Young entrepreneurs: what to learn from Foursquare and Groupon

I just read this really interesting interview with Andrew Mason (CEO of Groupon) and Dennis Crowley (CEO of Foursquare).

Fellow young entrepreneurs (wait, at 38, I'm probably not a young entrepreneur anymore, oh well), there's a lot to learn here.

• Groupon was not groupon at first: Andrew started Groupon as something very different. Successful entrepreneurs recognize when things don't work and are ready to make changes along the way.
• Stay humble: both of them say it very clearly: to be successful, focus on what you can do better. For example, watch this video in which Andrew very openly apologizes for a mistake Groupon recently made.
• Culture: the importance of a company "culture" is coming up more and more as clear trait across many successful company. I recommend "Delivering Happiness" by Zappo's CEO Tony Hiseh on this.
• Be candid: every answer they give is straight to the point. Plain English. Just be who you are. Just say what you do. There's no long term value in doing otherwise.

There really is a great generation of young CEOs out there today. It's exciting to watch.

massimo