Groupon is growing extremely fast

From an op-ed arguing that Groupon was smart to turn down a $6 billion buyout offer from Google:

Here's a snapshot of the company's growth: Groupon says it currently has 40 million subscribers to its daily coupon e-mails, up from 1.5 million a year ago. It is offering deals in more than 300 markets in 35 countries, up from just 28 U.S. markets last year.

And Groupon says it has saved its customers more than $800 million so far this year, up from about $50 million last year.

For consumers, that means spending less cash -- always a nice thing in tough economic times. And for local businesses, that means bringing new customers in the door, which makes them happy, too. That's why so many restaurants, stores, and service providers are rushing to get their deals on Groupon that the company has had to change its business model to keep up -- no longer just "one deal per day, per city," but several potential deals, customized for the user.

As for the company itself, Groupon has more than 3,000 employees -- up from about 125 last year -- including about 1,000 in its wacky Chicago headquarters. (Don't miss our photo tour -- it's truly wild.)