The Horizons Tracker

MAY 2, 2022

“Our findings have important practical implications and highlight the need for better theories of the role of the founding team in entrepreneurship and venture financing.” ” Of course, such detachment from reality has been shown to have dire consequences, with famous cases such as WeWork and Theranos demonstrating the point.

Venture Capitalist 114

Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur IPO Finance 114

Innovation Excellence

MARCH 21, 2022

GUEST POST from Greg Satell I was working on Wall Street in 1995 when the Netscape IPO hit like a bombshell. It was the first big Internet stock and, although originally priced at $14 per share, it opened at double … Continue reading →

IPO 98

IPO Price Finance Products 98

Strategy Driven

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

As a consequence, public firms often have access to many different credit facilities and financing options that private companies do not enjoy. When it comes to fulfilling this end, the usual route to going public involves an initial public offering , also known as an IPO. But IPOs also come with some steep costs and excessive risks.

IPO 62

IPO Real Estate Cost Company 62

Decker Communication

NOVEMBER 21, 2019

It means being an excellent communicator in every facet of business life, from short rides on the elevator to IPO roadshows, from team meetings to industry events, and everything in between. Every communication experience is an opportunity to influence. .

Decentralization 81

Decentralization Blanchard IPO Call Center 81

The Horizons Tracker

DECEMBER 19, 2019

The data showed that trademarks often helped obtain better terms when raising finance, and were generally a good predictor of future success, both as a private firm and later on when they go public.

IPO 40

IPO Venture Capitalist Finance Advertising 40

Strategy Driven

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

It can involve investors, the public in the form of an IPO, or even, family members that are backing you. Well, it is, and it isn’t. Many people believe that entrepreneurism is all about private ventures, that don’t necessarily involve a bank. But why not a bank?

Banking 85

Banking IPO System Entrepreneur 85

Harvard Business Review

MAY 15, 2012

And despite all of Facebook's user support, investors should be skeptical of the company's pricey IPO. There is a lot of emotion behind the Facebook IPO. Whether Facebook IPOs for 80B or 100B, the venture funds that invested prior to 2011 will have plenty of capital to return to their limited partners. Facebook is not Groupon.

IPO 19

IPO Advertising IRR Venture Funding 19

Innovation Excellence

MAY 13, 2020

Former unicorns like Uber, Lyft, and Peloton have seen their value crash, while WeWork saw its IPO self-destruct. Unlike back east, where businesses depended on stodgy banks for finance, on the west coast venture capitalists, many of whom were former engineers themselves, would decide which technology companies got funded.

Software 57

Software Venture Capitalist Real Estate Technology 57

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 26, 2011

A star example is Google, which raised a mere $40 million in private funding before its IPO at a $23 billion valuation. While there has not been a defining exit in clean energy akin to the "Netscape moment" for the internet, there have been numerous recent IPOs in the biofuels sector.

Energy 14

Energy Finance IPO Biotechnology 14

Harvard Business Review

MAY 17, 2012

I had a front row seat to one of the most successful IPO's of the dot-com boom. On day one, because we did not yet have a general counsel, the company told me — the only ex-lawyer then on staff — to manage the IPO. So what actually happens inside a company on IPO day? The screen flickered. We cheered! Just like that.

IPO 15

IPO Lewin CTO Conference 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 28, 2014

Lending Club, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer lending start-up, filed for an IPO yesterday, hoping to raise half a billion dollars at a $5 billion valuation. Finance Small/medium business Technology' But as of earlier this year, the company has expanded into the world of commercial loans , specifically for small businesses.

IPO 9

IPO Due Diligence Credit Scoring Banking 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 16, 2011

Finally, reaching profitability quickly ensures that when outside financing dries up, the venture can succeed on its own. Now, the venture capital markets cannot supply more capital and the company must depend on the IPO market to finance its money-losing operations.

Christensen 22

Christensen Fixed Costs Metrics Business Model 22

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 27, 2018

The number of listed firms can decline because of three developments: 1) bankruptcy, failure, or closure of listed firms, 2) delisting of firms going private or acquired, and 3) decrease in number of initial public offerings (IPOs). Chief finance officers increasingly question the ability of a day trader to value a digital company.

IPO 14

IPO Company First-mover Advantage Intangible Assets 14

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

The forthcoming Facebook IPO gives us lots to talk about. The first order explanation is that the founding CEO didn't have the wealth to keep the revenue stream and so had to sell the claim to finance the company's expansion: they gave up a large share of the claim on revenue but kept control. So why IPO?

IPO 17

IPO Incentives Entrepreneur Business Model 17

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 1, 2011

Microfinance has come under fire in the past 18 months, triggered in part by SKS Microfinance's IPO. The IPO, the new regulations, and a call for Dr. Yunus's retirement from Grameen Bank have led some to doubt the whole notion of microfinance. When you deny access to education, finance, housing, and health care, the poor remain poor.

Microfinance 15

Microfinance IPO Bottom-up Finance 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 9, 2011

The trio (respectively, a finance professor at Cornell, an applied-math Ph.D This is the kind of thing that can drive people outside of quantitative finance a little crazy ; there's no reference to company fundamentals, just "sophisticated volatility estimation techniques combined with the method of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces."

Company 15

Company Finance Price IPO 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Between now and the IPO, every bit of information about the company’s finances and other metrics will be closely scrutinized. Research shows that firms’ management teams influence the success of their IPOs. Finance Tech industry' But one key variable is missing from that list: people.

IPO 9

IPO Execution Incentives Finance 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 7, 2017

As Pete Ramstad and I note in Beyond HR , leaders often have far better developed frameworks for the value proposition of the finance function than for HR. Uber apparently lacked oversight about sexual harassment behavior; it seems far less likely that such oversight would be lacking when it comes to finance.

Compliance 16

Compliance Hedge Human Capital Finance 16

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

also has a vibrant IPO system to take companies public. That's why most investments in Africa are in mature industries like oil & gas, real estate, and finance, among others. It's something that U.S. tech entrepreneurs may not need to be overly concerned about, since the tech ecosystem in the U.S. and run it from your own country.

Entrepreneur 16

Entrepreneur Exit Strategy Development Real Estate 16

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

After all, isn’t the customer’s voice relevant if you are going to finance a plumber or restaurant? In August, OnDeck announced an IPO valued at $1.5 Others have even gone as far as to use data from social media sites like Yelp in their predictive formulas.

Credit Scoring 14

Credit Scoring Banking Dunning Metrics 14

Harvard Business Review

MAY 16, 2016

is generating plenty of high-potential startups, they argued, yet there is a problem: These companies don’t seem to be scaling or reaching an exit, such as an IPO or an acquisition. In theory, more financing should mean better terms for startups, though it’s not clear that that’s how it always works in practice.

Venture Funding 13

Venture Funding Finance IPO Constraint 13

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2012

When Google introduced a controversial dual-class share structure at the time of its IPO in 2004, I had reservations (as you would expect of someone whose specialty is corporate governance). But the founders' passionate advocacy of the need to follow a "long-term, innovative approach" resonated with me. Take Brazil.

Planning 14

Planning IPO Proposal Long-term 14

Harvard Business Review

JULY 24, 2017

So four years ago, when I was CEO of GE Capital Retail Finance and tapped to lead a mega change initiative — splitting off our unit into a new, publicly traded company, Synchrony Financial — I’ll admit I viewed it as a huge challenge. ” This ended up being the “true north” our employees rallied around.

Management 15

Management IPO Diversity Long-term 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 18, 2012

I see people building personal finance software who have never heard of Ramit Sethi's extremely effective six-week personal finance program described in his New York Times best-selling book. And this has implications for the whole ecosystem because, "then everyone loses. No 20,000 tech jobs.

Venture Capitalist 21

Venture Capitalist Software Entrepreneur Engineering 21

Harvard Business Review

JULY 18, 2012

I see people building personal finance software who have never heard of Ramit Sethi's extremely effective six-week personal finance program described in his New York Times best-selling book. And this has implications for the whole ecosystem because, "then everyone loses. No 20,000 tech jobs.

Venture Capitalist 21

Venture Capitalist Software Entrepreneur Engineering 21

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 15, 2012

That may just be because some of the partnership ethos lived on nine years after the IPO, meaning that the firm is unlikely to do so well in the next financial crisis. Then the combination of bigger paychecks and higher college and grad school tuition began driving the best students into finance.

Hedge 17

Hedge Long-term Banking Short-term 17

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2014

Booming public equities and a recovered IPO market generated record portfolio company exits and distributions from VC funds. Finance Venture capital' 2013 had all the signs of being a comeback year for venture capital. The industry realized its highest returns since the Internet boom.

Venture Capitalist 22

Venture Capitalist Asset Management Rate of Return Industry 22

Harvard Business Review

JULY 19, 2016

In venture capital-financed, high-growth technology startups, only 9% of entrepreneurs are women. Of course, VC-financed tech startups are different from the general workforce. They suggest that’s why female entrepreneurs have trouble securing financing from venture capitalists. That’s really low.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Finance Succession Entrepreneur 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 21, 2014

If the finance person frets about keeping expenses under control, discuss expense numbers,” says Sheen. “If Mason decided to pitch a total rebranding — a new logo, new tagline, and new copy and photography for ads and communications — to the new executive team brought in to prep the company for an IPO. Address your audience’s concerns.

IPO 13

IPO Audience Chief Information Officer Case Study 13

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 3, 2018

Firms with growth opportunities as well as the need for external equity financing often convert to dual-class shares. This clause automatically converts a superior voting share to a low-vote class at a fixed time after IPO. Other studies, however, show that dual-class structure might be optimal in certain scenarios. stock exchanges.

Class 14

Class Maturity IPO Short-term 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2012

Individual investors should be disabused of the notion that investing in IPOs like Groupon's is a safe and responsible path to financial security. This did come at a significant cost in legal and accounting fees that weigh heaviest on smaller companies trying to go public — offering some backup for the JOBS Act.

IPO 13

IPO Conflict of Interest Information Marketing 13

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Many small businesses don’t require the sort of financing required by firms in pursuit of s-curve growth. For founders thinking about launching companies outside of New York, Massachusetts, or California, that means your odds of pre-IPO success are automatically lower before you’ve even started. It takes longer to raise money.

IPO 13

IPO Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Competitive Advantage 13

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 24, 2017

Rather than tying up vast amounts of funds in a unicorn startup and waiting for the long play — an IPO or an acquisition — investors can see gains more quickly, and can pull profits out more easily, via ICOs. ICOs are the Wild West of financing — they sit in a grey zone where the U.S.

Venture Capitalist 15

Venture Capitalist Due Diligence Finance Long-term 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 9, 2014

It is incredibly hard to hold an IPO. Entrepreneurship Finance' For as long as it has been an industry, these have been the only two ways for a venture capital-backed company to succeed. There has to be a better way. And the “exit,” at least in its current incarnation, is the best place to start brainstorming solutions.

Entrepreneur 11

Entrepreneur Venture Capitalist Mezzanine Short-term 11

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 6, 2014

content (news, finance, weather) into two Chinese languages, and directory access to 20,000 web sites, an approach that the company had adopted elsewhere. On the finance and deal side, we also felt a strong kinship with Tsai. Only legal, finance, and human resources still reported back to headquarters.

Chief Financial Officer 14

Chief Financial Officer Learning-by-Doing Operations IPO 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 30, 2018

Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, the ride-sharing giant, proudly declared on September 10 that “very few brands become verbs” The same week Upwork, a platform for hiring freelancers, filed for an IPO, as did Fiverr , which boasts that it offers a “freelance services marketplace for the lean entrepreneur.”

Quinn 14

Quinn Entrepreneur IPO Survey 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 10, 2013

So Puerto Rican entrepreneurs hire consultants to badger government procurement to pay up, and in parallel they jack up their prices to finance the long receivables cycle. For example, it is nearly impossible for scaling ventures in many countries, including Brazil and Denmark, to count on an IPO for a successful exit.

Entrepreneur 10

Entrepreneur IPO Incentives Venture Capitalist 10