All Aboard! Howard Schultz Jumps Groupon Train

As TechFlash reports, it's Howard Schultz's investment firm Maveron, not Starbucks, that is taking a closer walk with Groupon. Shultz is interested enough to invest, and prudent enough to join the board to watch where his money goes. His move create an interesting home-team dynamic:

Backed by Amazon.com, LivingSocial recently featured a daily discount from the Seattle online retailer in which consumers received a $20 gift card for $10. (Could we see a similar offering from Starbucks in the future?)

The news doesn't seem to have had any effect on SBUX shares. Forbes notes that, "Private companies typically add outsiders to their boards before going public." Schultz also sits on the board of Pinkberry.

In Internet time, Groupon was previously known for its colossal misjudgment on a series of Super Bowl ads and is subject to an ongoing backlash as participants discover, sometimes belatedly, that Groupon's economics work best first and foremost for Groupon.