[rossdavidh]

While there are issues with Zuckerberg, I think it bears noting that the FB IPO wasn't done because he needed the money, but rather because they were forced too by law because too many people had ownership. So, he didn't give great terms in the IPO because he didn't really need any cash; FB was already cashflow-positive. This is a marked contrast to WeWork.

[mbell]

> While there are issues with Zuckerberg, I think it bears noting that the FB IPO wasn't done because he needed the money, but rather because they were forced too by law because too many people had ownership.

This isn't entirely true. Once a company passes the shareholder limit they are required to publish public financials similar to what a publicly traded company must provide. However they are not required to sell their stock on the open market, it's just that it's such a small step at this point that most if not all do.

Also - while this is often quoted as the reason for Facebook's IPO, it's worth noting that the investor limit was actually raised (from 500 to 2000) a couple months before Facebook's IPO. If it were really the main reason they could have easily held off on the IPO and carried on as a private company.

[bradleyjg]

A company with 2000 shareholders and $10MM in assets it is forced to become a reporting company but it doesn’t have to go public.

[CPLX]

That's not correct at all, there's no rule requiring companies to go public.

And even if he didn't need cash, an IPO creates an incredible opportunity to use shares as a currency to fund high-dollar acquisitions, which he has most certainly taken advantage of.

[notyourday]

It is a bit more complicated than that - FB investors used SPEs rather than held the shares directly. When the number of SPEs got too high those SPEs themselves reorganized moving the investors more levels down.

[philistine]

I think the Facebook IPO was done for one reason only; public relations.

As is the case with toxic discourse on his website, the nonchalant attitude with private information, Zuck loves to steer clear of taking responsibility for anything. The IPO allows the message to be: it's not my personal responsibility, I'm merely the CEO of the company.