very successful unicorn, but it is still. The company's current market capitalisation, at $4.9 billion trillion, is still higher than the initial valuation of the venture. Since the IPO, its revenues and EBITDA (earnings before tax depreciation and amortization) have been climbing steadily, while Groupon is sitting on large cash and without a penny's worth of debt.

If you want to dictate to those who overestimate Groupon, first look at the investors in the open market. They should use a variety of rational quantitative analysis indicators to make investment decisions (this is not the same as the wind, the VC play is "talents"). But in fact, even Groupon's last few deals in the private equity market were largely driven by mutual fund managers who sank to the level two market to buy two stocks from wind pitchers, while smart VCs made a fortune early.

It's like being in a room with some of the smartest people to convince everyone that Boston will win 60 games this year. And when the Celtics didn't reach this high goal, they laughed at it. It is clear that Celtic's record has not reached its ultimate expectation, but it is not itself that makes these absurd predictions, and it does not collapse now.

If Groupon can provide some reference for other unicorns, it may be only in the choice of timing. Groupon's initial IPO decision may be why it is still sticking to its position. As the venture capitalists Birkolli points out, listed companies will be more likely than private companies to survive the fall in valuations. If Groupon waited a year or two for the listing, it was worth laughing at, but it didn't, so it shouldn't be ridiculed now.