Raising money from public investors, whether in an IPO or a follow-on offering, has always been a challenge. Yet in recent years, increased regulation, more intense investor scrutiny and rising expenses have made the process of selling shares to the public much more difficult and immensely more time-consuming.
Still, the rewards of a public offering are unmatched. A public company controls its own destiny, can use equity to motivate employees, attract the best new recruits and have an easily valued currency for acquisitions. Public equity drives the entrepreneurial process and our capital markets.
While public offerings aren’t for every company, for those with great aspirations and sustainable business models, a well-executed IPO is still universally recognized as the crowning achievement in a young company’s existence and the most highly-visible milestone of success. Nonetheless, the decision to take the plunge is a vastly complex one.
That is Where Class V Comes In
Navigable whitewater rapids are ranked Class I to Class V on the International Scale of River Difficulty as defined by American Whitewater Association. Adventurers who haven’t attempted these unpredictable waters characterized by “unavoidable waves and holes or steep, congested chutes with complex, demanding routes” are strongly urged to work with a guide who has done so. We see parallels between steering through Class V rapids and threading through the IPO process.
Class V was founded by Lise Buyer, Wall Street veteran turned corporate IPO strategist. Ms Buyer has participated in the IPO process in all capacities including institutional investor, investment banker, research analyst, board member and internal IPO coordinator. It is this combination of experience and perspective that differentiates Class V from those with a single perspective or area of expertise.
Class V works with a very small number of select companies contemplating public offerings or in some cases, already publicly traded. We prefer to engage with clients up to a year prior to a potential offering, using the time to gain a deep understanding of management’s and the Board’s goals, motivations and operating style. This background allows us to design processes sure to surface the right partners, structure and expectations for the transaction. In addition to working closely with the CEO and CFO on the logistics of the transaction, Class V will leverage our first-hand experience and Perspectives from nearly 20 years of direct involvement with over 1,000 IPOs to help clients develop and effectively deliver an on-target message to potential investors. As the final piece of an engagement, Class V will recommend, structure and if appropriate, initially implement best practices to ensure on-going, mutually beneficial communications with investors.
We focus on reducing the strains on the CEO and CFO during the process, allowing them to focus on running the business and on the critical deal-related decisions. We will accomplish this by facilitating the day-to-day elements of the IPO process, serving as a sounding board and offering experienced-based advice. We are all about improving the structure of the transaction and the delivery of our clients' message to Wall Street. The economically tangible result of these efforts should be a both a better-informed investor base and a higher share price, at the time of the IPO (or M&A transaction) and in the sustainable aftermarket.
For more information, please contact us at Lise @ClassVGroup.com.