Public markets used to be available only to larger companies with a long history of profitability. Today, a variety of companies with varying degrees of profitability and revenue growth may be candidates for public financing depending mainly on future prospects. Access to capital growth through public markets offers greater access to capital, but many promising small companies cannot obtain funding because they are private.
With the burst of the tech bubble and stiffer corporate governance rules, many companies have chosen to keep their startups private or sell them to a rival rather than take them public. However, when funding dries up, they can’t grow or scale the company fast enough and many of them are now looking at public markets for increased funding.
Join a panel of leading experts who have taken their company public or helped to take a client of theirs public over the past year as they share their insights into the best practices and strategies you need to consider if you are thinking of going public in the next 12-18 months?
- What are the different forms of “Going IPO”? Which approach do you take and when?
- What are the pre-IPO preparations that you need to be aware of?
- IPO vs Reverse Merge vs Shell – What to consider and when?
- What you should know about going public if the market enters a recession?
- Impact of Sarbanes Oxley on IPOs – What you need to know?
- What steps should a pre-IPO company take to qualify for and contain costs including insurance?
- Lessons from successful IPO's – What to do/ What not to do?
- Mason Flemming, Globaltech Capital, Investment
Banker
- Doug Flake, Alexander Morford & Woo
- Kethan Kothari, CEO , Aspen Learning, Former CEO
of AlphaSmart
- Justin Bastien, Morrision & Foerster, Moderator
 B. Mason Flemming, Jr.
Mr. Flemming has over 30 years experience in the
financing and managing of start-up and early stage
companies. From 1990-2005 he was Managing Director of
Flemming & Lessard, LLC, a firm that assisted early
stage companies in developing their business plan and
management team for funding from venture capitalists,
corporations and individuals. The company raised
approximately $180M for 43 companies, more than any
other similar firm in California. Prior to founding
Flemming and Lessard, he was Executive Vice President
and member of the Board of Directors of Robert C. Brown
& Co., Inc., a financial services company from 1980 to
1990 when the company was sold. Mr. Flemming joined the
firm shortly after its founding and played a major role
in the company’s growth. While at Brown, he
successfully led the firm’s IPO, a convertible debenture
offering underwritten by Merril Lynch, and the
acquisition of three small insurance companies. Mr.
Flemming received his B.A. from the University of
Pennsylvania, and his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business
School. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
 Doug Flake, Vice President, Alexander Morford & Woo, Inc
Doug Flake, a principal of Alexander Morford & Woo, Inc., is the Manager of the Larkspur, California branch. Doug and his office specialize in Directors' & Officers' Liability and Errors & Omissions Liability coverage. Working extensively with private, IPO and public companies as well as venture capital firms, Doug has analyzed and designed effective insurance solutions for over 13 years. His expertise has enabled him to aid venture capitalists, investment bankers and merchant bankers in addressing the unique exposures posed by dealing with leveraged buyouts, internet commerce, and raising capital (i.e. public and private debt and equity offerings). In addition, Doug has significant experience working with complex securities claims.
Doug began his career in the insurance industry, underwriting and managing multimillion-dollar D&O, ERISA, and Loss Mitigation portfolios throughout the western United States. Prior to these endeavors, he worked as a commercial analyst at a financial institution. Doug is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin University with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. He enjoys spending time mountain bike riding, kayaking and hiking.
 Ketan Kothari, Co-Founder/CEO - AlphaSmart
Ketan Kothari was CEO and co-founder of AlphaSmart, Inc,
an education technology company (www.alphasmart.com).
Since its founding, he was responsible for the
strategic direction and overall business management. In
addition to helping build and grow a $40MM business, he
was part of the executive management team during
AlphaSmart’s IPO (NASDAQ: ALSM) in February 2004, and,
the subsequent acquisition of AlphaSmart by Renaissance
Learning, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLRN,
www.renlearn.com)
in June 2005.
Prior to co-founding AlphaSmart, since 1989, as part of
Apple’s staff, he contributed to the success of several
key products and services designed and marketed by Apple
Computer, Inc.
He also helped in strategic business planning for
startups and other companies, such as Packeteer, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PKTR).
He has participated in panels and other speaking
engagements including the Stanford Business of Education
conference in 2003.
Additionally, he is a Charter Member of TiE -
Silicon Valley, and, a member of the Advancement Council
for the School of Engineering & Technology at Brigham
Young University.
Ketan Kothari has been a seed or angel investor in over
20 companies, including, DoBox (acquired by Netopia,
which in turn was acquired by Motorola, NYSE: MOT), DVDO
(acquired by Silicon Image, NASDAQ: SIMG), and,
Panopticon (acquired by BroadBase, which in turn was
acquired by Kana, OTC BB: KANA.OB).
Ketan Kothari received an MBA degree in 1989 and
a BSEE degree in 1987 from Brigham Young University.
 Justin Bastian, Morrison & Foerster, Moderator
Justin Bastian, a partner in Morrison & Foerster's Palo Alto office, is a corporate lawyer with extensive securities compliance and corporate finance and M&A experience. In addition to regularly representing public companies in their public reporting and compliance issues, Mr. Bastian has undertaken company-side and banker-side representations to complete over 75 public offerings involving companies in a wide variety of industries including semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, software, communications, computer, Internet and REITs. Mr. Bastian has counseled numerous companies and all major investment banks in connection with various preferred stock offerings and convertible and high-yield debt financings.
Representative public company clients Mr. Bastian has advised include: Electroglas, Inc.; Semitool, Inc.; Novellus Systems, Inc.; JDS Uniphase; Merix Corp.; O2 Micro International Limited; Sonics, Inc.; PLX Technology, Inc.; Pericom Semiconductor Corporation; Micrel Inc.; Aerocentruy Corp.; Spieker Properties; Essex Property Trust, Inc.; and Glenborough Realty Trust. Mr. Bastian regularly lectures at seminars and conferences on various '33 Act and '34 Act law matters, and is a Staff member of the Practicing Law Institute specializing in '34 Act reporting and Section 16. Mr. Bastian was born in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1960. He received his B.A. in Economics in 1984 and his M.B.A and J.D. degrees, magna cum laude, in 1991 from Brigham Young University.
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