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I think for anyone who has been intimately involved with this last generation of "unicorns", it really does not look like an "exit" if that means bankruptcy, en
by agentcoops 2y ago
I think for anyone who has been intimately involved with this last generation of "unicorns", it really does not look like an "exit" if that means bankruptcy, end of the company, betrayal of goals, or what have you: for a high-growth startup of approximately ten years, finding liquidity for employees is perhaps counter-intuitively a sign of deep maturity and that the company is concerned for the long haul (and that investors/the market believe this is likely).
At about the ten year mark, there has to be a changing of the guards from the foot soldiers who give their all that an unlikely institution could come to exist in the world at scale to people concerned more with stabilizing that institution and ensuring its continuity. In almost every company that has reached such scale in the last decade, this has often meant a transition from an executive team formed of early employees to a more senior C-team from elsewhere with a different skillset. In a world context where the largest companies are more likely to stay private than IPO, it's a profoundly important move to allow some liquidity for longterm employees, who otherwise might be forced to stay working at the company long past physical burnout.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago> In a world context where the largest companies are more likely to stay private than IPO Which world is this?
- financetechbro 2y agoAgreed. OP is crossing some wires. More companies are staying private right now (not by choice). Not necessarily or only the “largest companies”
- dash2 2y agoFrom a Scottish Mortgage report: "companies are staying private for longer and until higher valuations". Amazon founded in 1994 1997 listed at $400m Google founded in 1998 2004 listed at $23bn Spotify founded in 2006 2018 listed at $27bn Airbnb founded in 2008 2020 listed at $47bn Epic games founded in 1991 2022 unlisted value $32bn Space Exploration founded in 2002 2022 unlisted value $125bn ByteDance founded in 2012 2022 unlisted value $360bn
- lotsofpulp 2y agoThe only unlisted business there that could be considered among “the largest” is ByteDance. But they have a whole China thing going on, so not very representative of US/European markets. I doubt any competitor to the largest businesses in US//Europe that is actually putting up good audited numbers is staying private. Even Stripe has been trying to go public, but it doesn’t have the numbers for the owners to want to yet.
- manquer 2y agoSpaceX hasn’t tried to go public , arguably being private has helped them ability to raise a lot of money from investors is key to their successes. Their kind of product development [1] needs a long term thinking which public markets will not not support well [1] ignore all the mars noise, just consider reusable i.e. cheap rockets and starlink
- agentcoops 2y agoIt’s never just about the company’s numbers, but the financial environment. When interest rates come down enough to tempt investors out of the money market, you’re likely to see a new wave of IPOs.
- throwup238 2y agoAgreed. These liquidity events are a way to retain and reward early employees while allowing the founders to recover their personal finances and buckle down for the growth phase.