Preparing for an IPO can be intimidating and time-consuming for the in-house legal team!

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Join our moderator Kiki Haar, who, along with David Lee, Einat Levy, and Evan Ferl discussed their experiences of going public, delving into how to prepare and lessons learned.

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Key Takeaways:

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• The earlier you can start preparing for an IPO, the better
• Public company readiness is vital
• Project plan the entire legal-team structure pre and post IPO
• Make sure work-streams are consistent to maintain day-to-day operations
• Build + maintain strong trust with senior leadership
• Continue to promote company culture through the transition

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Meet the Presenters:

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• Host: Raad Ahmed: CEO & Founder at Lawtrades, marketplace for flexible legal talent.
• Moderator: Kiki Haar, GC, Sumo Logic
• Presenters:
• David Lee, AGC, Lyft
• Einat Levy, GC, Cherre; former director & assistant secretary, Vimeo
• Evan Ferl, GC, Poshmark

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How Far in Advance:

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5:13-10:40

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• Einat: “The earlier the better”
• Ideal to start preparing a year before, as the last six months are hectic
• Work with companies who are ready, for operations run smoother
• Evan: “Start acting as a public company”
• Beef up company preparedness, remember back & front end processes
• A strong GC should be backed by an appropriate management team
• Kiki: “Reactive solutions don’t scale, only proactive solutions do”
• Assess the building blocks as a GC, consider how the company will continue to expand

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Managing the IPO Team:

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10:40-15:11

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• David: “Public company readiness is very important”
• Make a milestone date when you should actually make the decision on going public
• Have someone to build relationships that merge communication between cross-functional teams
• Evan: “Have someone who can truly project manage on-board”
• A powerful lead who can disconnect from work itself and focus on the end goal

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Get on Top of Work Streams:

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15:11-19:20

• Einat: “Use outside counsel to your advantage”
• Avoid overwhelming work-flows by managing work streams and utilizing help early on
• Prepare ahead by learning the little things (KPIs, BI, etc.)
• Kiki: “Checklists are a really useful thing”
• Coordinate relationships between outside counsel and in-house team

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Building Out the Team:

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19:20-28:52

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• Evan: “Don’t forget to hire”
• Think about what you need for IPO process as well as what you need to act as a public company
• Have a close relationship with outside counsel you can really trust
• Kiki: “Build out your team to run the business”
• Conversely, you can choose to rely on your team to run the business end and devote your time to the IPO
• Use extra resources (company counsel, underwriters, etc.) often

• David: “IPOs are tried and true”
• Identify the heavy lifting, see where you can add the most value
• Utilize soft skills to add value in learning the business to understand where the execs and players fit within it

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Skills the GC can Bring:

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28:52-31:29

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• David: “Build trust as fast as possible”
• Form close relationships with senior leadership
• Rely on visibility and trust to be able to relay bad news

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Managing the Cultural Shift:

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31:29-36:30

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• Evan: “Carry both torches”
• GC should separate standardizing processes & procedures and the actual culture of the company
• Can still have an innovative culture while also being stewards of the public company
• Kiki: “Fundamental point is communication”
• Not an overnight switch, it takes time to ingrain these new procedures

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Long-Term Success:

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36:30-41:50

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• David: “An entire growth moment for the company”
• There are good things, and there are different things with the transition
• Have confidence in hiring and building out the team
• Kiki: “Leverage the IPO to get what you want”
• Have conversations with the management team to get what you need to minimize risk and be at the best point for success

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Lessons Learned:

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41:50-48:30

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• Evan: “Get people that can tell you those things mid-stream”
• Talk often, ask questions, and learn to be comfortable with how the business runs
• Kiki: “Push yourself in to those conversations”
• Ask to be included and push your way into management conversations
• Don’t forget to enjoy the energy & excitement of this unique process
• David: “Building in checkpoints”
• Convey what an IPO is and what you need to command as a resource in the process
• Be focused on company readiness and guide the transition openly
• Einat: “The equity in employees”
• Predict the huge workflow & ask questions early on
• Make sure to utilize outside help when necessary
• Want to continue the conversation? Request access to join our exclusive community of GCs!
• Also, check out our next event workshop, ‘Managing Hyper-Growth as a GC’, with Milana McCullagh, DGC, Coinbase, on August 19th.

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