Local entrepreneurs gathered Wednesday night for the Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum, “Startup to IPO and Beyond: Can 805’s Winning Streak Last?” Moderated by Tenor founder Matthew Stotts, the distinguished panel featured a keynote speech by Lise Buyer, founder of IPO advising company Class V Group. Three industry experts — AppFolio CFO Ida Kane, Rincon Venture Partners co-founder Jim Andelman, and Inogen CFO and co-founder Alison Bauerlein — also spoke.
The event served as a special opportunity for audience members to learn from the speakers’ experiences and expertise in the world of venture capital investing. More importantly, the speakers discussed how to make the jump from functioning as a private business to being a successful IPO (initial public offering).
An initial public offering is the first sale of stock by a company to the public. A company can raise money by issuing either debt or equity, and if the company has never issued equity to the public, it's known as an IPO. In order to “go public,” a company must meet market requirements to determine legitimacy and strength as a business.