3 ms·

Pretty bold to IPO with those kind of revenue #s these days... I guess the iron is hot though.

mbesto 5y ago
Not really. They've taken very little outside funding (mostly venture debt and a series A), and have been around for 10+ years. They'll likely get a better valuation from the public market than they would privately and the founders who have been waiting 10 years can take some money off of the table. Smart move IMO.
- ramesh31 5y ago
  >They'll likely get a better valuation from the public market than they would privately and the founders who have been waiting 10 years can take some money off of the table. This is really all there is to it. You don't actually have to build a business anymore to get rich. You just put together something that looks like one, pay yourself a handsome salary for 10 years, then cash out and retire to New Zealand. Sweet gig if you can get it.
  - mbesto 5y ago
    > Sweet gig if you can get it. Did you also start a business from the ground up and run it to the size that generates $50M in revenue? What exactly about Backblaze is a "sweet gig if you can get it"...achieving this is not trivial...
    - ramesh31 5y ago
      >..achieving this is not trivial... Of course it's not. You need to have gone to the right school, made the right friends, be the right ethnicity/gender (white or asian male), and have access to the right VC. But given all that, it's a cakewalk.
tux3 5y ago
Well, growth empirically beats all, won't it? What's even revenue to say in the face of growth.
- bpodgursky 5y ago
  3x% is kinda mediocre for a SaaS company at those revenue #s though.
kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
Car companies are going IPO without any product at all and no track record showing they can run a sustainable business.
- sam0x17 5y ago
  A lot of investors/backers in that industry though are backing it literally because they want one, not because they think it's a good investment per say.
- thinkloop 5y ago
  SPACs don't even have a business idea, and they trade above cash. They literally sell the potential of possibly getting into some sort of business one day.

Not really. They've taken very little outside funding (mostly venture debt and a series A), and have been around for 10+ years. They'll likely get a better valuation from the public market than they would privately and the founders who have been waiting 10 years can take some money off of the table. Smart move IMO.

ramesh31 5y ago
>They'll likely get a better valuation from the public market than they would privately and the founders who have been waiting 10 years can take some money off of the table. This is really all there is to it. You don't actually have to build a business anymore to get rich. You just put together something that looks like one, pay yourself a handsome salary for 10 years, then cash out and retire to New Zealand. Sweet gig if you can get it.
- mbesto 5y ago
  > Sweet gig if you can get it. Did you also start a business from the ground up and run it to the size that generates $50M in revenue? What exactly about Backblaze is a "sweet gig if you can get it"...achieving this is not trivial...
  - ramesh31 5y ago
    >..achieving this is not trivial... Of course it's not. You need to have gone to the right school, made the right friends, be the right ethnicity/gender (white or asian male), and have access to the right VC. But given all that, it's a cakewalk.

tux3 5y ago

Well, growth empirically beats all, won't it? What's even revenue to say in the face of growth.

bpodgursky 5y ago
3x% is kinda mediocre for a SaaS company at those revenue #s though.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago

Car companies are going IPO without any product at all and no track record showing they can run a sustainable business.

sam0x17 5y ago
A lot of investors/backers in that industry though are backing it literally because they want one, not because they think it's a good investment per say.
thinkloop 5y ago
SPACs don't even have a business idea, and they trade above cash. They literally sell the potential of possibly getting into some sort of business one day.