Article
Is my company ready to go public?
A company is ready to start when it has a founder who executes, a plan that holds up, people who will invest, and financial records that can be audited. It doesn't need revenue or a long history. More than a dozen of the 17 companies we have taken public were pre-revenue. What stops companies is usually something else: problems from past raises, management distracted by other things, or records that can't be audited.
Joel Arberman, Meraki Partners · Reviewed October 2026. Based on 17 companies taken public since 1999: 11 by direct listing, 4 by reverse merger and 2 by IPO.
What does a company need before it starts?
| Area | What ready looks like |
|---|---|
| Founder and team | Growth-minded, experienced and disciplined, with a history of doing what they say |
| Plan | A strategy that holds up, with a clear use for public stock and capital |
| Capital | People who know the founder and will invest, typically $500,000 to $2 million from about 50 people |
| Financials | Records that can be audited: two years, or every period since incorporation for a newer company |
| Entity | A C corporation |
| Cap table | Past raises done with the required filings; SAFEs and notes ready to convert into a fixed number of shares |
| Board | We recommend at least three independent directors |
What stops a company from going public?
The biggest problem is capital raised incorrectly in the past, without the required federal or state filings. Sometimes the liability is large enough that the company can't proceed. After that come management that is too distracted to drive the process, and financial records that need a lot of work before an audit. A large number of shareholders is not a problem.
Do I need a public-company CFO before starting?
Not necessarily. Many small companies use an outside accounting firm to prepare the statements and a part-time or fractional CFO at first. We bring accountants, auditors and lawyers matched to the company's industry, size and complexity.
Do small public companies need full Sarbanes-Oxley compliance?
They need internal controls and disclosure controls, and the CEO and CFO certify every report. Smaller companies that aren't accelerated filers don't need an outside auditor's attestation on internal controls, which is the most expensive part of Sarbanes-Oxley for large companies.
What if we're not ready yet?
Not ready usually means not yet. Many gaps can be closed while the process runs: the raise, the accounting and the drafting happen at the same time. If something can't be fixed, such as a plan that doesn't hold up, we say so.
Related questions
Want to talk it through?
Tell us where you are, and we’ll set up a first conversation about whether going public belongs in your plan and what it would take. If it isn’t right for you, we’ll say so.