Originally published in Entrepreneur

By Karen Dempsey

This might be the best environment for going public in years.

In 2017, 1,624 initial public offerings (IPOs) — from Roku to Veritone — raised $188.8 billion, up 40 percent versus capital raised during the lackluster 2016, according to EY. That made last year the strongest since 2007, when $338.4 billion was raised. Activity may top that level this year as Spotify, Dropbox and others take the plunge.

Of course, while IPOs draw lots of attention, only about 20 percent of tech startups go public while 80 percent are bought by other public companies, according to Ted Smith, co-founder of Union Square Advisors. Whether the founder and investors choose to go public or to exit via an acquisition, or find liquidity elsewhere to remain private, improving IPO readiness can help strengthen a firm’s valuation.

Any chief executive that wants a higher valuation should start by following one simple rule: Run your firm like a public company before you need to.

Read the full article at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/315055

Karen Dempsey is a partner in Orrick’s San Francisco office, where she works with public and private companies, venture capital firms and investment banks.