????如今，典型的、由風(fēng)投支持的科技公司從融資到IPO的時間跨度是整整8-10年。沒有一夜成功的故事。把一家公司帶到IPO是一個巨大的成就，需要付出大量的工作和努力。

????要做好IPO準(zhǔn)備，你需要預(yù)見性和可見性、巨大的增長潛力以及沒有絲毫失敗的跡象。即便你的公司擁有所有這些特質(zhì)，IPO也不是鐵板釘釘?shù)氖隆榱舜_保IPO獲得成功，請考慮下述10點計劃。

????1.聘請一位既懂業(yè)務(wù)、也了解華爾街運作方式的首席財務(wù)官。如果你現(xiàn)在還沒有這樣的財務(wù)官，馬上招一位，至少要在你計劃IPO之前一年就招聘好。這位CFO將在IPO推介中扮演關(guān)鍵角色，因此應(yīng)當(dāng)要有幾個季度的時間了解業(yè)務(wù)，同時具備必要的預(yù)見性。這位CFO還需要時間組建自己的團(tuán)隊和體系，以滿足公開上市公司的需要。

????2.提前了解相關(guān)投資銀行。選擇正確的銀行財團(tuán)對于IPO成敗至關(guān)重要。通常，公司會舉行一場類似于選美比賽的“選秀”，每家受邀銀行都將向董事會展示自己的資質(zhì)以及IPO定位的看法。如果在啟動IPO流程前一年就開始了解相關(guān)銀行，你可以考慮“選秀”或與少數(shù)業(yè)內(nèi)公司會面。你可以根據(jù)自己的了解選擇銀行。但要確保有數(shù)家銀行競爭你公司的IPO業(yè)務(wù)；做出最終選擇前，你有最大的議價余地，確保你獲得最好人員以及靈活的分賬方式。

????3.根據(jù)適當(dāng)?shù)臉?biāo)準(zhǔn)選擇銀行財團(tuán)。根據(jù)銀行組建財團(tuán)的能力、對你業(yè)務(wù)的理解和華爾街將如何對你的公司定價，選擇牽頭簿記行。根據(jù)研究分析師的素質(zhì)和研究領(lǐng)域選擇聯(lián)席經(jīng)辦人。盡管過去幾年賣方研究的聲譽和影響力大為降低，但是讓有學(xué)識、受關(guān)注的分析師密切跟蹤你的公司在上市后仍然會非常有幫助。

????4.利用即將進(jìn)行的IPO作為吸引一流人才進(jìn)入公司和董事會的工具。雖然公司上市后，提供以公司股價定價的期權(quán)將更難吸引一流創(chuàng)業(yè)人才，但準(zhǔn)備IPO的消息本身就是非常有吸引力的招聘利器。增加IPO前的費用還可以壓低公司上市后最初幾個季度的利潤預(yù)期。類似地，在公司等待上市前，聘用董事也會變得更容易。

????5.提交S-1注冊文件前6-12個月，與公眾投資者和賣方研究分析師會面。利用這些會面的機(jī)會改進(jìn)你的故事，鍛煉如何回應(yīng)公眾投資者將會問的種種問題。但要記住，從這些會面中你就得開始建立口碑。建立良好的會面記錄，同時超越你在這些會面中設(shè)立的目標(biāo)，這一點很關(guān)鍵。

????These days, for the typical ventured-backed tech company, the duration from founding to IPO is a full 8 to 10 years. There are no overnight success stories. It's a serious accomplishment representing a ton of work to get a company to the precipice of an IPO.

????To be ready you need predictability and visibility, huge growth potential and no single points of failure. Even if your company has all of these attributes, your IPO is not a sure thing. To make sure your IPO is a success, consider this 10 point plan.

????1. Have a CFO who understands both the business and how Wall Street works. If you don't yet have this person on board and need to make a hire, be sure to do so at least a year before your planned IPO. Your CFO will play a central role in marketing your IPO and should have several quarters to learn the business and ensure she has necessary visibility. Your CFO also will need time to build out her team and systems to support public company demands.

????2. Get to know the relevant investment banks beforehand. Choosing the right banking syndicate is critical to the success of your IPO. Typically companies hold a "bake-off," a beauty pageant of sorts, where each invited bank presents their qualifications and views on IPO positioning to the board. If you spend time in the year prior to kicking off your IPO process getting to know the relevant banks, you can consider nixing the bake-off or holding meetings with a more limited set of players. Instead, you can select banks based on what you've learned. Make sure, however, that the banks compete for your business; your leverage to ensure you get their best people and flexibility on how they'll split the economics on your deal is at its peak before you make your selections.

????3. Select your banking syndicate based on appropriate criteria. Choose your lead book-runner(s) based on their syndication capabilities, understanding of your business and how Wall Street will value your company. Choose your co-managers based on the quality and interest of their research analysts. Although the reputation and influence of sell-side research has eroded over the past several years, it's still very helpful to have knowledgeable and highly regarded analysts following your company closely once you're public.

????4. Use your pending IPO as a tool for attracting top talent to your company and board. Although it will get tougher to hire top startup talent once you're public with options priced in accordance with your stock price, news of a pending IPO serves as a powerful recruitment tool. Padding your expense base pre-IPO can also help keep profit expectations low in your first few quarters as a public company. Similarly, recruiting board members will be easier when you're private, before your IPO.

????5. Meet with public investors and sell-side research analysts in the 6-12 months prior to filing your S-1 registration document. Use these meetings to hone your story and practice responding to the types of questions public investors will ask. Remember, however, you'll begin to build a reputation during these encounters. It's critical to establish a track record of meeting or exceeding the objectives you lay out during these meetings.