Site leverages power of group purchases

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By Gabriella Boston

There's power in numbers. Nobody understands that better than the 20,000-plus members of Groupon.com -- a new online group coupon service -- in the District.

The basic idea is that Groupon.com features one great deal each day -- such as 50 percent off a one-night stay at a local hotel -- which will happen only if enough people sign up for it. (The number varies by day and deal.)

In other words, consumers don't get charged unless critical mass is achieved.

"The idea is to use collective buying power to benefit consumers," says Andrew Mason, the 28-year-old chief executive and founder of Groupon.com, which exists in 10 big cities, including Boston (45,000 subscribers) and Chicago (85,000 members), where it started in December. The District was added to the service in late May, and the most recent addition was Atlanta in June.

Groupon.com is a kind of modern take on the group discount, taking that traditional idea and extending it beyond museums, theaters and the like to a variety of new services from teeth whitening to restaurant deals.

The guys and girls at Groupon.com (all 45 employees are younger than 30) are delighted with the huge success of the service and site (Groupon.com receives a cut of each deal from the business owner) but say Groupon.com is more than just a coupon site.

"Everyone who works here believes in social change," Mr. Mason says. "We're looking for ways the collective of consumers can benefit the community."

In fact, Groupon.com grew out of an online company called the Point, which lets users start an online campaign to gauge whether there is enough monetary and other grass-roots interest for a certain cause before they invest more money and time in that particular cause.

It's a way to tell if you have critical mass, if you've reached the necessary "tipping point" (hence the name) to start an actual campaign-movement, Mr. Mason says.

A movement is exactly what Groupon.com has become, with tens of thousands of subscribers nationwide. But it's debatable whether users see themselves as part of social change or just smart consumers.