Our previous post (see below) was about Waltham, MA-based BG Medicine pulling its planned initial public offering. It was bad news, but it comes at an interesting time—I am a couple hours from leaving the Xconomy offices to host a panel in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium entitled, “Are You Ready For IPO?”
The panel is being put on by the MIT Enterprise Forum, in collaboration with the NASDAQ Educational Foundation. Among other things, it is designed to examine in detail what an IPO really means, how to plan for it, how the current economic environment affects that strategy, and what alternatives there might be for up-and-coming firms.
I’ll be speaking with some absolutely great guests who know this subject cold. They include two CEOs who successfully took their companies public last year: Jonathan Bush, chairman and CEO of Athenahealth, and Gail Goodman, president and CEO of Constant Contact. Also on hand will be two growth private equity leaders who come at the IPO process (and the alternatives) from the investment side of the ledger: Jonathan Goldstein, managing director of TA Associates, and Bruce Evans, managing partner of Summit Partners.
The panel starts at 7 pm, and there’s a reception beforehand. You can find more details here. Hope to see you there!
Author: Robert Buderi
Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
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