Some perspective about the twitter IPO

This week's big news is Twitter's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.  Every entrepreneur dreams of the moment when their hard work and effort pay off and they are swimming in stock options and cash.  It crosses my mind from time to time.  This week, I want to provide a little perspective on those wild fantasies that IPOs create.

An IPO or huge success is as American as apple pie.  A person creates a product everyone wants and then receives a huge payday.  What most people do not see are the countless hours perfecting that product.  People do not see the sales calls ending in frustration.  Finally, conveying the loneliness and solitude it takes to build a good product is difficult.  It is always easier to show the big payday than the long slog to get to that payday.  I am not looking for a big payday.  I want to be able to have my own business, but living like Tony Stark with my computer assistant seems a little far-fetched to me.  

It should also be evident that all the frenzy regarding Twitter is more heat than light.  According to the filing with the SEC, Twitter is still struggling to generate advertising revenue. It is one of those products people use but cannot seem to make money; it sounds like a fishy investment.  This does not mean that Twitter will not figure it out, but currently, people look like they are investing in the promise of profits rather than actual profits.

This situation reminds me of the good old days of the Dot.com bubble, where any company with .com in its name created a gold rush on the stock market.  Companies with spurious business models and the ability to burn through cash lit up the stock market.  What these companies were, according to Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, were falling watermelons where everyone made money until they hit the pavement.  Those forced to clean up the mess were individual investors.  It was a giddy and stupid time.  I am glad I lived through it because it improved my approach to business.  I still keep a Pets.com sock puppet to remind me of that era’s excess.

I got into business not for the wealth and fame but because I want to work for myself.  I want to help other business people make money and put people to work.  We think our new Tony fleet management software is a great tool to provide small businesses with risk management and regulatory compliance.  We also believe Sully 2.0 is the right tool to help your business manage inventory and bills of lading.  Contact us today, and we will show you.

I am very happy for the owners and investors in Twitter’s IPO but won’t be toasting them soon.  I will save that for my significant milestone when I become a professional.

Until next time.