The fast rise and slow demise of a daily deals business
Washington startup LivingSocial was acquired by chief rival Groupon for $0
Washington
LIVINGSOCIAL, the Washington startup that rode the daily deals craze to markets across the globe, has died as a stand-alone company. It was nearly 10 years old.
Groupon, its chief rival, revealed last week that it acquired LivingSocial's remains for $0.
LivingSocial, which rose to prominence with staggering speed, became the face of the District of Columbia's burgeoning tech economy.
For a time, LivingSocial was hiring dozens of workers each month, breaking into cities across the globe and collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from investors to bankroll it all.
But almost as soon as LivingSocial reached the other side of the world, consumer interest stalled. Once an exciting social phenomenon, the daily emails offering discounts to local merchants started to…
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