Special-purpose acquisition companies let companies skirt the IPO process

SPACs, explained

Special purpose acquisition companies make it easy for mature unicorns (companies valued at over $1B) to receive growth capital by going public. This process effectively skips the work of a traditional initial public offering, and its time-intensive investor negotiations. Typically, a well-known investor with expertise in a certain industry sponsors a SPAC with the intent to acquire a startup. Learn how it works and the risks involved here.

Why companies go public

There are many ways the founders of private companies can make money off an exit. They could sell the company to a larger organization, for instance. But there are unique benefits to having a company listed on the stock market that aren’t often outlined in news alerts about IPOs.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

It's difficult for individual investors to purchase IPO shares

Although the process of going public means the general public can invest in a company, the initial investment period is different. Before individual investors get in on the action, investment bankers sell the shares to larger financial institutions who can afford the asking price and risk associated with an IPO.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Just because a big name company is going public doesn’t guarantee a successful stock

A reporter dove into how highly anticipated IPOs can still be risky, and why retail investors should be wary of investing right away.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public

A prospectus typically contains information about the company's operations, including details about its management team and their compensation, financial statements, how it intends to use any capital raised by the IPO, and more. While these documents can be dense and lengthy, experts say that some of the most important sections of a prospectus for investors to look at include the risk factors section and the use of proceeds section.

Private equity firms often use leveraged buyouts to acquire new companies

In a leveraged buyout or "LBO," private equity funds finance acquisitions with debt secured by the target company's assets and cash flows. The PE firm aims to improve operations and leverage the company's profile to pay down debt, thereby increasing equity value.

Smaller companies’ IPO information can be hard to track down

This calendar keeps you updated on the current IPO dates and pricing from different companies. You can search for upcoming and future IPO dates and see which companies withdrew from the IPO process.

Why private credit is attractive to both businesses and investors

While investors are attracted to the high rates, private credit is particularly attractive to mid-sized businesses that are too small for bank syndication and want faster, more flexible financing options.

Some private credit funds trade on the stock market

These funds, which trade at market prices, are called "public BDCs," which stands for "business development companies." For instance, the global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. has a public BDC.

Many startup founders pull out-of-the-box stunts to get their businesses off the ground

Do you know Airbnb’s founders used cereal (yes, as in the breakfast food) to secure their initial round of funding? Or that PayPal’s founders once gave out free money to get people to sign up for the platform? These stories might be crazy, but they’re not uncommon.

Nonprofit VC funds invest in startups, but have donors instead of LPs

Examples include Andreessen Horowitz’s TxO (Talent x Opportunity) Initiative and Fifth Star Funds, which allows donors to write “Friends & Family” checks for Black tech founders.

Insider trading is the practice of trading a company's securities based on material, nonpublic information

"Material, nonpublic" information is essentially any undisclosed information that could have a substantial impact on an investor's decision to trade a security. While the practice is strictly prohibited on the stock market, it's now being discussed regarding less-regulated but increasingly popular prediction markets.

Convertible notes represent loans that startups owe investors

In the second part of a two-part series, convertible notes are explained to be a tool angel investors use to ensure they see a return on their investment in a startup.

Explore Bessemer's anti-portfolio of missed opportunities

From Pinterest to Yelp, Bessemer Venture Partners—one of the most well-known VC firms—has invested in many successful companies over the years. But the firm has also kicked itself for passing on a few great opportunities, like Apple and Google. Check out the other companies in Bessemer's "anti-portfolio" here.

Listen to the methods and strategy of the secretive S&P 500 selection committee

Stocks are added to the S&P 500 by a secret selection committee that meets regularly to assess which companies can remain in the index, which companies need to be added, and which companies no longer meet the criteria. The members of the committee used to be public, but S&P Global decided to keep its members confidential after companies sent packages, letters, and gifts to try to make it into the index.

How ‘vulture’ hedge funds make money

Some hedge funds specialize in snapping up distressed assets, like failing newspaper chains, and further stripping down their operational expenses in a bid to make a profit from the initial capital outlay. Delve into how one secretive firm known for the practice operates—and what’s at stake for the broader economy.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

A lot of what consultants do all day is intentionally kept a secret

Consulting firms also often keep their clients private to maximize the sectors they’re able to secure contracts for and avoid any perceived conflicts of interest.

Accredited investors are people or other entities allowed to participate in investments that aren’t registered with the SEC

The accreditation is meant to protect retail investors from potential losses. Financial professionals with Series 7, 65, or 82 licenses qualify, but so do individuals with over $1M in net worth.

Investors trading their municipal bonds can't use the same method to purchase them

Instead, they’ll have to go through the secondary market, which has its own set of rules and steps to follow. An illustrated, explanatory video can help you learn how to sell your municipal bonds for the best market value.

Backdoor Roth IRAs are loopholes used to access the tax advantages of a Roth IRA for individuals who otherwise make too much money to qualify for one

Backdoor IRAs work by investing money into a traditional IRA, and then converting that traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

Securitization has become common practice in home financing

When a homebuyer finances with a lender, they aren’t necessarily the one footing the bill. After a buyer secures a home loan, the lender can sell the loan to another financial institution or a private institution. That group can later sell that mortgage to investors. This is called securitization.

'Payment in kind' is a compensation method that uses alternatives to cash

Companies can make payments using goods, services, or additional securities instead of cash, helping companies preserve their cash flow. Public BDCs receive roughly 8% of their investment income via PIK.

Alternative investments can include everything from cryptocurrency to fine art

The financial assets typically fall outside the scope of traditional investments like stocks and bonds, and they’re often intended to diversify investor portfolios.

Was Google's acquisition of YouTube a good deal?

Google's acquisition of YouTube was a game-changer, but was it a good deal in retrospect? Here, the hosts of the popular "Acquired" podcast explore whether the deal measures up to the mythology, starting with a memo from early investor Sequoia Capital.

The story of a bitcoin loophole that gave one man millions

James Parker discovered a glitch in an Australian cryptocurrency exchange that would allow him to cash in credits worth over $20M and make big gifts to his friends. Like most loopholes, the authorities found out, but not before his life was transformed. The first in a six-part series.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.