However, more uniquely: We founded and essentially bootstrapped Backblaze all the way up to our IPO (before 2021 we had only taken $3M in outside funding). What we'll share here is partially based on the experience we had building two prior technology companies, raising multiple rounds of venture capital, and successfully selling them through acquisition. Hot takes on building startups and raising funding are a dime a dozen-so if you're skeptical, I get it. This blog series will be for everyone from those of you dreaming up your first idea, to startups still in stealth mode, to the thousands of companies with revenue in the tens of millions.Īnd if there's anything I talk about here that's confusing or that you want to hear more about, please ask in the comments. By this September there were nearly 2,000 fewer companies listed, even after the boom we saw in 20. In the mid-nineties, there were more than 8,000 publicly traded companies. Tech is all about disrupting unnecessary complexity, and going public is more complex than an AWS invoice. And I'm not the first: Bill Hambrecht is well known for his efforts to open IPOs to broader audiences as he did with companies like Google and. I believe that democratizing the IPO process will be healthier for businesses, markets, and investors. While doing an IPO isn't right for everyone, I think considering an IPO, and positioning your business to go that way if the opportunity arises, is sound strategy. I want to offer folks-whether you're considering starting a business or have already built one with tens of millions in revenue-that there is another path to consider. I can remember what it feels like to be an early stage entrepreneur thinking that the only path to making the company you built successful was to seek out restrictive venture funding or seek out an acquisition. Not because I think we deserve a pat on the back or to celebrate what we did, but for two bigger purposes: Along the way, I'll share everything I can-metrics, worksheets, planning decks, and more. So, in keeping with our commitment to transparency about our business and some of the interesting, tough, and exciting stuff we've been through- long-time readers will remember my blog about almost getting acquired-I've decided to write about our IPO journey: What sucked, what didn't, what shocked us, and what we learned. We may have faced some headwinds others didn't, but I'm convinced that the IPO isn't just for folks with over $300m in revenue who've raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital. A perception has developed that there are magical financial benchmarks that forbid some companies from listing, but we went public at a point in the evolution of our business when a lot of experts told us we couldn't. In fact, the more that I think about our experience of taking the company public, the more I believe that the IPO should be part of every entrepreneur and business leader's consideration set. Obviously I wish the last 10 months would have gone differently in the markets, who doesn't? But when people ask me, (which happens a lot) "Do you still think the IPO was a good idea?" There's no question in my mind that it was one of the best business decisions we've made at Backblaze. It's hard for shareholders, employees, and the market. For newly-public tech companies like us, as well as many of our peers, stock values have decreased by ~70% from their peak values last year. And yet, the markets have been tough sledding. Since then, we've executed on our plans, hit our targets, and continued to grow our team and our revenue. Our IPO was a great day and the realization of 14 years of hard work by our team. We took Backblaze public one year ago tomorrow.
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