The public vs private debate

I just got back from my first weekend up at Lake Tahoe this winter. The mountain was crowded but generally pretty well done. I felt safe and the staff was enforcing rules like distancing and masks. It’s going to be an interesting winter as COVID numbers are peaking, but being on the mountain gives me a sense of normalcy.

I have been listening to Keith Rabois on Jason Calacanis’ podcast and it’s a good one. There’s a lot of unravel in this podcast, but I was particularly interested in the piece about going public versus staying private. Keith is a big believer that companies should be aiming to go public as soon as they can.

He also mentions SPACs as a way for companies who are not ready to go public to go public in a much quicker fashion. It’s an interesting take and one I would agree with.

The previous 10 years were headlined by big name companies staying private longer. This trend seems to be reversing as companies are now headed for the public markets earlier. SPACs have become a vehicle to enable this, but I expect that we’ll start to see more direct listings as well.