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What does Slack need to raise capital for? They have their niche and are doing great in it, I don't get why they'd want to be publicly owned with all the headac
by eikenberry 8y ago
What does Slack need to raise capital for? They have their niche and are doing great in it, I don't get why they'd want to be publicly owned with all the headaches that brings. I don't get why a lot of companies do it when they could just as well bootstrap and stay private.
- saurik 8y agoLiquidity for people with stock options?
- wjossey 8y agoI don't know anything about their shareholder distribution at this point, so this is all conjecture. Since they took capital, the funds associated with their prior fundraising rounds ($1.2B total) likely have 10 year horizons. Investors are looking to recoup their investment during that window. Having the company stay private means that they either need to raise a new round to buy out their old investors, or they need to return sufficient profit over a short window (just a few years) that their investors are happy with the dividend. Not to mention, there are tons of advantages in having access to the public markets. It's definitely a headache and work, but it's not without its benefits.
- gowld 8y agoSometimes asset owners want to sell the asset and buy something else. There's not much point in investing if you never can take money off the table and spend it.
- maxerickson 8y agoThey already took VC money, going public follows from that, it isn't a decision the founders are really making for themselves.
- mooreds 8y agoHere is a VCs thought on going public, for what it is worth: https://avc.com/2016/11/going-public/ https://avc.com/2016/11/going-public/ My guess is * liquidity for employees and investors * access to even greater amounts of capital * access to capital that might not be as fickle as private investors
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- charlesdm 8y agoThey don't. The founders and VCs are exiting by selling their shares to your pension fund.