We launched 'The Point' in September 2006, but after floundering for about a year, we pivoted to create Groupon.

The idea for Groupon emerged from recognizing that group buying was a viable business model, especially since people were already attempting group purchasing campaigns through 'The Point'.

When we launched Groupon, we started with a two-for-one pizza deal at a local bar called Motel Bar, which was a simple way to test the market's interest.

While running 'The Point', we launched Groupon as a side project, which allowed me to shift my focus without admitting that 'The Point' was failing.

Despite initial struggles, we showed some growth, prompting an investor to suggest we raise a Series A round, which I eagerly prepared for.

After exiting Y Combinator, we achieved $200,000 in revenue within six weeks, and by the end of the year, we reached about $1 million, showcasing our rapid growth trajectory.

I found it difficult to deal with clones of Groupon, as it felt demoralizing to see others copy our concept without the same passion for building a startup.

When we decided to join Y Combinator, we were already profitable and saw it as an opportunity to scale our team and improve our fundraising efforts.

By the end of 2013, we reached $500,000 in annual recurring revenue, which prompted us to start thinking about raising a Series A.