Bill Gurley comments on group buying

Benchmark is obviously in plenty of hot companies, too, including Twitter and Zipcar [which neither KP or Sequoia has backed]. Yet Groupon is another “hot” company that you’re not involved with. Why?

Right or wrong, in both group buying and in the membership-buying space, we had strong concerns about the barriers to entry. That may have been a wrong perspective. We met with a lot of these guys. But that’s why we stayed out.

What do you think now that Groupon ostensibly has a billion-dollar plus valuation?

I’ve heard incredible things about the company. I wouldn’t have anticipated that they would do this well. Long term, I wonder whether the margin on a deal can be maintained when 10 [copycat] companies are calling on that same small business.

via peHUB » Bill Gurley on Rivalry in the Valley, Facebook’s Future, and What He Makes of Digital Sky Technologies.

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