3. Watch out for "wedding planners." IPO are expensive and as such, they tend to attract "service providers" encouraging you to purchase the "royal package" at every turn. The argument, just as with a wedding, is that you only do this once, and therefore; expense should be of little concern. There are two problems with this logic. First, companies about to be public should not be carelessly wasting money. Second, the "royal" package takes more time and slows things down, and will inherently contribute to extending the pricing-filing window.
4. Pick experienced professionals in every slot. There are many constituencies that are involved in your IPO process – auditors, valuation firms, compensation firms, external counsel, underwriter's counsel, bankers, analysts, even these whacky constituents known as "printers." You want professionals who know how to get things done, which is very different from the "wedding planners." Think Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf from Pulp Fiction. "I solve problems." Facilitation is key.
5. Intentionally target a smaller offering. Many investment banks will encourage larger offerings (see point 3). While this serves them well, it may be at odds with maximizing the probability of a successful pricing. Less supply means less demand is required to pull off a successful offering. A smaller offering also will make all shareholders less sensitive to dilution and therefore pricing. Once again, do not file if you do not plan to price, and this includes all prices in the planned offering range.
6. Don't disrespect the precious nature of an open window. The four companies above were on file during a very strong IPO window, and as a result had seemingly error-free processes. Being prepared to go when things are good means avoiding the situation where you file, and the global market melts down in your face. If (1) your company has the numbers to be public, (2) your company is ready and prepared to be public, and (3) the IPO market is healthy and the window is clearly open and you still chose to wait to go public than you are accepting the timing risk of the future. To quote Geddy Lee of Rush, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." Growth can slow, markets can turn, new competitors can show up. Going public too early clearly has risks – but so does waiting too long and missing your opportunity.
IPO markets will always have "pulled" and "delayed" IPOs. This is simply the nature of the beast. An open IPO window attracts two types of companies – those that should go public, and those that "need" to go public for capital reasons. Portions of the "need" group will always fail to find supporters, and therefore you should not view delays and withdrawals as signs of a weak IPO market. That said, certain delays can and should be avoided. If you are stepping up to the plate for an IPO, be ready, be prepared, and be committed to seeing it through. Don't submit an S-1 if you don't plan to price. Waiting on file for extended periods of time can be catastrophic.
Bill Gurley is a general partner with venture firm Benchmark Capital. He blogs at Above The Crowd.
