THROUGHOUT COUNTLESS business community conversations, you’ll hear the same call to action:
“We need a big success; we need an IPO,” said Pete Khanna, CEO of TrackVia last year on a Rocky Mountain Tech Meetup panel.
Often initial public offerings are interpreted as symptoms of big things brewing and validation that the rest of the world is watching. Bold, buzz-worthy IPOs secure a spotlight and generous payday for the companies as well as the communities they’re stationed in. But it goes beyond that moment in time. It’s worth noting that public ownership comes at a cost, and the sparkle of the IPO can fade. Public companies spend great deals of time balancing the needs of long-term shareholders alongside the impulses of fast-money traders, and short sellers on the opposite end of the bet, eager to see the stock drop.
