It’s August 2011, and Andrew Mason is agitated.

He’s at his desk in the middle of Groupon’s wide open, call center-style office in Chicago. His headphones are on. His brow is furrowed.

His company had been the darling of the business press for the past two years. Suddenly it’s not. 

He can’t hang on to a COO. The SEC is asking questions. Industry executives are calling him a ponzi schemer.  Early employees are demanding six-figure pay for 9 to 5 hours. One even filed a lawsuit. Merchant customers are screaming. And Mason and his board, having helped themselves to $900 million of cash that could have gone to the company, are are now being blasted for incompetence and greed.

Groupon has $225 million in the bank. The company lost $102.7 million in the last quarter on revenue of $878 million. If that were to continue at the same pace, it would need to find a new way to start making money quickly or raise new financing. That is why the I.P.O. could not come soon enough. (Groupon, it should be noted, says it does not intend to use the proceeds of the I.P.O. to finance operations in the next 12 months. But there is always next year.)

In total, as of last quarter, the company had $681 million in current liabilities but only $376 million in assets.