Steve Cakebread’s THE IPO PLAYBOOK is not a book one reads for pleasure; it is all about building a business and making it successful. Cakebread, the CFO of Yext, spends all 211 pages going into the weeds about how entrepreneurs can establish IPOs and why they should. But there’s a catch: Cakebread argues that not all companies should become an IPO; it’s not a one-size-fits-all pathway for success. The author makes it clear throughout the book that the audience he has in mind is the eager and excited entrepreneur who wants their business dreams to come true. Because of this, he wants them to understand the complexity of the IPO system. As the subtitle states–An Insider’s Perspective on Taking Your Company Public and How to Do It Right–this is not a standard book, but rather a step-by-step manual on how to turn your start-up or small business into an IPO. Cakebread goes into excruciating detail about establishing a business and putting it on track to be publicly traded.
THE IPO PLAYBOOK makes use of bullet points, non-traditional text arrangements, and much more. This can make for quicker reading for those interested in the subject matter. And while the book at times leans too heavily on business jargon and LinkedIn-type writing patters, it is still packed with helpful points. Cakebread should be commended for his honest analysis, and this book proves that he is a smart businessman with a solid grasp of both the market and the forces at work on Wall Street. Cakebread also proves himself to be a firm believer in the power of people. Namely, THE IPO PLAYBOOK stresses that in-company chemistry, especially the chemistry between partners, is one of the biggest factors when it comes to determining success. The book’s appendix also provides great advice, and those seeking to become an entrepreneur will find nothing to hate in this volume. Cakebread provides one last sterling piece of advice: it takes a minimum of 18 months for companies to be ready to become IPOs. Any company doing it sooner than that is asking for trouble. Time is always of the essence as far as Cakebread is concerned.
Steve Cakebread’s THE IPO PLAYBOOK is an instructive, no frills, soup-to-nuts look at what it takes for IPOs to become successful.
~Benjamin Welton for IndieReader