Branding will take Center Stage in the IPO Resurgence
Branding will take center stage in the upcoming IPO resurgence.
Fundraising and IPOs in tech have been as cold as ice for the past few years.🥶 This seems to be thawing, and the markets are signaling that IPO season is returning to focus.
For companies eyeing an IPO, the years leading up to the bell-ringing moment are critical. It’s not just about growth metrics and operational milestones — your brand is one of your most powerful levers. A strategically built brand doesn’t only prepare you for the market; it positions you to thrive in it. Most recently, Reddit proved this point before their IPO, which I believe was very successful. They took the time to ensure the visual, verbal, and positioning elements of the brand were ready to stand strong as a public company, proactively evolving the brand beyond its perception of a niche, nerdy internet forum. That investment also gave them the ability to scale post-IPO without slowing down to address any gaps in the brand.
An example closer to home for me is Braze, a platform that rebranded from Appboy in 2016 with help from our team and our friends at Lexicon. At the time, Braze had just secured $20 million in Series C funding and the team was ready to step into their next phase of growth. They knew their startup brand wouldn’t carry them into the future they envisioned.
The result? A clear, compelling brand that paved the way for a public launch and an $80 million Series E funding round less than a year later. In 2021, Braze’s IPO valued the company at $8.4 billion. 🤯
They understood years before that brand was going to play a critical part in their growth. Acting earlier than most set them up for BIG returns when it was finally time to ring that IPO bell.
Takeaway: Act early. Let your brand carry you forward. Be brand-ready for the next stage of your business growth, whether that’s your first fundraise — or your IPO.
The priorities of anonymous tech buyers differ from those of traditional IT decision makers. “[Anonymous tech buyers] are driven by Reputation, Recognition and Reviews: what they’ve heard about a brand, how they experience that brand and what others tell them about experiencing that brand.”
Hey! You know that guy! “Brands have to be genuine. You can't just project a reality that’s not you because people will sniff it out. You're eroding their trust already. So just be genuine. And I say that first because I think it's the easiest thing to do.”
“It’s necessary to keep people aware of us, but that’s just the ticket to ride. What they think about us is what matters. Reputation. Are we good to do business with? Can they have confidence in us and our products? That’s what matters.”
We’re very familiar with the challenge that comes with mergers and acquisitions. After billions in acquisitions and over 25,000 employees across 170 countries unclear on their identity, The London Stock Exchange Group had a big task ahead. “[LSEG’s CMO Amie Stankiste] explained the first part of the rebrand was to ‘simplify the story, the narrative and the positioning for everyone’” through brand architecture and an eventual rebrand.
