Brad Keywell_and_Eric LefkofskyThe first thing we noticed when
Groupon filed to go public was the simply astounding amount of
insider selling going on.   This raises obvious questions for
dullards like us who pay attention to things like corporate
governance and behavioral economics: asymmetrical information
and agency problems.   Yipit's Vin Vacanti, perhaps one of the
top experts on the daily deal space, wrote a great post saying
many criticisms of Groupon are unfounded. The defense is worth
reading in full, but the least convincing one is about the
insider selling.   Of course Groupon insiders have cashed out a
portion of their shares (approximately 20%). No matter how
confident they are in the business, it would be financial
irresponsible for them not to cash out a portion of their shares
given the multi-billion dollar valuation they were being offered
as part of earlier rounds. The vast majority of their wealth is
still completely tied-up in the success of Groupon.  Sorry, but
the specifics of the inside