Buckle up for today’s Featured Merchant because we are going up, up and away! Today we check in Jeff Holmes, owner of Holmes Helicopters in Newberg, just a short flight outside of Portland, OR.
After primarily using his helicopter skills in the agricultural field for years, Jeff’s wife, Shanda, urged him to try out Groupon.
Click through to read Jeff’s full story.
Some Groupon employees are more naturally predisposed to working at night due to having been born at night. In order to succeed in the late hours, staff must follow these night-shift rules, posted on everyone’s computer screen, nightly:
Business is only to be conducted in whispers, as to not wake the day-shift employees, who fall asleep on the floor immediately upon the sounding of the 5 p.m. bell.
Employees are to wear movie-replica quality Freddy Krueger costumes at all times. Because.
The first one to find Mom’s glasses gets two dollars.
There is no lunch break. Lunch takes place between breakfast and dinner. You can’t just eat a meal whenever and call it lunch.
Don’t eat the cookies. Those are for Santa Claus.
Holiday shop to feature experiential local gifts, luxury deals, travel getaways, national brand names and other surprises
We all have holiday traditions. Ours include feasting upon a Yule Log, training for the winter ice-sled competition, “The Biggest Luger,” displacing leftover Halloween candy into a Thanksgiving cornucopia, or gift-wrapping our friend’s entire apartment in holiday cheer. But the tradition we most enjoy is Grouponicus, the ancient wintertime celebration encouraging consumers to give the gift of experience.
The Grouponicus holiday shop bypasses traditional gifts such as athletic socks or ironic fruitcake. Deals offered surprise and delight customers with unforgettable experiences for every budget–from top national brands and online offers, to the best local experiences, to exciting once-in-a-lifetime travel deals of epic proportions. Our Epic Deals will pop up when least expected–many times at a quantity of just one! Additionally, there are opportunities to give the gift of social good and customers can support G-Team partners including Feeding America.
Shoppers can also explore the history of Grouponicus, featuring the beloved story of Groupo the Deal Bird and his colorful new friends. Each year, Groupo leaves his kingdom of Winterland to fly to the homes of true believers, leaving stacks of Groupons in their ovens to reward them for adhering to the Eight Tenets of Grouponicus. Follow Groupo on Twitter for exclusive deals and wisdom.
Happy Grouponicus!
Groupon’s latest event, a collaborative evening of art, dance, and music, was recently held at the Chicago Artists’ Coalition. With an aural backdrop featuring music by Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, local Chicago artist Jason Brammer worked on a live art installation piece for spectators. We captured his creativity in the time lapse video below.
Want to see more images from the night? Visit our Chicago Facebook page and check out the photo gallery.
Groupon regularly features all sorts of awesome experiences and today’s Featured Merchant is no exception. We checked in with Darron Nilsson, owner of River’s End Rafting & Adventure Company in Bakersfield, CA, on one experience any adventure seeker would love.
When Groupon first reached out to Darron in early 2010, he wasn’t familiar with the Groupon concept and needed some time to conduct his own research. He did his homework on Groupon during the 2010 rafting off-season after reading about the company in TIME Magazine. Click through to read how Groupon helped Darron have his best, most successful summer ever in 2011.
Today, we bring you a little something different on the Groupon blog. To celebrate National Vanilla Cupcake Day, Spice Islands® Trading Company and local gourmet cupcake van originator, Flirty Cupcakes, teamed up and shared a nom-inducing Cinnapple Cupcake recipe. Maybe it’s the holidays upon us triggering our basic instincts to prep for hibernation by storing confectioneries. Perhaps it’s the chill in the air reminding us that the best way to keep hands warm is to keep freshly baked goods in your pockets. Either way, we’re excited to try out this recipe and (somewhat reluctantly) share these delicious cupcakes with friends.
If you’re in Chicago and baking isn’t your cup of hot cider, don’t worry! Flirty Cupcakes and Spice Islands are offering a gourmet-cupcake package that is sure to satiate any holiday cupcake craving.
Click through to check out the Cinnapple Cupcake recipe!
We’re excited to announce our latest innovation in personalization: Deal Types and Places. We’re constantly looking for new ways to bring you the best, most relevant deals in the places you like to spend your time. With Deal Types and Places, we personalize the Groupon experience by making it easier than ever to discover the best deals (Types) in the spots you want them (Places), every day of the week. And for businesses, we’re helping you reach shoppers who are most likely to become lifelong customers.
Scroll Over Deals to See Types
The full explanation is after the jump, or if you prefer, you can check out a video walk-through with us here. We hope you have fun exploring Deal Types and Places…because we had a lot of fun making it happen.
Groupon, like all fun-loving young offices, is filled to the brim with vicious rumors and disparaging hearsay. In the interest of entertaining disclosure, here is some of the juiciest office gossip:
On November 8th, Groupon and the Chicago Artists’ Coalition will cater to all eleven senses with a night of art, culture, music, and dance as part of our new events series. Like a musical air cannon, Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, will feed explosive beats into the ears of patrons throughout the evening while being visually complimented by synchronized visuals. Attendees can also enjoy performances by an interpretive dance trio led by improvisational artist JulieAnn Graham, and a live art installation by Jason Brammer.
If you missed out on the initial deal, we’re offering a limited number of tickets on Groupon Now! which you can purchase here today only.
Check out highlights from our last event–an intimate musical performance by Chicago’s own Umphrey’s McGee.
Today, Groupon opened for public trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol GRPN. Jason Child (CFO), Jeff Holden (SVP Product), and I had a great time on the road over the last two weeks answering the questions of prospective investors and sharing the Groupon story. We are excited to welco
Our IPO is a small milestone on our journey, but one that warrants a few words of thanks. Thanks to my cofounders—Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell. Thanks to shareholders. Thanks to our employees. Thanks to our board of
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