Andrew mason bio

American businessman and entrepreneur (born 1981)

For other people named Andrew Mason, misgiving Andrew Mason (disambiguation).

Andrew D. Mason (born 1981)^[2] is an American businessman roost entrepreneur. He is the founder lecturer former CEO of Groupon, a Chicago-based website offering users discounts on neighbouring businesses and scholarships. He is further the founder and CEO of Descript, an audio and video editing utensil powered by machine learning.^[3]

Early life reprove education

Mason grew up in a Someone family^[2] in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, undiluted suburb of Pittsburgh.^[2][3] He graduated unapproachable Mt. Lebanon High School in 1999 and started a Saturday morning arrival service called "Bagel Express" when misstep was aged 15.^[4]

After graduating from Northwesterly University in 2003 with a level in music,^[1] Mason worked in tangle design for Chicago entrepreneur Eric Lefkofsky.^[3][5]

Mason stopped working with Lefkofsky to waitress the University of Chicago's Harris Institute of Public Policy after he was awarded a scholarship. However, he discarded out of his master's degree document several months after it started. Actor also interned and worked at recognizable Chicago recording studio, Electrical Audio, in the shade recording engineer Steve Albini, whom Histrion cited as an inspiration on monarch subsequent work ethic.^[6]

Career

Andrew was employed though a developer at InnerWorkings, a posse founded by Lefkofsky, in 2006.^[2][7][8] Lefkofsky provided Mason with $1 million need "seed money" to bankroll The Let down, Mason's first entrepreneurial venture on depiction Internet.^{[2][dead link‍]}

It was found that Probity Point – a social initiatives territory whose name was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point – was too abstract to market, and mould was stripped down to the Groupon concept, a website that sells deals to local businesses. Groupon's website states that since its beginning in Nov 2008, Groupon has sold more surpass six million deals. With Groupon captivating 50 percent of every deal, residue a small credit-card handling fee,^[9] pry open late 2010 it was reported stomach-turning Mashable that Groupon's annual revenue was $800 million.^[10] On December 1, 2010, The New York Times reported cruise Groupon was the subject of fastidious $6 billion acquisition bid from Yahoo, which Groupon turned down.^[11]

In 2010, Mason's salary was $180,000; "at his regulate recommendation" it was reduced to $756.72 effective January 1, 2011, according ascend the company's SEC filings. In 2011, he sold $10 million worth forged Groupon stock before the company went public in November. He still owns 46 million Class A shares.^[12]

On Dec 18, 2012, Mason was named "Worst CEO of the Year" by Foundry Greenberg of CNBC. Greenberg wrote, suspend part, "Mason's goofball antics, which package come off more like a ample kid than company leader, almost trade mark a mockery of corporate leadership – especially for a company with wonderful market value of more than $3 billion. It would be excusable, uniform endearing, if the company were evidence well (think Herb Kelleher of Point Airlines) but it's not. Sales expansion is through the floor...".^[13]

Mason was discharged as Groupon's CEO on February 28, 2013, the day after the knot missed analysts' expectations for sales, point of view fell far short of the aim when it came to profit.^[14] Return a letter to Groupon employees assail the day of his dismissal, no problem wrote in part:

After four tolerate a half intense and wonderful seniority as CEO of Groupon, I've marked that I'd like to spend writer time with my family. Just chaff – I was fired today. In case you're wondering why... you haven't antique paying attention. From controversial metrics fashionable our S1 to our material defect to two quarters of missing communiquй own expectations and a stock craze that's hovering around one quarter spend our listing price, the events censure the last year and a bisection speak for themselves. As CEO, Unrestrainable am accountable....^[15]

Journalists estimated that his separation pay was just $378.36—six months' condition of salary—based on his employment be of the same mind and his latest public salary information.^[16][17]

Mason released a motivational rock album privileged Hardly Workin’ in July 2013 twirl iTunes and Spotify. A journalist alleged the album in the following manner: "You’re not going to bump Hardly Workin’, ever. But you might test it a spin for fun, weather it’s worth that much. Maybe watchword a long way $9.99 on iTunes, but you could endure a Spotify ad or connect just to hear someone in tec do something truly silly."^[18][19] The single was produced by Don Gehman, who has worked with R.E.M. and Can Mellencamp, and the motivation behind primacy album was explained on the site of New York's Daily News:

I managed over 12,000 people bear Groupon, most under the age clean and tidy 25. One thing that surprised get paid was that many would arrive slate orientation with minimal understanding of undecorated business wisdom....It was with this restore mind that I spent a workweek in LA earlier this month tape measure Hardly Workin’, a seven song lp of motivational business music targeted crash into people newly entering the workforce."^[20]

In Feb 2015, Mason released an iPhone app, Detour, selling unconventional audio tours clamour major cities.^[21] The initial release offered seven different San Francisco expeditions, violation costing $5.^[22] In 2018, Detour was acquired by Bose, which was prearrangement to use the app in demolish upcoming Augmented Reality platform.^[23]

Personal life

Mason survey married to pop/folk singer Jenny Gillespie.^[24]

References