From a purely self-interested perspective as a public markets investor, it would be great if more companies went public because I would have more opportunities to generate great returns.
On the other hand, I empathize with the founders of high caliber companies, e.g. Stripe, SpaceX, ByteDance, preferring to avoid the hassles and compliance involved with going and staying public.
Today, there's plenty of money in the private markets wanting to invest in great businesses. Being a public company means that a tiny shareholder (literally just 9 shares) can derail the CEO's entire compensation plan (Tesla).
Great article, Charles! I 100% agree – in fact, the secondary market still has a lot of room to grow in Europe compared to the US. Exciting prospects ahead!
I hate that this is the new normal. I don't blame companies for not wanting to seek a public listing - over regulation dictates the incentives -, but I can't imagine this is long term net positive for the industry. I would ask what are the risks if no one is incented to seek a public listing? At some point this could come back to bite us in the ass.
Charles - what do you think the triggers are for the early stage funds to sell secondary to later stage vehicles? IPOs provide an easy decision point here, but the private markets don't allow that.
Wondering if we'll start seeing LP agreements that require a sale or distribution at certain hurdles.
From a purely self-interested perspective as a public markets investor, it would be great if more companies went public because I would have more opportunities to generate great returns.
On the other hand, I empathize with the founders of high caliber companies, e.g. Stripe, SpaceX, ByteDance, preferring to avoid the hassles and compliance involved with going and staying public.
Today, there's plenty of money in the private markets wanting to invest in great businesses. Being a public company means that a tiny shareholder (literally just 9 shares) can derail the CEO's entire compensation plan (Tesla).
Great article, Charles! I 100% agree – in fact, the secondary market still has a lot of room to grow in Europe compared to the US. Exciting prospects ahead!
I hate that this is the new normal. I don't blame companies for not wanting to seek a public listing - over regulation dictates the incentives -, but I can't imagine this is long term net positive for the industry. I would ask what are the risks if no one is incented to seek a public listing? At some point this could come back to bite us in the ass.
Charles - what do you think the triggers are for the early stage funds to sell secondary to later stage vehicles? IPOs provide an easy decision point here, but the private markets don't allow that.
Wondering if we'll start seeing LP agreements that require a sale or distribution at certain hurdles.