4 ms·
Most of todays internet tech companies don't have the shelf life of Microsoft. Many will be has-beens in 10 years time (or even 5!). So you want to take the cas
by spitfire 15y ago
Most of todays internet tech companies don't have the shelf life of Microsoft. Many will be has-beens in 10 years time (or even 5!). So you want to take the cash upfront.
- _delirium 15y ago(Disclaimer: Not a real survey.) Doing a spot-check of big tech IPOs in 2004 (first post-crash year with a significant number), there do seem to be pretty inconsistent outcomes. Big IPOs that year: Google, DreamWorks Animation, InPhonic, Shopping.com, SalesForce.com, Atheros, PortalPlayer, Shanda. Of those, Google, DreamWorks Animation, SalesForce.com, and Shanda continue to be successful. Shopping.com was acquired by eBay within a year at a modest premium over the IPO price (15%), and Atheros was acquired by Qualcomm after 7 years, for about 3x the IPO price (also around 15% annual return). PortalPlayer was acquired by Nvidia after 3 years for 20% below the IPO price (and 45% below the first-day closing price). InPhonic went bankrupt after 3 years.
- rmc 15y agoAnd most companies don't have a big IPO, let alone a big IPO and a long shelf life. Money up front.
- fleitz 15y agoMost of the companies back then didn't have that kind of shelf life either. Making an investment in an early stage company is inherently risky. If your goal is to get rich via investment opportunities I would not recommend trying to win the stock option lottery via the employee option pool as the best strategy to achieve that goal.