We’re all (and only) pre-IPO companies now
July 1st, 2008 by Benjamin KuoI’ve been rather amused to read a number of job posts today from startup companies that describe themselves as “pre-IPO” in trying to attract employees. Given the news today that there were no IPOs in Q2 of this year, it appears that in reality most of the technology startup world is in a permanent “pre-IPO” condition.
Once upon a time, in the world of technology startups, “pre-IPO” meant that your company was planning to go IPO–soon–as your exit strategy. For awhile–during the bubble–that meant you were ready to file, most likely to have an IPO in the next 6-9 months, and basically you were luring the idea of pre-IPO stock to try to grab those employees.
Now, with such a dismal exit environment, I suspect you’re going to have to wait more than a few months (years?) for the “Pre-IPO” company to actually turn into an IPO, if it ever does.
