From IPO, a single share of Microsoft stock has appreciated close to 500x. Up until the last decade, about 300 start-up companies went public each year, with more than half of those companies raising less than $50 million in proceeds (small IPOs.) The average age of the companies at the time of IPO was just under five years old. MORE >>

heard two stories about IPOs that are worth sharing. One VC told me a story about a failed IPO for one of their portfolio companies a few years ago. He told me the legal and accounting bill they got after the IPO was pulled was $3.5mm. It was about an IPO of a company that happened recently. MORE >>

If the company was successful, this quickly led to an IPO – a very happy ending for the entrepreneur, the angels, and the venture capitalists. The two major differences in the exit environment in the past decade are (1) the disappearance of the IPO market and (2) the rapidly increasing size of the average VC fund. MORE >>

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. billion from 49 listings, and represented the strongest annual period for IPOs since 2000. funding startups IPO exit NVCA venture capitalMarty Zwilling. MORE >>

There simply aren’t a lot of exits above $100m or even IPOs. Later today I’m presenting at the annual Rincon Ventures Summit in Santa Barbara. Startup Exits: A Primer from msuster. thought you might like to see an advance copy of what I’m going to cover. speak privately a lot about getting an exit at a startup. MORE >>