The IPO Playbook: An Insiders Perspective on Taking Your Company Public and How to Do It Right

Good

The author has an IPO-sized chip on his shoulder, frequently going on a tangent tooting his own horn and disparaging VCs and investment bankers. The author also contradicts himself in multiple places. For example, he claims to have voluntarily left his early job as an accountant, but later in the book states that he was fired from the same job to suit that chapter’s narrative. Another example is his deification of the IPO as a means of honoring and rewarding the hard work put in by rank and file employees, while in the very next chapter recommending the termination of entire teams of employees to prepare for an IPO. His contradictions are somewhat shocking for someone who claims to have made a living as an accountant. Anyway, if you can get past the writing, there are nuggets to be found here and there.

Excelente libro, recomiendo comprar

The IPO Playbook could have been a deadly dull procedural, a slog through the fine print of going public. While the book covers every single detail that IPO-goers need to understand, somehow this book is seriously readable., entertaining even. The material is leavened with personal stories and anecdotes that humanize it. Cakebread also has a knack for making the many tasks required for an IPO seem doable and more than worth the effort. Perhaps most important in a time where many entrepreneurs don't think past a quick flip or acquisition, the author eloquently makes the case that the great companies of the world are owned by shareholders. They maintain their independence and create legacies. 30 years ago Mike Malone's milestone book "Going Public" tracked the MIPS Computer IPO in 1989. It toggled chapter by chapter between the actual steps and the very personal stories of how the IPO actually affected the people involved. The IPO Playbook brings all of the details up to date, as lived by the premier CFO of our era. Steve Cakebread inspires thinking big, and committing to a sky's-the-limit future for your company.

This is a drinking from the firehose book condensed into a very understandable, clear blue print. Not only does it talk about the mechanics of going public, but I really enjoyed Steve's take on how founders should internally value their business, why growth is critical and building solid finance and leadership teams pay dividends (figuratively and possibly literally), even at earlier stages. Steve is one of the most seasoned IPO CFO's on the planet, and in different industries. To get this type of information in an easy to read format is rare (so use it!). As an accountant/CPA, this should be mandated material for those trying to understand SOX impacts and systems controls.

I didn't like the book too much at the start, as I found the writing not as organised as I expected. But over time I started to like the book as it offers the rare perspective of a real CFO of various ListCos. Through the author's storytelling kind of writing, I even felt excited while reading a few chapters as I could see the world/business from CFO's perspective, and the insight I gained from such experience is quite mind-broadening. One note to non-entrepreneur readers - I'm a junior corporate lawyer and I found some content in this book (such as internal finance systems and customer management systems) hard to relate as I have limited understanding on them.