‍👉 Background: Rokt is an e-commerce tech company that was founded by the former Jetstar CEO back in 2014. It is a website pop-up that lets advertisers get exposure to new customers via partner websites. Rokt has been hugely successful because it knows that the customers’ buying intention is pretty high at that moment.

‍👉 What happened: Rokt has seen its revenue jump 40% over the past 12 months to $500 million USD last year. And now, two of Rokt’s major investors have marked up the value of their Rokt stakes by over 28% from $5.6 billion to $7.2 billion.

‍👉 What else: There are now whispers that a US IPO is back on the cards for Rokt this year… especially after Figma’s high-profile and very successful float.

‍What's the key learning?

‍💡Going public isn’t just about being “ready”, it’s about whether the market is receptive - this is often referred to as the IPO window.

💡When investor appetite for growth stocks is hot, companies rush to list, just like the IPO boom of 2021 when 204 companies listed on the ASX - compare that to 2024 when 29 companies listed.

💡When market sentiment softens, IPO floats get shelved no matter how strong the business is. For example, Rokt paused its plans to IPO in 2022 when tech valuations dropped. But, Figma’s enormous debut has shown that demand might be warming again. So, for founders and investors, missing the IPO window can mean years of waiting… or listing at a discount.