Groupon The Insider

The strongest applicants have been

I'm sick of her. Make a decision.

But they're not all they seem.

a senior manager in the company

You put everyone else's ideas down.

much harder than I expected.'

'It was a real eye-opener.'

in particular showed real promise.'

This week, a group of job hopefuls will compete for a dream job

be pushed and shoved around.

We don't know what's going on.

But which one is the Insider?

That person has been watching this process even closer than I have.

Groupon, the world's biggest daily deal website, are looking

to test and create new deals.

you might get a new haircut,

perhaps a Michelin-starred restaurant

to a football match on Thursday and then maybe go away for the weekend.

The company offers huge discounts on everything from hot food

to hot wheels, so attracting applicants isn't a problem.

We're totally confident they're the perfect person to be our eyes

and ears on the ground and make sure that we get the right candidate.

the mystery Insider will put

The unsuspecting candidates are aware they'll be assessed 24/7

but they have no idea they're moving in with their potential boss.

Keeping it real is internet

When I was younger, like, you know,

really have a lot of money.

of me are wrong. Completely.

So, to prove people wrong is

and we are all proud of him.

'My proudest moment is achieving

you know, there's not going to be

no dilly-dallying around here, like, you know, the gloves are coming off.

turned fashion blogger Millie.

'I think people tend to think

'that I'm a bit of a bimbo,'

but I like to think that as soon as I open my mouth I don't...

critical, but in a good way

claims he is looking for a new job

and he wants to serve up his own brand of management style.

friendly guy who's ambitious and motivated to do well in life.

Tom is a very good people person.

He is also incredibly competitive.

as kids on the tennis court,

sort of steam train coming at you.

He doesn't want to fail at something

'I've got to a stage in my recent career that I think, actually,

'maybe change is good for me.'

Not likely to pull his punches is ex-charity fundraiser Matt.

'I'm really passionate about looking after myself, getting down the gym.

'I'm the kind of person that really likes to just try different things.

I enjoy most...is being exposed

different cultures, different people.

He's definitely got a kind of

set of ethics that he works to and that's what leads him, really,

rather than any sort of game playing or any kind of agenda.

'I'm not a big rule-breaker.'

I play by the rules but I definitely know what I can and can't do

within those rules and I will

Anum from south-east London.

hands dirty, but she'll always have her fancy nails on at the same time.

To the first day. To the first day.

For now, Anum's engaging in a bit

I was thinking what type of animal would you be and why?

I'd like to be a horse because they're a beautifully elegant animal

and also because it has a...

I've never been horse riding.

If I had to choose one that I'd want to be... Probably, like,

that have sex for pleasure?

I think I'd be a cat. They're kind

they like, you know, a nice home.

I don't like cats. They're just so... They're all over the place.

It's only night one and it looks

They all seem really nice people.

they're going to be competent

and you can't rule anyone out.

Also on the prowl is the Insider,

secretly feeding back their report to company director Richard.

though it has been a good first day,

'great people make great companies

is getting along really well

'but I can tell some of them

to see how things play out.

it for the sake of winning.'

What are you looking at there?

I'm kind of trying to understand

are just fantastic, you know.

I'm kind of like, I'm not really,'

you know, I'll get kind of used to the atmosphere and environment.

It's really exciting to interact with the team as a first time.

It was also good to see the fact

with each other, exchanging, you know, notes over the table, etc.

But I have to say, I was just that little bit nervous when I walked

over to the Insider and had to say, "How's it going?" etc, etc.

"Am I going to give this away?

'Constantly being watched.'

Having got their heads around how to present a deal, the Groupon

groupies are sent out to meet one of the company's important clients -

are going to include handling

Tomorrow, they'll all have to do a presentation to company top brass

the day out on the website.

It was just like that, over me, like.

there's an extra challenge.

Phil for the last two years.

of your customers would you

the boys start to enjoy themselves.

In fact, they seem to have forgotten

I was doing pretty well at that

If you ask me, the lads are

I think the Insider is doing very well indeed. Excellent, actually.

carry on with their sights set

She's twigged that the presentation

It's not all just about having fun.

It's about the fact that this is for a job and it's serious.

It's not just a fun day out.

and, at the end of the day,

before the rest of the group

start following Millie's lead.

people are moving around and

they're going up and asking people

"Oh, sidle over and listen to that."

Millie's initiative may have scored her some points with

the Insider, whoever it is.

last night's awkward moment

about what animals we were.

"I would be a horse because

And I was like, "That's a bit rude."

I make my mark on everything I do.

It reflects who I am and, in the end of the day, it's going to get me

You will see that I'm not the one

Tomorrow, they'll have to prove they know how to sell this day out

and the team are after some

What were you guys like at school?

I was a bit of a troublemaker.

It was only through sixth form I kind of grew up, you know,

I kind of ventured away from all them troublemakers and kind of

started making, you know, education and getting serious about it.

Um, I didn't really enjoy school.

they said, "Oh, there's..."

I'm quite opinionated. If I have something that I want to say,

And so, I'm not saying people don't like me, but I'm just saying that...

and sometimes I think people get a bit scared by it. Yeah.

Everybody's route to here has been different but kind of finding out

the experiences they've had, it's been really kind of insightful

and I feel like a lot closer

'I like to keep my motivation and I like to keep my focus'

and as much as everyone's nice here,

It's morning in the Big Smoke and it's a big day for the group

I don't think I'm nervous...

Leaving in 20 minute, buddy.

..they need to be able to present the birds of prey experience

in a creative, coherent way

'Hi, Richard. So, today was tough.

'A very definite step up in terms

'Intense pressure that comes with it.

'I'm not looking forward to delivering a below-par presentation

'but it's crucial to my cover on this task that I do not excel

'but also remain competitive.'

Selling deals is usually everyday

really fast for some reason.

get into the flow of things it just naturally sort of follows on.

A little bit rushed but as kind

have you got everything you need?

and I was still thinking about it

so I couldn't really get to sleep. I had, like, an hour's sleep.

but hopefully the content is good

the communications director,

Welcome back to the boardroom.

The sort of theme behind my idea is

for great British families.

and the history of falconry,

which I'm happy to say I knew very little about until yesterday.

It's called Adrenaline Rush.

Coming at it street style...

What I'm going to do is get the birds flying through, like, hoops.

They're going to be flying through hoops so there is food on one side

so there are going to be flying up and over the audience so

it's really visually pleasing, you know, it's really good to the eye.

this is the quads for quails.

I need you to all hold your nose.

So, I'm just going to give you a little pot of this stuff.

Lick your finger. You're going

What was the first taste you got

with your nose on, what was it you

You got chocolate. I got cinnamon.

It's just to give you a little

then you effectively don't get

the rest of the experience.

and you've got one tick each

and one cross each and you can stick it next to your favourite

non-graduate in the group, Millie,

experience was a daunting prospect, especially as, prior to the

experience, I can safely say I was not an avid bird lover.

wrestling with seagulls is enough

My experience of birds of prey

and there is just one person Richard wants to talk about.

I think they did a very good

I didn't really get a sense of what they did yesterday so, yeah,

Everyone has their competitive streak

that is leading at the moment. He's the one to watch out for, definitely.

in that his was the most interactive

the job hopefuls is a face-to-face

with company director Richard.

brief chance to break cover.

How are you finding things so far?

The whole opportunity is really

Yeah, good. The whole experience was a good one. I was quite nervous.

How are you coping with the fact that you're actually the Insider?

'I have been working at Groupon for just over two years now

'It has been brilliant for me

'and the opportunities that I've seen since I've been working here'

have been incredible and this

a local experiences manager is

thoughts are about the candidates.

For her to be a perfect fit

There's Tom. He's incredibly sharp.

He's worked in a lot of team

got experience where he needs to be operating as an individual.

really, really strong points.

She really wants the job and that's something that has stood out for me.

a degree of professionalism

as well that she needs to develop.

I really wanted to make sure you get to know the candidates

absolutely as you need to and make sure you come back here next week

and we have this conversation

hand on heart, that you know exactly who we should be hiring. Understood.

And we'll catch up next week. OK. All right. Cheers, Matt.

'Breaking cover and actually having a real conversation with Richard'

It felt like the first time I've relaxed properly, well,

since this whole thing began.

with Richard, Matt tells the group

he's going to the canteen for a drink and risks a visit to his team.

How's it going? How is it all

It's the weirdest time in my life.

It it's been so hard. I mean, everyone knows Matt and just walking

around the office, going to the

hello to him has been quite tough.

the other candidates are close by.

Sammy, see you next week. Oh, where

I miss you too. See you next week.

Are we allowed to put pictures up of you now? No. No, no, no.

It's all next week. Can I put my

I'm good. How are you? Good.

Back to earth with a crash, and Matt is back in character.

Oh, man. I've never heard anyone

from many different perspectives

and tonight I've had a chance to sort of see them in a social context,

which only gives me a more rounded basis to make my decision on.

And it looks like the girls have

to put any differences aside.

The morning after, it's all back to the grindstone and the workload

is about to swell in a big way as decision day gets ever closer.

It's like another world. Oh, man.

The candidates are being asked

Are we only allowed to use one or

We can use the whole venue.

and throw a themed event to be held

one ideas and I don't know...

it's all back to the office to bash

I started off with a kind of, like, a wonderful wonderland theme.

It has to be fun and I think, you know, the most important thing

that it's a fun experience.

the place. It's that hidden aspect.

dancing in the bigger room.

"You know, everyone has a part

"you know, all work together?"

I think everyone's going to

who's going to take a back seat

Matt leaves the group and sneaks to the toilet to update boss Richard.

With the others just metres

and says hello to some colleagues.

We've just been discussing some

creative side, which is great.

How are you finding things?

I'm really sort of enjoying getting this insight to people and getting

this unique opportunity to see them from a different perspective.

when I come close to letting my guard down so really, really staying

on top of that, keeping the pressure on myself but, no, it's going well.

We'll speak a bit later. Sound good.

He wants to find out just how ambitious Anum and Dan really are.

Being able to show my creativity

It's almost like, it sounds weird,

but I want to be moulded into that

For me, it will be a dream come true,

What about yourself, madam?

I think the company's growing

that is shooting up so high.

and at the same time, bonus, a job.

He said "I'm ready for that."

That's what I'm looking for. That's exactly what he needs

the company, which makes me realise

The group are one day closer

their new Groupon experience.

It's up to the girls to sweet-talk Callooh Callay bar owner Richard

into going with their theme.

In the office, project manager Tom is... well, managing the project.

newspapers, poster materials.

You know, I feel like I can draft these ideas together a little bit.

I'm trying to hold them together,

cos there's a load of different

There's loads of different ideas,

Good news? A lot of feedback.

DAN: Please tell us that it's good news. Yeah, it's good news.

They didn't like the Prohibition thing, we've got to change it.

ANUM: Yeah, they didn't like

TOM: Oh, you! Why, I oughta...

Do you need some acting roles,

We've got quite a lot to do.

We need to discuss with you what we

They said that may be weak.

to £5, and they were like, "Well, we need to make our money on that."

cocktails as we did initially.

She doesn't know it, but Anum has

Do you do the Charleston dance show?

Have you got dancers that do that?

ready and getting the music sorted,

But it's not as easy as he'd hoped.

Have we got any other options on the dancers? I've looked.

obviously, doing Maidstone.

It's quite important to get

see whether we can find anything.

It's just getting dancers to

Dan's totally lost his rhythm,

and it's finishing at 3:30.

MATT: Tom continues to be the natural leader of the group

of very hireable qualities.

After a long day of pretending to be someone else in front

of four people, why not add another five as Matt and the group

meet up with his work colleagues for a getting-to-know-you session.

Hello, Tom, nice to meet you.

have you done events before?

a lot of applying my strengths when I've had the opportunity.

Every event's a bit different,

work out where they might go. But nothing rocket science,

What's been your experience

We've basically not had too much interaction with the different

departments or anything like that...

not to know friend Emily, outside,

Tom is getting familiar with

Has Richard been keeping you

It makes we feel a whole lot better.

but you don't get any of that.

So, for me, that is brilliant news.

You deserved it. It was impressive.

Tom's happy, but sadly for him it's not this Matt he needs to impress,

the least relaxing experience I think I've ever encountered.

It felt like every eye was on me.

because they felt like having

a beer at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Dan's been brooding

I said I was going to contact

As I'm contacting one person, Tom decides to contact another agency.

I know it wasn't a malicious attack.

We're adults, we can handle this.

get on with the job in hand.

This is fantastic. Hi, guys.

It's basically Prohibition theme.

kind of... Exactly sums it up.

But we've got a story ebbing through

this bar that we're creating,

there's time for some reflection.

What have you two found difficult?

it's been a massive learning curve,

from my background in law to what I've done in the corporate world.

and for me to take a back step

"OK, I need to relax and chill

with kind of what I wanted to do,

just myself, really. My identity.

And this has kind of given me

Right now, because I've gotten such a buzz from this whole

experience, it's a case of thinking about my life, it was boring.

We're getting a taste of what it will be like to work for this

company, so it's almost like,

And imagine you don't get the job,

"I still want that success I want to be..." Now it's even worse.

You can't go back to your old life.

The group have spent the last three days planning for today's

# And we are ready, I'm ready

it could become a regular event

and Groupon's next hot deal.

the company crucial business.

we're something better... #

Matt will be watching them closely.

The pressure's definitely on.

Really want to really distinguish

The doors open to the crowds

and the muscle needs to be outside on the door, standing, looking shady and

the guests have been sent a password,

an eye on the time, then we've got Daniel setting off the police alarm.

It would be great if you could kind

she distributed that information.

This is not shepherding people

It's creating a cool atmosphere that people can get involved with.

We want you guys to be having fun

I think Tom chipped in really

But bosses Emma and Richard have arrived and think differently.

It's a great venue, there's a

and I'm really quite disappointed that we've covered it with posters

that I could have run up at home.

I just think they look shabby.

So, they've got to come down.

but, at the same time, they didn't really give it a chance, I think.

But if it doesn't go with the venue, it doesn't go with the venue.

She introverted a little bit

and wasn't particularly comfortable with that, which is understandable,

but we still only had half an hour before the actual event kicked off.

I guess we just need to get on

feedback, and just do what we can, really, to make things right.

should be all hands on deck,

because, in minutes, the speakeasy

So it's your last year in college?

Yeah, it's my last year. Second year.

Are we ready to go with the music?

that's what we're working up against.

It's now up to Insider Matt to help steer things in the right

direction without risking his cover.

Sure. So one person just needs to go, "Right, I'm in charge of this."

the point of contact at the start,

By all means come through me.

But if you lead on the staff in terms

when she was under a lot of pressure.

it's pulled together quite nicely.

They've listened to what we've asked

the guests into the back rooms

for whiskey tasting and food.

liaising with the actor there, doing his own thing a little bit.

There were about four people.

As I do that, Tom, the cocktail

I mean, Dan didn't contribute a lot to the event, unfortunately.

I think he had a couple of drinks, as part of the event. So that's a shame.

I think he let himself down

But has Dan's casual attitude

..we've got five minutes...

# I know it's hard to remember

# The people we used to be... #

Later at home, the job hopefuls

I've showcased my personality

and I think, you know, I think it's

For the past ten days, the group have undergone the most intensive

Nervousness will probably come when we're standing there going,

I haven't really felt this nervous

this has gone on, the more and more

and more I've wanted the job.

No, yeah, I'm actually pretty sad,

just the realisation that it's practically over is a bit sad.

It's the finale, so, you know,

for what their reaction might be

to the news that obviously I'm not exactly who they think I am.

and tell all about who he really is.

massive well done, honestly.

I think all the Groupon team,

That's why this is an incredibly

The person that's going to make that decision is somebody who

DAN: It's all right. It's all right.

TOM: It's all right. Don't worry.

and it's weird that there's been somewhere in there who's not

It's good, because obviously

You are the best person to make the decision and it's great,

and I don't feel ashamed of anything

So, Matt, it's over to you.

You know me as Matt Davids,

And I have had a 24/7 opportunity

to assess you as candidates.

I assure you, been through a very

I'd like to take some time to have a quick discussion with Richard

No, you shouldn't feel stupid, cos you've done the best you can.

You've done the best you can.

the right person to choose to

100%, I have confidence that he's going to pick the right person,

How you doing? I'm all right.

I'm OK, mate. I'm OK. Good.

Throughout this process, you have held yourself incredibly well.

I think you were an exceptionally

I thought you were incredibly

You presented me with my hardest

I really enjoyed your development

and I've only got one job to give.

Are you serious? I'm 100% serious.

I'm so happy, I'm so proud of myself.

And I've gone up against, you know,

they have that way of working and I've proven that you don't

determination and you need ambition.

because they've had the chance to pick someone who should be

that they were looking for.

'You haven't?' Yeah, I have!

And we found out, we found out that there was five of us, you know,

when we were living in the house,

one of the guys who was in the house,

one of the people I was closest to, he was actually an employee,

who was deciding who got the job.

'So, he was undercover and just staying close to everybody?' Yeah.

I can't ever envisage knowing

who I've hired, ever again.

Back there is where I sit. OK. That's where I work every day. Wow.

And that's my team over there,

I feel a huge sense of relief

and I can let my guard down and I can finally be me again.