
Ask HN: Life cycle of a company? - mr_puzzled
So let&#x27;s stay I start a startup, grow and manage to take it public, what happens next? Is the company expected to keep growing indefinitely? What happens if growth is stagnant, but the company is profitable?<p>I also hear about the mid-life and late stage of companies. Can you explain what these terms mean and how being in these stages affects the company?<p>Are there any good examples of publicly traded companies which have lasted a long time (more than a few decades) with minimal impact of the &quot;we have to keep growing&quot; mindset?<p>Finally, what are the pros and cons of being private without vc funding and being a public company?
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askafriend
An IPO is simply a funding event. A unique, extraordinarily rigorous one, but
a funding event nonetheless. The funds are raised for a purpose. The goals are
usually laid out in the prospectus the company puts together for the public.

And IPO is nothing more and nothing less. It is a point in the overall
journey, but the journalistic myopia around it makes it seem like some kind of
end in and of itself. It is not.

