Coupon to success

Karl Chong was working as an investment banker in New York in 2009 when a friend introduced him to a rock climbing deal at a Groupon website.

The website, which featured a plethora of heavily discounted deals by New York merchants, intrigued Chong. Realising its potential, he contacted Groupon in a bid to bring the business to Asia but did not receive a response. “I wanted to make something out of myself before I turned 30,” says Malaysian-born Chong.

Not wanting to waste any time, Chong together with his younger brother Christopher decided to strike out on their own and start a business in Singapore – a web savvy nation that enjoyed a good deal.

On February 2010, with an initial investment of US$50,000, Singapore’s first group buying website Beeconomic was born.

Salad days

Beeconomic started with just eight employees who wore multiple hats, handling all functions such as sales and customer service. During the early days, the team members did not have an official office space and worked out of each other’s homes. “We had a fairly casual set-up yet there was an element of urgency,” says Chong, now 30.

Every day, the team went knocking door after door to get merchants onboard with their venture. Initially, they experienced a high level of rejections as Singapore businesses were not familiar with the group buying model. But the team pushed on. They also had to try out the services being offered by merchants to ensure the quality of the service. These ranged from sushi tasting to nail services and waxing treatments, Chong shares.

At the end of 2010, just 11 months after its establishment, Beeconomic was acquired by Groupon for an estimated US$24m.

Acquisitions are normally marked by a period of change and transition, and can be somewhat anxiety-provoking for employees. To allay any fears, Chong immediately had a town hall meeting with his team to discuss the new changes. No jobs were cut and, instead, all pioneering members of the team were given senior management positions at the newly-minted Groupon Singapore.

Rapid growth

Post-acquisition, Groupon Singapore went through a rapid expansion phase, increasing its headcount from just eight employees in December 2010 to 80 employees in November 2011.

Due to the online and social media nature of its business, the company’s current workforce is decidedly young with most employees aged between 20 and 35. The average age is 27, says Chong. Employees who perform well can expect quick career progression – a definite draw among ambitious Gen Y employees. “A fresh graduate could take on a senior management role in less than a year,” says Chong.

But how do they compensate for the lack of experience? “We look for people who are hungry to learn and grow. Those with a good attitude, willingness to learn and can think outside the box,” says Chong. Take for example, 23-year-old part-time university student Baldwin Ng, who joined the company’s customer service team in December 2010. “He came up with good ideas for a faster turnaround time in customer service and we expanded his role, making him the team lead,” Chong explains.

Groupon culture

Chong’s business philosophy is built on the simple tenet of kindness. This is extended not just through good working relationships with customers and merchants, but employees as well.

Rewarding employees for a job well done is one way in which Groupon Singapore keeps its young and ambitious workforce engaged. “We believed that our sales executives should be rewarded in a way that is consistent with how revenues grow. As the business grows, so do their rewards.” This reward structure makes its sales people feel like business owners, Chong says.

While Chong acknowledges that work-life balance is important, he says that this can be a challenge in a start-up environment where employees sometimes need to clock long hours. To compensate for this, the company creates a fun environment within the workplace. Team leads are given a budget every month for activities like karaoke sessions and dinner outings. Recently, all employees were treated to a day out at Universal Studios Singapore.

Employees in successful companies tend to work towards a common goal. At Groupon Singapore, Chong makes an announcement at 5pm every Friday to talk about areas such as housekeeping matters, financial matters, customer feedback and what deals they should be focusing on. “That gets everyone onto the same page. They need to know that they are here because of a bigger strategy,” Chong says.

Groupon Singapore features a flat organisational structure. Employees have direct contact with Chong, who says he would rather sit amongst his colleagues than have his own office. He takes a hands-on approach to management and even participates in role-playing sessions with new customer service staff to hone their skills.

Leaders should lead by example, says Chong. Even today, he heads out to meet national deal partners and C-level executives, closing sales on a daily basis. “It helps set a high-results threshold in the organisation and you earn the respect of your staff. If I can close up to four deals a day, my staff should be able to do the same.”