Google IPO

Yesterday I wrote that I was skeptical about the possibility of Google prying open the IPO market. What I didn't explain was my reasoning: simply put, Google strikes me as a company that will not lead a new IPO boom, but will follow on the heels of other successful IPOs. (This is based on my "reading" of Eric Schmidt plus a smidgen of inside information.) I didn't realize that another high-profile technology company -- Crystal Decisions -- filed documents with the SEC last Friday. According to The Wall Street Journal, Crystal Decisions, Google, and SalesForce.com (it's nice to see that dot-coms have not been erased completely from the corporate landscape) are three companies that could start a new rounds of offerings.

Google

Yesterday, I found this blog on Google! What an amazing search engine! Although I am not an early adopter of most technology, I was an early convert to Google and I remain an avid fan. Lately, I have been watching Google for another reason: wondering when the firm is going to take the IPO leap. Cnet reported on Sunday that Sergey Brin was pooh-poohing the idea at the PC Forum in Scottsdale. He gave all of the usual reasons, but take it from someone who has helped a number of companies to go public, the pros will soon outweighed the cons, and we will soon see a Google IPO. That said, I am skeptical that a Google IPO will trigger a raging bull market (a la Netscape in 1995), but the market seems poised to elevate, and Google could provide some much-needed fuel.

Venture Capital Comeback?

The numbers do not show a revival of venture capital investment ... yet. Investments in the second quarter of 2003 reached their lowest level in five years, and the IPO market continues to disappoint. But there is some reason for optimism. Gains in the stock market and the filing of a registration statement by Crystal Decisions have spawned hope of an IPO revival. The Wall Street Journal recently quoted Steve Fisher of Draper Fisher Jurvetson as saying, "We are doing more deals in any single month than in the history of the firm." Of course, VCs are nothing if not great salesmen, so take their proclamations with a block of salt.