A meme in the tech startup world over the last few years is that you should wait as long as possible to go public. While holding off on an IPO may be beneficial for a small number of startups (e.g. Uber, and Facebook before it) it may be harmful for a number of startups who are not, well, Uber or Facebook. In particular, as public market conditions worsen and tech IPOs are scarce, a number of companies may regret not having gone public in late 2015 when they had the chance to do so. Public markets are sources of ongoing capital, provide a liquid stock with which to both reward and compensate employees as well as to make acquisitions.