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I don’t envy Stripe’s position. I said as much on Twitter a few weeks ago. They put off IPO (for some reason), carried a huge internal private valuation, and h

I don’t envy Stripe’s position. I said as much on Twitter a few weeks ago. They put off IPO (for some reason), carried a huge internal private valuation, and have 1000s of employees sitting on paper RSUs waiting that IPO. Now it’s going to be either impossible to do or, if they force it, will be at a significant reduction of their private valuation.

mupuff1234 4y ago
If they believe in their valuation why shouldn't they just IPO? Is it really gonna matter if they IPO at 100B or just 60b? And if they are in fact a 100B company then supposedly at some point the public market should price them "correctly".
- texasbigdata 4y ago
  Right. Exactly. Especially as, very likely, a person choosing to work there likely believes in the business to some extent. The counter argument would be: “the moment these get liquid I’m selling, then quitting to pursue XYZ thing” in which case the potentially lost half decade of time is a big non financial cost.
- rco8786 4y ago
  > Is it really gonna matter if they IPO at 100B or just 60b? Let’s ask all the employees who have been told they have $1mm in stock only to find out they in fact have $600k, etc.
  - mupuff1234 4y ago
    But usually there's a lock-up period anyway. If the public market decides it's worth 60b the IPO price might not matter. But also, as an employee, wouldn't you rather have 600k in a public company than 1m in a promise that may or may not substantiate? And if you do believe that it's a 100b company you can just hold.
    - rco8786 4y ago
      > If the public market decides it's worth 60b the IPO price might not matter. Absolutely, same situation, same unhappy people. This story has played out dozens of times and is well documented.
  - nly 4y ago
    Cry me a river
    - rco8786 4y ago
      Losing $400k is a big deal to most people.
      - nly 4y ago
        Having $600K would be life changing for most people. And they never really had it to begin with.
        rco8786 4y ago
        yes, of course. And being told you have $1mm and then later finding out you only have $600k is frustrating and problematic. You can say they should just be happy to have anything at all, and maybe you're right, but basic human psychology doesn't care about what's "right".

mupuff1234 4y ago

If they believe in their valuation why shouldn't they just IPO? Is it really gonna matter if they IPO at 100B or just 60b? And if they are in fact a 100B company then supposedly at some point the public market should price them "correctly".

texasbigdata 4y ago
Right. Exactly. Especially as, very likely, a person choosing to work there likely believes in the business to some extent. The counter argument would be: “the moment these get liquid I’m selling, then quitting to pursue XYZ thing” in which case the potentially lost half decade of time is a big non financial cost.
rco8786 4y ago
> Is it really gonna matter if they IPO at 100B or just 60b? Let’s ask all the employees who have been told they have $1mm in stock only to find out they in fact have $600k, etc.
- mupuff1234 4y ago
  But usually there's a lock-up period anyway. If the public market decides it's worth 60b the IPO price might not matter. But also, as an employee, wouldn't you rather have 600k in a public company than 1m in a promise that may or may not substantiate? And if you do believe that it's a 100b company you can just hold.
  - rco8786 4y ago
    > If the public market decides it's worth 60b the IPO price might not matter. Absolutely, same situation, same unhappy people. This story has played out dozens of times and is well documented.
- nly 4y ago
  Cry me a river
  - rco8786 4y ago
    Losing $400k is a big deal to most people.
    - nly 4y ago
      Having $600K would be life changing for most people. And they never really had it to begin with.
      - rco8786 4y ago
        yes, of course. And being told you have $1mm and then later finding out you only have $600k is frustrating and problematic. You can say they should just be happy to have anything at all, and maybe you're right, but basic human psychology doesn't care about what's "right".