4 ms·

That's actually a very interesting point. I know Mark Zuckerberg owned a really big chunk (~30%) of FB when they IPO'd. Anyone with insight know if the norm is

by Oculus 13y ago

That's actually a very interesting point. I know Mark Zuckerberg owned a really big chunk (~30%) of FB when they IPO'd. Anyone with insight know if the norm is closer to Zuckerberg or Levie?

avree 13y ago
It's closer to Levie. It's very rare for founders to be able to maintain strong control of their company through multiple funding rounds.
- _delirium 13y ago
  It's not too common, but larger amounts aren't unprecedented: two big ones that had even larger ownership were Microsoft (Gates still held 49% of Microsoft at the time of IPO) and Amazon (Bezos & family held 52%, with Bezos himself holding 42%). The Google founders also owned a combined 32% (16% each). Those companies were rather more successful than Box, though.
  - mckee1 13y ago
    I think that's generally the rule. The more successful the startup, the larger the stake the founder maintains due to being in a better position in regards to VC rounds.
  - oijaf888 13y ago
    Had Microsoft raised much funding before the IPO?
    - Tloewald 13y ago
      Microsoft had so much cash lying around they were using t-bills (or some other kind of bond) as bookmarks (don't remember which Gates bio I read that in -- Hard Drive maybe). When Microsoft IPOed it was basically owned by its founders. It never wanted for cash.
    - tanzam75 13y ago
      The only VC with an investment in Microsoft was David Marquardt's Technology Venture Investors. At the IPO, TVI owned 6.1% of Microsoft. The remaining 93.9% belonged to the founders, the Board, the employees, and friends and family. Everyone listed on the S-1, with one exception, took a bit off the top but held on to most of their shares. The one exception was Bill Gates's sister's trust fund, which owned 20,000 shares -- 0.1% of the company. She could've been a hundred-millionaire if she'd held on to it, but her trustee sold it for $400,000 and moved on.
001sky 13y ago
Zuck is a huge outlier. FB had a $15b valuation by 2009. People were throwing money at him, so he took very little dilution. Also, his control provisions are way more favorable.
- Oculus 13y ago
  Yes, I remember that though his ownership might be ~30%, his voting counts for >50%.
btrautsc 13y ago
Box comes from a very different situation from the astronomic growth and beast that was pre-IPO FB. Realize they've raised at least $414M that has been reported. At many of those rounds it was likely possible for founders/ early employees to cash out options. FB/ Mark had enormous leverage because it was an unstoppable growth machine. Box is a great company, but still has to battle to grow sales into revenue/ profits, as is evidenced by the S-1. (http://www.crunchbase.com/company/box http://www.crunchbase.com/company/box)

by Oculus 13y ago

That's actually a very interesting point. I know Mark Zuckerberg owned a really big chunk (~30%) of FB when they IPO'd. Anyone with insight know if the norm is closer to Zuckerberg or Levie?

avree 13y ago

It's closer to Levie. It's very rare for founders to be able to maintain strong control of their company through multiple funding rounds.

_delirium 13y ago
It's not too common, but larger amounts aren't unprecedented: two big ones that had even larger ownership were Microsoft (Gates still held 49% of Microsoft at the time of IPO) and Amazon (Bezos & family held 52%, with Bezos himself holding 42%). The Google founders also owned a combined 32% (16% each). Those companies were rather more successful than Box, though.
- mckee1 13y ago
  I think that's generally the rule. The more successful the startup, the larger the stake the founder maintains due to being in a better position in regards to VC rounds.
- oijaf888 13y ago
  Had Microsoft raised much funding before the IPO?
  - Tloewald 13y ago
    Microsoft had so much cash lying around they were using t-bills (or some other kind of bond) as bookmarks (don't remember which Gates bio I read that in -- Hard Drive maybe). When Microsoft IPOed it was basically owned by its founders. It never wanted for cash.
  - tanzam75 13y ago
    The only VC with an investment in Microsoft was David Marquardt's Technology Venture Investors. At the IPO, TVI owned 6.1% of Microsoft. The remaining 93.9% belonged to the founders, the Board, the employees, and friends and family. Everyone listed on the S-1, with one exception, took a bit off the top but held on to most of their shares. The one exception was Bill Gates's sister's trust fund, which owned 20,000 shares -- 0.1% of the company. She could've been a hundred-millionaire if she'd held on to it, but her trustee sold it for $400,000 and moved on.

001sky 13y ago

Zuck is a huge outlier. FB had a $15b valuation by 2009. People were throwing money at him, so he took very little dilution. Also, his control provisions are way more favorable.

Oculus 13y ago
Yes, I remember that though his ownership might be ~30%, his voting counts for >50%.

btrautsc 13y ago

Box comes from a very different situation from the astronomic growth and beast that was pre-IPO FB. Realize they've raised at least $414M that has been reported. At many of those rounds it was likely possible for founders/ early employees to cash out options. FB/ Mark had enormous leverage because it was an unstoppable growth machine. Box is a great company, but still has to battle to grow sales into revenue/ profits, as is evidenced by the S-1. (http://www.crunchbase.com/company/box http://www.crunchbase.com/company/box)