The author's analogy to fried waffles reminded me of a real-world example from 10 years ago: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/business/23doughnut.html)

In the early 2000s I was living in Minnesota during the much-hyped arrival of Krispy Kreme. There were long lines at new stores and lots of doughnuts in the office every day. The hype prompted new franchises and an overabundance of doughnut shops, but unfortunately the demand dropped as the novelty wore off, and they ended up closing several stores and production facilities in the area.

Obviously Krispy Kreme weathered its over-expansion and is doing well today. I think the question for Groupon and Herbalife is if they have a business plan (and the financial reserves) to make the shift from exponential growth to more measured success.