First: who else is invested? If there’s no significant outside investor, such as Sequoia Capital, Alumni Ventures, or a billionaire like Elon Musk, Bill Gates or Peter Thiel, we’re not interested. Investors like that lend credibility to the deal and to the valuation they paid. Second: is the valuation good? What matters most isn’t whether the company is fairly valued, but whether today’s price is lower than what you could buy it for after the IPO. Many accredited investors aren’t prepared to do that analysis alone and lean on Ticker Tape’s experience.
Third: what is the long-term value proposition? Is the business growing, serving a market that doesn’t exist yet, launching profitable products, or leading its category on revenue, profit or margins? A strategic advantage raises the odds of an IPO, since the company will need capital to build, and makes public investors likely to pay more.
Key points
- Who else is invested? Look for credible outside investors.
- Is today’s price lower than the likely post-IPO price?
- Does the business have a real long-term value proposition and strategic advantage?
- Strong businesses have more reason to go public and command higher prices.
Accredited investors: learn about current opportunities at tickertapeinvestments.com.
