The Groupon mafia in Southeast Asia

In Berlin’s startup scene in 2010, one story was the talk of the town.

US-born Groupon had bought Rocket Internet’s blatant Groupon clone CityDeal.
It was another validation for the Rocket Internet moneymaking strategy: copy existing models and gun for acquisition. (The first sign had been eBay’s takeover of the Samwer brothers’ clone Alando in 1999.)

The deal poured fuel into Rocket Internet’s global expansion engine. What’s more: as part of the merger, Rocket Internet’s Marc Samwer was put in charge of Groupon’s international division.

So from 2010 to 2012 the company spread its tentacles east, all the way to Southeast Asia under Rocket Internet’s management. Groupon may have lost steam along the way, but it roped in and churned out a new generation of entrepreneurs who are still active in our local tech scene today.

Here are some of the key figures.