Genuine question: why IPO==millionaires?

Amazon
xbmhrcc

Go to company page Amazon

xbmhrcc
Jun 24, 2021 56 Comments

It seems whenever there is an IPO, people mention “millionaires”.

But I guess in most cases that only applies to who joined relatively early? Also, shouldn’t the stock price matter more after first RSU vesting?

It seems confluent is not 1.5x 2x.

Correct me if I’m too naive.

TC: 280k

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TOP 56 Comments
  • Google
    yrel

    Go to company page Google

    yrel
    Don’t understand why people feel millionaires is a huge thing. With the TC, stock and house market, I feel almost everyone in tech can be a millionaire several years after school, no?
    Jun 24, 2021 25
  • You are correct.

    A lot of scrubs try to join a startup right before the ipo because of this belief. They point to roblox, airbnb, and doordash as proof that ipo == millionaire. But they don’t point to uber, lyft, and dropbox because that would break their confidence in their decision.

    In reality even if they become a “millionaire” they would need to stay for a few years to actually get there. And then if you look at the performance of public companies, you’d realize the gains between airbnb and Facebook in the last five years was not all that different. I’d venture to guess that all those ppl who left Facebook for Uber right before the Uber ipo are secretly wishing they had just stayed at Facebook.
    Jun 24, 2021 6
    • I’m saying people joining super late stage companies like Robinhood should have more realistic expectations. A lot of these people joining are just scrubs who want very little risk but very large reward, and are too delusional to see that their thought process is nonsense.
      Jun 24, 2021
    • If all they want is a measly 2x, you can pretty much get that anywhere. But let’s be real, a lot of these people are secretly hoping they’ll be the miracle people that see a 10x. Hate to burst their bubble, but they won’t get that because they were too scared to take a larger risk on a smaller company.
      Jun 24, 2021
  • Uber
    itgksn

    Go to company page Uber

    itgksn
    I made a million off the “failed” Uber IPO. I’m not an early employee or some high level either
    Jun 24, 2021 11
    • Uber
      itgksn

      Go to company page Uber

      itgksn
      Oh, I know if I had gone elsewhere, I’d have made even more. You make your bets and have to live with them. My point is that even at “failed” places, you can still do pretty well.
      Jun 24, 2021
    • I think u still joined 3 years before IPO which is far better than joining 1 year before IPO
      Jun 24, 2021
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  • Indeed / Eng
    rainwater

    Go to company page Indeed Eng

    rainwater
    Yeah the investors and founders make millions in almost any IPO. Rank and file employees are lucky to get six figures. DoorDash, Snowflake etc were aberrations last year. Obviously companies like Facebook, Google when they IPO’d a lot of millionaires were made, but they’re in a class of their own. Also I mean a lot in a relative sense
    Jun 24, 2021 1
    • Indeed / Eng
      rainwater

      Go to company page Indeed Eng

      rainwater
      True. There’s a few more than the ones I listed. But go on AngelList, pick 100 series A startups, and I guarantee that less than 10 of them will exit with a 1B ipo.
      Jun 24, 2021