Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Groupon.
Hi! I´m Samu. I´m part of Groupon Operations at Groupon with focus on developing a self-service support strategy for our customers and managing both Customer Service and Merchant Operations. 

How did you get started in your career, and what brought you to  Groupon?
I began my career at Groupon in 2011 as a Customer Support Agent, managing emails and phone calls. Later, I advanced to a Team Leader position and explored other areas within Operations. Due to my curiosity, I learned about the various tools and processes used across multiple departments at Groupon, which greatly helped me identify areas for improvement. 

What's the most exciting thing happening in your department atm?
We are experiencing an exciting time in our department! Last year, we revamped numerous tools and outdated processes. This year, we are focused on enhancing the self-service options for our customers and merchants. Additionally, we are working to reduce issues with the tools used by our agents. 

Describe your team in three words.
Collaborative, Agile, Knowledge! 

What's a fun or interesting way your team collaborates or bonds together?
Although we work on several projects at the same time, we always find moments to have fun and remember "old times" at Groupon. :D 

What's the best advice you've received from a colleague at Groupon?
“Never assume!” (Thank you Barbara!) 

Share a memorable moment, project or event from your time at Groupon.
I can't choose just one memorable moment, but when I transitioned from working solely for Groupon Spain to covering the EMEA region, it was incredible! And the Green Award! 😀

Which of Groupon's values do you feel most in tune with, and why?
Customers! It has been my focus during all these years at Groupon! 

Can you share any tips for staying productive and motivated?

Be curious, focus on what's important, take a break if you need one and have fun at work even during difficult times! 

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

While I need to exercise more, I truly enjoy spending time with my family and dogs! 

What is one non-work activity or hobby that you're into?
I love gardening! and I prepare very good desserts, if you pass by the Madrid office you can try them! 

What’s one thing about you that surprises people?

My age 😛

What was the first Groupon that you even bought, or experienced?
Wow! In 2011 a restaurant in Madrid! 

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have three items, what would they be?
Knife, camping tent and a fishing pole.

If you could have any fictional character as your best friend, who would it be?

Aang.

What's the most embarrassing song on your playlist that you secretly love?
Well, my playlist is very diverse and you can find from Taylor swift, Lady gaga, AC/DC to Disney.... but maybe Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) :P 

If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Pizza or Sushi.

What was the last book you read?
I'd love to say the third Patrick Rothfuss book, but while I'm waiting I've just finished Lord of the Rings again and I'm reading Wheel of Time! 📚

If you could time travel to any era, past or future, where would you go?

Future, to see a spaceship! 

What's the most unusual talent or skill you have?
I do crochet! (Right now I'm crocheting a 150 cm dinosaur :D) 

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?

Da Vinci! 

What's your guilty pleasure when it comes to TV shows or movies?

Love Anime, Star wars, Star trek, LOTR.

And finally, what was the last Groupon you bought?
It was for testing our migration of Goods 3WT to Salesforce, An inflatable chair with LED light.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Groupon.
Hi! Nice to e-meet you. I am contributing to the transformation as a BI analyst in the Core BI team, working mainly on Tableau self-service adoption and also very closely with the marketing team on fulfilling their data needs. 

How did you get started in your career, and what brought you to  Groupon?
Originally working in marketing myself, I got interested in analyzing and reporting the results of campaigns more than actually setting them up, so I changed direction and started exploring the data world around four years ago. I joined Groupon very recently -  only three months ago, to contribute to such significant change and to everything that follows. 

What's the most exciting thing happening in your department atm?
At the time of writing this answer, it has to be the Q2 planning. :-) Apart from that, we are on a path of applying an agile way of working while delivering data products to various stakeholders - which brings a lot of interesting learnings! 

Describe your team in three words.
Ambitious, skilled & supportive.

What's a fun or interesting way your team collaborates or bonds together?
Since most of the team is located outside of the Czech republic, a lot of team building and collaboration happens online. But when the team came to Prague, I enjoyed the escape room game we went to and also the walk to the Prague Castle. At six o’clock in the morning! 

What's the best advice you've received at Groupon?
I like one point from Dusan’s presentation he had at university just few weeks before I joined - no bullshit & tough love approach.

Share a memorable moment, project or event from your time at Groupon.
That mentioned six a.m. walk to the Castle. :-) and meaningful activities the Core BI team does, such as Tableau self-service approach deployment or Tool adoption activities.

Which of Groupon's values do you feel most in tune with, and why?
Ownership & accountability resonate with me the most as having a workspace where I feel empowered and seeing the meaning in what I do is crucial for me. 

Can you share any tips for staying productive and motivated?

Having a clear goal in mind definitely helps - to really know why I am doing what I am doing. That applies to both short- or long-term oriented goals. Also having regular ‘me’ sessions where I go over my notes, things I am currently working on and just stopping and evaluating if I’m moving in the right direction. 

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

By engaging in activities where I can ‘turn my brain off’ from work-related stuff - be it doing sports, meeting friends for coffee walks or doing some manual work. And also turning off all notifications for at least one full day over the weekend and in the evenings. 

What is one non-work activity or hobby that you're into?
Wakeboarding! 

What’s one thing about you that surprises people?

The amount of tattoos I have. 

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have three items, what would they be?
A knife and two good books. 

If you could have any fictional character as your best friend, who would it be?

Hermione Granger.   

What's the most embarrassing song on your playlist that you secretly love?
I will not admit to the most embarrassing one for sure :-) but 90s pop song is something you can hear me sing often.

If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Salmon Poke Bowl from this one specific place. Easy. 

What was the last book you read?
Augusts by Jakub Stanjura - touching story by Czech author 📚

If you could time travel to any era, past or future, where would you go?

Few hundred years to the future to see how we evolved (assuming the global warming wouldn't interfere with that idea).

What's the most unusual talent or skill you have?
I can read really really fast.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Florence Nightingale - a pioneer of data visualization - to show her how far we came and also to let her know how her work is still admired! 

What's your guilty pleasure when it comes to TV shows or movies?

🤷

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Groupon.
Massively into music, geek at heart and a Lead Product Manager at Groupon.

How did you get started in your career, and what brought you to  Groupon?
I started off as a software developer and quickly noticed how a lot of people back in 2014 did not know WHY they were making software. That’s when my career in Product Management started. The immense talent, compassion and drive of the people at Groupon was too alluring to pass on, and I am happy that I made the move. It has been quite a journey!

What's the most exciting thing happening in your department atm?
AI Everything. We are working with a lot of departments in Groupon, trying to see how AI can help them in their day to day tasks. We look at AI as an assistant rather than a replacement. An assistant that can do the mundane tasks for you, an assistant who can help increase productivity.

Describe your team in three words.
Innovative. Agile. Collaborative.

What's a fun or interesting way your team collaborates or bonds together?
We constantly have thought experiments where we have an open discussion about any one problem that needs a solution in Groupon. We try to include everyone who wants to have a say and we help each other flesh out some pretty amazing ideas! 

What's the best advice you've received at Groupon?
“There’s more knowledge in people than in Confluence”

Share a memorable moment, project or event from your time at Groupon.
MPF tax compliance project. That was a large effort to get across the line and I had the privilege of working with many many many people across Groupon. 

Which of Groupon's values do you feel most in tune with, and why?
Customer Focused. We need to build products and features that address a customer’s pain points. The revenue will follow. If you are not building for the needs of the customer, you could have the best product or feature but if a customer doesn’t need it, it’s pointless.

Can you share any tips for staying productive and motivated?

I think that everything I do is a teachable moment. No matter what the task, there is always something to learn from the experience. 

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

I am an avid motorcyclist and musician. I try to get 45 minutes of piano in everyday after work to ramp down a work day! And weekends are spent on the road on my motorcycles.

What was the first Groupon that you even bought, or experienced?

Gift deal - Advent beauty products. What a great deal and price for the goods! - link

What is one non-work activity or hobby that you're into?
I am an amateur musician and I also am an avid motorcyclist.

What’s one thing about you that surprises people?

My age. Thank god for good genes I suppose.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have three items, what would they be?
Music, LifeStraw and a satellite phone to get off the island when I get bored.

If you could have any fictional character as your best friend, who would it be?

Gandalf the Grey without a doubt. 🧙‍♂️    

What's the most embarrassing song on your playlist that you secretly love?
Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky. BRING BACK DISCO!

If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Authentic Italian food.🍝

What was the last book you read?
Alpha & Omega by Charles Seife. 📚

If you could time travel to any era, past or future, where would you go?

Born too late to explore Earth, too early to explore the Universe. Take me to the future where interstellar travel is a thing! 🚀⏳

What's the most unusual talent or skill you have?
Given any two musical notes, I can tell you a song in which they come in that order. 🎵

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Diogenes. Rebel even in ancient Greece, and a founder of Cynicism. I think it would be great banter. 🏛️

What's your guilty pleasure when it comes to TV shows or movies?

🤷

And finally, what was the last Groupon you bought?
Spa day retreat. 💆‍♂️🌟