In the short six month period between rejecting the Google offer and going public, Groupon’s incredible growth continued... But since its IPO, everything has changed. After it began to submit its financials to public scrutiny, Groupon was forced by the SEC to change its accounting methods, and things have not been so rosy. Even with a new CEO, can Groupon be turned around?

As Andrew Mason recently wrote in a blog post explaining his departure. "I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves."

Eric Lefkofsky declined to comment for this article. But we were able to reach his co-CEO, Ted Leonsis, a veteran AOL executive and Groupon board member who is taking over as temporary co-CEO, along with Lefkofsky, until a suitable replacement is found. "There is a ton of negative sentiment in the press about this company, and I think people don’t separate the signal from the noise," Leonsis told The Verge, "We have $1.2 billion in the bank. We have basically zero debt. And this last quarter, we had an operating profit. Yes, with one-time write downs, there was a loss. But the fundamentals of this business are sound."

Groupon is in the process of trying to transform from a growth company with a narrow focus on daily deals into a mature firm with a multi-faceted business. It has moved heavily into full priced e-commerce with Groupon Goods, putting it into competition with the likes of Amazon. And it’s investing heavily in technology like mobile payments and yield optimization algorithms at its R&D lab in Palo Alto. At the same time, however, companies like Google and Square are pushing into Groupon’s turf, working to capture the elusive crown as the "operating system" for small business, giving merchants ways to connect with local and repeat customers by offering deals through mobile apps.

"The fundamentals of this business are sound."

The stature of the new CEO will say a lot about the true health of the business. "If they can attract a real blue chip name, it will be a sign to Wall Street that there is still a lot of potential here," says Groupon chronicler Frank Sennett. "But whoever that person is, they better be prepared to work with Eric looking over their shoulder."

Lefkofsky has long remained in the background at Groupon, at least on paper. "He didn’t want any responsibility or accountability, at least not technically. But every single little decision had to be run by him," said a source who worked at the Chicago office. This was true for North America, although clearly less so overseas. "Whether that was an acquisition or a marketing campaign, he had a say. He would parachute in and be the CFO for a day, or the head of Corporate Development. He’s completely neurotic about every detail of the business."

The new CEO will have to work in Chicago, and sources say it will be tough to get a heavy hitter to move to Lefkofsky’s seat of power, far from the typical centers of tech and finance. They will have a massive clean-up job in Europe and beyond to deal with. To this day, present and former employees say, Groupon’s North American technology platform is still not deployed in much of Europe, Asia, and Latin America. And they will have to agree to run a company knowing that Lefkofsky still controls the largest stake and, along with his allies on the board, a clear majority of the voting shares.

Right now Lefkofsky has moved his desk onto the floor at Groupon’s Chicago office and is holding a series of all-hands meetings as he tries to whip the business back into shape. Why doesn’t he simply take over as CEO? "To Eric, that is a job, and he doesn’t work a job. In his mind, he is a visionary who manages CEOs," said a source who worked closely with Lefkofsky. Through his investment arm, Lightbank, Lefkofsky has funded a score of startups over the past few years. "As soon as one of those takes off, his focus will be there. There is nothing he relishes more than going on the roller coaster ride."