Groupon’s board just fired its CEO, Andrew Mason, the eccentric, party-boy entrepreneur who helped found the company. This wasn’t exactly a surprise; just yesterday, we said that Groupon’s dismal earnings put Mason’s job in jeopardy.
In Mason’s honor, we give you a handful of his best head-scratchers from the last few years:
1. In 2010, Mason told CNBC he didn’t actually own 20 cats—and explained why he once said he did. “Most CEOs will make stuff up about themselves to sound way smarter and cooler, and people are disappointed to find out otherwise. I decided to set the bar very low and make up lies about myself that make me sound lame.”
2. He also made some…interesting videos. Here he does yoga on YouTube…in front of a Christmas tree…in his underwear:
3. In a bizarre publicity stunt at a TechCrunch conference in 2010, Mason announced Grouspawn, a social dating and scholarship service. Grouspawn, explained Mason, would set aside $60,000 a year for two babies born to parents who went on their first date using a Groupon. Right.
4. In early 2011, Groupon exploited the struggle of Tibetans in its “Save the Money” campaign, broadcast during the Super Bowl.
5. Mason conducted an hour-long employee town-hall meeting while swigging from a bottle of beer (paywall). At one point during the speech, he burped, then said, “Sorry. Too much beer.”