Management teams dream of ringing the stock exchange’s opening bell to announce their IPO. An IPO is the largest fundraising event a company will ever go through. But behind the picture perfect ending are years of hard work and preparation – from soliciting public company vendors, to preparing for the audit, to drafting the S-1.
Tom Keiser, Chief Operating Officer of Carta, who previously worked at Zendesk (ZEN), Gap (GPS) and L Brands (VSCO & BBWI), and Michael Harris, Global Head of Capital Markets for the New York Stock Exchange discuss what management teams need to think about as they consider taking their company public, including:
- Ways to IPO: traditional, direct listing, SPAC
- When to start preparing for an IPO
- What type of new vendors will a company need to engage when preparing for an IPO
- What can companies expecting an IPO do now?