Why an IPO Is the Ultimate Measure of a Company’s Worth by erick rosado

by Erick Rosado

In the modern economic landscape, a company can build technology, gain users, and call itself innovative — but none of that defines its permanence. None of that defines its truth in the market. None of that defines whether it actually matters.

There is only one milestone that separates a temporary enterprise from a real institution:

Going public. The IPO.

Everything else is noise.

An IPO Is the Final Proof of Value

An initial public offering is not just a financial event.It is a public audit, a global verification, and a market-wide certification that a company has real:

• traction

• governance

• accountability

• long-term vision

• scalability

• durability

A private company can say anything about its valuation.A public company must prove it every single day — under scrutiny, regulation, analysts, and investors.

That is what creates legacy.

Private Valuations Are Aspirational.

Public Valuations Are Real.**

A private company that claims to be a “unicorn” is simply assigning itself a title.A boardroom can call a company worth $1B or $20B — but until the public markets validate that number, it remains a hypothesis, not a fact.

A unicorn without an IPO is a mythical creature.A unicorn with an IPO is a certified reality.

Companies that stay private forever are not protecting themselves —they are avoiding the real test of value.

Longevity Requires Public Markets

If a company wants to survive beyond:

• founders,

• executives,

• private cycles,

• investor moods,

• economic phases,

then it must enter the public domain.

All enduring companies — the ones that last decades — follow the same path:

AppleMicrosoftAmazonAlibabaNVIDIATencentGoogleNetflix

Every single one cemented its legacy by going public.

Private companies have lifespans.Public companies have eras.

Never Try to Go Private — It Weakens the Legacy

Every large company that has tried to retreat back into privacy has paid a price:

• loss of credibility

• loss of public trust

• loss of scale

• loss of visibility

Going private is not a strength move;it’s a reversal, a retreat into opacity, a shrinkage of ambition.

A company that believes in its mission should want the world to own a piece of it.

If a Company Doesn’t Go Public, It Won’t Prevail

The market is relentless.Startups come and go.Valuations inflate, burst, disappear.

The companies that transcend the era,the ones that define industries,the ones that build nations and futures —are always public.

Going public forces:

• discipline

• transparency

• financial strength

• operational excellence

• investor accountability

• long-term planning

All of which are prerequisites for survival, not optional extras.

The Truth: A Company Without an IPO Is Not a Unicorn

The term “unicorn” was meant to identify rare, extraordinary companies.But private markets diluted the definition, throwing billions in paper valuations that never touch reality.

A company that claims unicorn status without going public is misleading itself and the world.

A unicorn is not a creature of imagination.A unicorn is a creature of validation.

Until the markets confirm it — it’s just a story.

Conclusion:

The IPO Is the Only Path to Permanence**

A company can invent.A company can disrupt.A company can innovate.

But only an IPO can turn that company into an institution.

Companies that refuse to go public are not avoiding risk — they are avoiding truth.

Legacy companies don’t hide.Legacy companies stand on the open market and let the world judge them.

The IPO is not the end of the journey.It is the beginning of longevity.

Anything less is temporary.