Zahid Lilani – Technology and Social Media

Some thoughts on Facebook S-1 Registration Statement

Posted on 23. Feb, 2012 by Zahid Lilani.

I crunch numbers for living and read the entire S-1 Registration Statement while lunching on the best biryani ever. I was looking for accounting gimmicks, similar to the one used by Groupon. Apart from the non-GAAP cash flow projection, Facebook didn’t invent bizzare terms to justify expenses or acquisition costs. likes 1.
Facebook’s choice of [...]

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When will Mark Zuckerberg buy a new shirt?

Posted on 02. Feb, 2012 by Zahid Lilani.

I have long awaited for this day. The day that kept the tech news reporters up all night and then disappointed them in the morning only to surprise them in the afternoon – Facebook IPO.
You see, I have had enough of Mark Zuckerberg in that grey shirt. I have a feeling, he might actually buy [...]

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SEC Takes Notice of Groupon’s Shady Accounting

Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by Zahid Lilani.

In my previous post, I pointed out that Groupon’s accounting doesn’t make sense and it is a gimmick to fool the average investor. Soon behold, SEC is now looking into Groupon’s accounting methods that raised eyebrows among investors and SEC itself.
Here is the problem in plain English.
Groupon’s gross profit accounts for the amount paid to [...]

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10 Reasons Why Groupon IPO is a Bad Deal

Posted on 13. Jun, 2011 by Zahid Lilani.

Gropon filed paperwork to go public (IPO) on June 2, 2011. That’s 24 hours after Google released ‘Offers’ service in Portland, Oregon. Most likely a coincidence but important to mention because it matters in terms of competition; just one of the reasons Groupon IPO is a bad deal.

Here are the 10 Reasons Why Groupon IPO [...]

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Bubble in Theory, Not Reality

Posted on 03. Jun, 2011 by Zahid Lilani.

I read a somewhat interesting post on Reuters about LinkedIn’s recent IPO. In theory, LinkedIn’s first day price fluctuation and the week following the IPO, depicted a bubble. Three academics, Robert Jarrow, Younes Kchia, and Philip Protter, have created a model which they say proves their theory.

The paper they authored is currently being peer [...]

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