The Exit Before the Exit: Rethinking the Path to the Public Markets

For decades, the playbook for a high-growth company was straightforward: raise private capital, scale, and exit through an IPO or acquisition. That path is no longer a given. Deeper private capital markets and an expanding secondary market now allow companies to stay private longer while still delivering liquidity to founders, employees, and early investors. For boards, more options bring a more fundamental question: What are we building toward? The answer shapes everything from capital strategy and stakeholder expectations to when, and whether, the company prepares to operate as a public company.

This session will feature experts from Baker Tilly and Mintz to examine how boards should approach liquidity, exit strategy, and public-company readiness in a changing capital landscape.

• When does staying private create strategic advantage, and when does it become a constraint?

• How should boards balance founder and employee liquidity with investor expectations?

• Where should secondaries fit into a company’s broader liquidity and capital strategy?

• What should determine whether a company builds toward an IPO, pursues another exit, or remains private?

• Does access to private-market liquidity change the rationale for preparing to operate as a public company?

• How can boards preserve strategic optionality as markets and shareholder needs evolve?

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