November 3, 2019
How To Tell When A Startup Turns Into A Business?
The recent IPO odysseys of Uber and WeWork are more than a couple of isolated stories of entrepreneurial overreach. Uber’s IPO fell far short of its predicted valuation of $100 billion. WeWork (recently rebranded as We), after slashing its valuation from $47 billion to $10 billion, postponed its public offering and had to be rescued from bankruptcy by its largest shareholder. These disappointments may foretell the end of the long string of IPOs in recent years based on ridiculously high valuations. In the future, we are likely to see potential investors increasingly asking a simple question: can this startup be a viable, profitable business?
