Lyft went public on Friday, closing at 8.7 percent up at $78.29.
The day ahead of the IPO, MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman spoke with Fox Business alongside his former co-founder of TheGlobe.com, the world’s first social media site. Todd founded the site with Stephan Paternot just before the Dotcom bubble, giving them both insight into the potential for the overvaluation of tech companies.
“My gut reaction is to worry, actually,” Todd told Fox Business’ Liz Claman. “This is a tremendous company that has many milestones. It doesn’t mean it won’t ultimately be profitable.”
But, Todd said, the time horizon matters more than anything, encouraging investors and stakeholders to stay in it for the long haul: “There are many shareholders who are getting in for the quick lift. That is very common right after an IPO. If you are making that investment in the first week or two, you can expect a very different performance than over the period of the next few years.”
Todd still has every expectation that tech startups will continue to be both valuable and profitable — and continue to transform advertising. “The business that I’m in today, which is used by ad sales teams around the world, is a business tool,” he concluded. “But I’m still in the software business.”
The day of the IPO, CNN reported that the strong Wall Street debut “could be an encouraging sign for the long list of billion-dollar tech startups expected to go public later this year, including Uber.” The IPO signals the ability for tech to transform industries outside tech itself — such as transportation, retail, food and beverage, and advertising. Which brings us to related news.
In other news
Uber Technologies, Inc. is expected to acquire its Dubai-based rival, Careem Networks FZ, for an estimated $3.1 billion. Uber’s acquisition comes just ahead of its imminent initial public offering, which Lyft beat by a matter of weeks.
McDonald’s Corporation has officially announced its intent to acquire the Israeli data personalization company Dynamic Yield in a deal expected to top $300 million. Working across a variety of sectors that include e-commerce, travel and finance, Dynamic Yield works with brands to provide a personalized user experience that builds off of the data it collects from users while online. McDonald’s has expressed interest in this technology as a part of its Velocity Growth Plan, hoping to create more personalized drive-thru machines. McDonalds plans to roll out this technology later this year in its U.S. locations.
