Going Public: Company Exit or Capital Raise?

This program is designed for entrepreneurially-spirited C-level executives and senior managers of emerging growth enterprises as well as founders of late stage companies that target large markets as part of our Executive Certificate in Corporate Entrepreneurship.

Dates: March 24-25, 2023 from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM ET
Delivery: In-Person on Lehigh's Campus
Fee: $1,600 [includes lunch and refreshments]

Overview

How VC-backed companies move from being privately-held to become publicly-traded companies on exchanges such as NASDAQ or the NYSE is the focus of this program. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Participants learn the key role played by the lead investment bank and underwriting syndicate. They learn SEC registration process, i.e., the sequence that governs how a company goes public, as well as learn the need for on-going disclosure post-IPO. The array of SEC filings come alive in this program. IPO pricing is explained along with grasping patterns in share price movements during the day of the IPO, in the immediate aftermath, and over the long term.     

Impact & Benefits

Participants experience a fast-moving no holds-barred 2-day journey that demystifies what it means to “go public.” Participants are exposed to the challenges and risks brought to the C-suite and the board as the privately-held company navigates across an unfamiliar, uncertain, and highly risky SEC landscape leading to the IPO. The program is built around four key questions: 

[1] How do I assess if a company is ready to “go public?”
[2] How do I analyze S-1s and other SEC filings? 
[3] How do I identify opportunities and threats from both a company and investor perspective?
[4] How do I evaluate the prospects for a successful IPO?

The format is 100% interactive. Actual SEC filings are dissected and two IPOs are chosen as in-class team exercises for participants to perform online research, reinforce learning, and add relevance and excitement.        

Lehigh Faculty

The creator of Lehigh’s MBA entrepreneurship concentration, Dale Falcinelli, brings many decades of management consulting and investment banking into the classroom, having served hundreds of CEOs and boards of emerging growth and early stage companies. He is well-known in the venture capital community and has lectured at the Wharton School in Philadelphia and San Francisco campuses. An undergraduate and graduate alumnus of Lehigh, Dale is the recipient of many awards and is recognized by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA for his contributions to the Lehigh Valley business community. He has served on numerous corporate boards and appeared on Fox Business, A&E, and PBS.