4 ms·

I think that the most fascinating fact about this upcoming IPO is that, to the best of my knowledge, GitLab is the first remote-only (i.e., no-headquarters) com

by ablekh 5y ago

I think that the most fascinating fact about this upcoming IPO is that, to the best of my knowledge, GitLab is the first remote-only (i.e., no-headquarters) company in the world filing for an IPO. In any case (meaning even if I'm wrong that they are the first), I wish them luck and welcome the competition. It's interesting to see that GitLab has adopted dual-class common stock structure, though I'm certainly not surprised. Some people and organizations (including some investment firms and stock exchanges) are not fans of multi-class equity structures, but I'm not sure that this fact would have any significant negative impact on GitLab's IPO. At least, these popular 10:1 or slightly less popular 20:1 voting schemes are not as aggressive as Palantir's three-class stock structure, where Class F (just three founders - out of five!) would hold practically 50% of the total voting power. One strange thing that I've noticed while browsing through this S-1 document, though, is the lack of mention of GitLab's co-founder (Dmitriy Zaporozhets) in the stockholders table (p. 148). I would expect him to hold about the same ownership of the Class B shares as the other co-founder Sytse Sijbrandij holds, but definitely more than 5%, which requires a disclosure there. I'm not sure how to interpret the absence of his name.

pietjepuk88 5y ago
> I think that the most fascinating fact about this upcoming IPO is that, to the best of my knowledge, GitLab is the first remote-only (i.e., no-headquarters) company in the world filing for an IPO. "Akshually" that was Coinbase [0]. Although maybe not, because they did a direct listing so not strictly an IPO. Matt Levine talks about both these points in his Feb 25th 2021 Money Stuff newsletter. [0] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021... "Address not applicable"
- ablekh 5y ago
  Good point. In that case, it's fair to consider both being the first remote-only/first public companies in respective categories (IPO and DL).
smartbit 5y ago
> is the lack of mention of GitLab's co-founder (Dmitriy Zaporozhets) in the stockholders table (p. 148) Indeed, interesting question. I’d expect that a S1 would clarify Dmitriy Zaporozhets position & role.
clra 5y ago
Well spotted. Based on this wording: > each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our Class A or Class B common stock; and It seems that Dmitriy owns less than 5%. As usual though, the wording in here is unnecessarily opaque and overcomplicated — it's possible there's some other technicality that allows him to be omitted from the list.
scient 5y ago
Not all co-founders are co-owners. He likely owns below 5% of shares.
- ablekh 5y ago
  I'm not sure why that would be the case here. Unless, for some reason(s), he has sold most of his share of the company to Sytse, I don't see why Dmitriy would own less stock than his co-founder. Especially considering that Dmitriy has started the relevant open source project prior to Sytse's involvement and then, after the company's formation, has actively participated in technical decision making and software development.

by ablekh 5y ago

pietjepuk88 5y ago

> I think that the most fascinating fact about this upcoming IPO is that, to the best of my knowledge, GitLab is the first remote-only (i.e., no-headquarters) company in the world filing for an IPO. "Akshually" that was Coinbase [0]. Although maybe not, because they did a direct listing so not strictly an IPO. Matt Levine talks about both these points in his Feb 25th 2021 Money Stuff newsletter. [0] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021... "Address not applicable"

ablekh 5y ago
Good point. In that case, it's fair to consider both being the first remote-only/first public companies in respective categories (IPO and DL).

smartbit 5y ago

> is the lack of mention of GitLab's co-founder (Dmitriy Zaporozhets) in the stockholders table (p. 148) Indeed, interesting question. I’d expect that a S1 would clarify Dmitriy Zaporozhets position & role.

clra 5y ago

Well spotted. Based on this wording: > each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our Class A or Class B common stock; and It seems that Dmitriy owns less than 5%. As usual though, the wording in here is unnecessarily opaque and overcomplicated — it's possible there's some other technicality that allows him to be omitted from the list.

scient 5y ago

Not all co-founders are co-owners. He likely owns below 5% of shares.

ablekh 5y ago
I'm not sure why that would be the case here. Unless, for some reason(s), he has sold most of his share of the company to Sytse, I don't see why Dmitriy would own less stock than his co-founder. Especially considering that Dmitriy has started the relevant open source project prior to Sytse's involvement and then, after the company's formation, has actively participated in technical decision making and software development.