The Nuts and Bolts of an IPO

This practical session, primarily for CFOs and GCs of late-stage private companies, will provide an end-to-end roadmap of an IPO. Gunderson Dettmer partners Andrew Thorpe and Elena Vespoli will unpack the building blocks of the deal— crafting the S-1, how shares get sold, what it means to “upsize” or “downsize” the offering; why lockups matter; when existing holders can sell; and how features like DSPs, anchor investors, and concurrent private placements fit into the overall transaction.

Andrew and Elena will demystify what happens in investor meetings and at pricing and clarify the role of the legal and finance teams at each step of the process, equipping you with a better understanding of how all the pieces fit together – from kick-off to listing – that you can use to guide your team and your board.

The team will also discuss market trends and the IPO outlook for 2026.