New CEO Mark McLaughlin resisted board pressure for a quick IPO, arguing that going public is a starting line, not a finish line. He first focused on hiring key leaders and building scalable systems to ensure the company could operate successfully in the public markets, not just survive the IPO event.

The traditional purpose of an IPO—raising capital for company growth—is obsolete. Today, companies scale using private equity and only go public to allow early investors and insiders to cash out. This means the public market captures significantly less of a company's early, high-growth phase.

Venture capitalist Bruce Booth explains that bankers, lawyers, audit firms, and VCs all have strong financial incentives for a company to go public. This creates systemic pressure that may not align with the company's best long-term interests.

iCapital's CEO argues against rushing to an IPO, citing the distraction of stock volatility. To retain employees who hold equity, the private company provides periodic opportunities for them to sell a limited portion of their holdings. This balances the need for liquidity with the benefits of staying private.

Operating a public company isn't just a change in funding; it's like running two entities. One is the operational business, and the other is a public-facing organization requiring constant management of institutional investors, which significantly distracts from core business goals.

For many large companies today, an IPO's primary purpose has shifted from raising growth capital—which is readily available in private markets—to creating liquidity for early investors and employees. The public offering acts as a valuation marker and an exit opportunity, not a funding necessity.

While a high IPO valuation seems like a victory, it can be destructive internally. When the stock inevitably corrects, employees experience the drop as a personal loss due to psychological loss aversion, leading to distraction and depression. CEOs should nudge markets toward sane, sustainable valuations.

Contrary to popular belief, an IPO should not be viewed as a liquidity event. Instead, its primary value is in marketing and branding. It signals to the market, customers, and potential employees that the company is stable and "here to stay." The actual liquidity is often constrained by lockups and regulations.

Despite media narratives about a "race to IPO" against rivals like Anthropic, OpenAI's CFO frames a public offering simply as another method of fundraising. She argues that long-term value is created by building a durable business, and the market, as a "weighing machine," will ultimately reward substance over the timing of a public debut.