Navan's post-IPO stock drop, despite strong revenue, is a troubling sign for the venture ecosystem. It highlights that even a multi-billion-dollar outcome can be considered a 'bummer' and may not generate sufficient returns for large, late-stage funds, resetting expectations for what constitutes a truly successful exit in the current market.

Beyond providing liquidity and raising a firm's profile, becoming a publicly listed company can give employees a tangible "spring in the step." The ability to see a daily share price and feel part of a growing, visible entity creates a powerful sense of engagement that is often underestimated.

While staying private can offer strategic advantages, particularly for future M&A, the biotech industry lacks a mature private growth capital market. Companies needing hundreds of millions for late-stage trials have no choice but to go public, unlike their tech counterparts.

BitGo's public offering was a strategic move to build transparency and trust, making it easier for large, traditional financial institutions to perform due diligence. This positions BitGo to capture a total addressable market that recently doubled due to favorable regulatory changes.

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.

Beyond capital access, being a public company offers constant, free marketing. The visibility from quarterly earnings reports, analyst coverage, and media attention can attract acquisition targets, investors, and top talent who might not otherwise have been aware of the company.

Navan's consumption-based model requires immediate investment in sales and commissions. The resulting high-margin revenue materializes over subsequent years. Public investors, focused on quarterly P&Ls, see the upfront cost but undervalue the highly efficient, low-churn growth algorithm that pays off over the long term.

Netscope's CEO revealed their IPO was a strategic move for market awareness and credibility, not a necessity for fundraising. As a private company competing against public giants, the IPO provided the visibility needed to get into deals and win proof-of-concept trials, highlighting the IPO's role as a powerful marketing tool.

Navan's IPO stumbled despite decent growth and improving margins, not because of its own fundamentals, but due to its relative unattractiveness. In the current market, public investors prefer putting capital into proven, profitable tech giants with strong AI stories over an unprofitable company at a high sales multiple.