HACKER Q&A
📣 equityloan

When will tech startups start to have IPOs again?


I own shares in a YC startup that was founded over 10 years ago. They have thousands of employees and are worth billions of dollars. I believe they’re at the right stage to have an IPO, but it sounds like they won’t be having one until the market is a bit better.

Are there any investors here who could provide some information and predictions? Do I probably have to wait 6 months, a year, 3 years, or even 5 more years?

They have raised a lot of money, so there must be a lot of pressure from investors who need them to have an exit. I heard that there are sometimes “10 year” clauses in investor agreements, which can force the company to have a liquidity event after 10 years. Is that true? How does this work during a downturn or a recession?


  👤 DarkwingDuckFan Accepted Answer ✓
This is hard to predict without more information about the company & the product. A IPO depends strong on the market and (maybe more important) the goal of the share holders. There are a lot of companies, huge enough for a IPO but don't do it. Even if the investor agreement is true, the current time is not the best. If the owner / major share holder don't want it, you have to wait until ... endless.