Groupon From The Ground Up

With Groupon, LightBank, MediaBank, Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECHO) and other businesses under his belt, Brad Keywell is a brilliant entrepreneur. But you might be surprised by the common thread that he found among his successful startups.

“We are very good at knowing what we're not good at,” Keywell told Benzinga during a recent interview. “We understand what we're not good at and we try to avoid those things.”

The “we” that Keywell is referring to includes himself and his lifelong business partner, Eric Lefkofsky. “On top of that, we are not always successful,” Keywell continued. “We have plenty of strikes. As a result, we try to learn from what we don't do well and what we do wrong.”

Furthermore, Keywell explained that he and Eric understand how to use data advantages as a key asset in a growing business.

“We are at the center of a thing called social commerce,” Keywell said. “Clearly, one of the businesses that we started, [Groupon], is defining….one of the more important (new) types of advertising that exists.”

Of course, part of Groupon's success must be attributed to the site's catchy, clever and easy-to-remember name.

“Aaron With is the one who thought of the name Groupon, which is obviously a combination of group and coupon,” Keywell said. “[He] is a genius. [He] was the original editorial writer of Groupon, and today runs an editorial group that is 250+ people deep. We have the largest editorial staff in the Midwest; much bigger than the Tribune or the Sun Times.”

Groupon, which was created by Andrew Mason (who now serves as the company's CEO), is one of the fastest growing companies in the world. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently attempted to purchase the coupon-a-day website for a reported $6 billion dollars, but Mason rejected the offer.

To hear more from Brad Keywell – including his key to happiness – don't miss Benzinga's full interview with the Groupon founder.