#99 IPOs Are Back & More Upside in Early-Stage VC (Numbers Don't Lie)

September 21, 2023

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“Doing things is not the same as getting things done.” -Jared Silver

Dear readers, thanks for all the great feedback on our recent VC deep dives! We’ve gone deep on some notable VCs & unpacked some insights around building generational firms (#97 Sequoia's Strength, #95 Footwork + 20VC, #93 VC DPI & Power Laws Today, #91 Fresh Takes From Top VCs, #89 Brad Gurley (Benchmark) + David Sacks (Craft), & #87 Building Generational Firms).

There’s a lot of great content from notable VCs, LPs, and CFOs/finance pros on the internet. Here, we’re focused on pulling out the insights out that really matter, as well as finding the most current content that overlays historical lessons with current market dynamics, which are changing faster than ever.

Good News: IPOs Are Back for VCs (Instacart, ARM, Klaviyo)

Earlier this week on Tuesday 9/19, online grocery delivery co. Instacart went public on the Nasdaq at a valuation of ~$10 billion. The company was founded in 2012 and last raised money in 2021 at a $39 billion valuation. Aswath Damordaran (NYU) shared an insightful post on Instacart that included the interesting chart of returns for VC investors below. The seed, Series A, and Series B investors outperformed. The latest stage investors did not.

Yesterday, marketing automation company “Klaviyo Shares Soared in Debut, Pointing to IPO Resurgence (WSJ)” after listing with a $9.2 billion IPO price. This followed AI chip designer “Arm soaring ~25% in market debut to $65 billion valuation” last week. IPOs are back!

Jason Calacanis beat me to the punch by sharing the following on X (fka Twitter): “Late-stage investing can be amazing, quick money…or you can get your ass handed to you.” 

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