Got an IPO on the Horizon? Don’t Miss This Event for Directors

The road to an IPO is an exciting one—but it’s also quite complex. While 2016 was a seven-year-low water mark for the IPO market, analysts expect a rebound this year, according to Renaissance Capital.

In its “2016 Annual Review” report, Renaissance Capital goes on to say:

The private companies that eschewed IPOs in recent years are closer to liquidity events. As a result of the US Presidential election, there will be a 180-degree turn on fiscal policy, regulation, energy and healthcare policies that should be stimulative to equity markets, new company formation and profitability.

The road to an IPO can have a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Take Cisco’s acquisition of AppDynamics for $3.7 billion right before AppDynamics was set to go public last week. This must have been a hard choice for the directors to make, and these are the types of decisions that directors facing an IPO should be prepared for.

If you’re headed for an IPO this year, you may want to attend an upcoming event at Stanford Law School, geared towards directors of pre-IPO companies on Feb. 16, 2017, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (continental breakfast included).

The panelists (including myself; Jack Lazar, director at Silicon Labs and Quantenna Communications; and Brooke Seawell, venture partner at NEA and director at Tableau Software and NVIDIA) will discuss our unique experiences and perspectives of what to expect during the IPO process as an independent director or advisor.

This event will arm you with insights to help you deal with both the expected and unexpected on the journey to an IPO. There will be a special focus on the role of independent directors and the board as a whole.

Just some of the topics covered in this event include:

• Board composition
• Compensation considerations
• D&O insurance (you can read up on the insurance guide for IPOs here ahead of the event)
• Dealing with auditors and others
• Involvement of board members in disclosure-related issues
• Management changes and filling key roles
• Publicity
• Timing considerations
• Training for being a public company director

You can register for the event here. I hope to see you there.