Contrary to the prevailing wisdom of staying private as long as possible, VC Keith Rabois counsels his portfolio companies to pursue an IPO once they hit ~$50 million in predictable revenue. He believes the benefits of being public outweigh the costs much earlier than most founders think.

While many private founders fear going public, David George of a16z claims he's never met a public CEO who regrets it. Key benefits include easier and often cheaper access to capital compared to private markets, increased transparency, and the discipline it instills. The narrative of public market misery is overblown for most successful companies.

The small companies best suited for public markets are those already profitable and growing. They don't need capital but can benefit from the high valuations public markets assign to consistent growth—an advantage over typical private equity exits at lower multiples.

For late-stage startups, securing a pre-IPO round led by a premier public market investor like Fidelity is a strategic move. It provides more than capital; it offers a crucial stamp of approval that builds significant confidence and credibility with Wall Street ahead of an IPO.

Contrary to the trend of staying private, Navan's IPO was partly a go-to-market strategy. Large corporate customers demand the financial transparency and long-term stability that being a public company provides. This credibility was crucial for unlocking the enterprise segment and winning major accounts.

Bending Spoons' CEO Luca Ferrari reveals their IPO was strategically aimed at improving access to debt, not equity. Lenders favor public companies due to their regulatory transparency and clear valuation, making it easier and cheaper to secure the debt that has historically fueled their acquisition-heavy model.

For companies serving large governments and enterprises, being public acts as a crucial legitimizing event. It provides assurance that the company will be around long-term, which is critical for customers who become dependent on its services and data for core operations.

Despite private capital availability, the scrutiny of being a public company imposes healthy discipline. It forces better prioritization and maturity, which is ultimately beneficial for long-term growth and provides access to the world's deepest capital pools.

Counterintuitively, the compliance burden for an IPO increases dramatically with revenue. Companies over $1B face rigorous PCOB compliance, requiring years of building out teams and processes, unlike pre-revenue firms that can go public more simply.