Going public can be a monumental step forward and a proud moment for any company. However, there are a plethora of decisions to make, with numerous implications when a company is contemplating going public. Despite these difficulties, going public can bring greater wealth and prosperity to a companies offering, as these IPOs demonstrate.
Rokk3r Labs, a venture builder that co-builds exponential startups worldwide, recently announced their plans to go public. To get a better understanding of their motivation for doing so, and the benefits it can bring, we spoke with Nabyl Charania, CEO of Rokk3r Labs.
What was the motivation to go public for Rokk3r Labs?
From our years of building ventures, and connecting with entrepreneurs, investors and corporations across the globe, it became evident very early on that there was a gap in the global infrastructure of entrepreneurship. Recently, although ecosystems and access continue to open up, they are doing so in pockets around the globe, while still being characterized by the same deficiencies of access that we have seen since the early 2000s.
The infrastructure simply has not caught up with the rate of change. This was the impetus for Rokk3r Labs to go public – democratizing access for entrepreneurs, investors and anyone else wanting to play a role in global entrepreneurship. Public markets create a vehicle to enact a global idea-to-exit ecosystem in a manner that will open access for entrepreneurs and investors regardless of location, wealth, or network.
I also understand you have an intention to file an application for the Nasdaq Capital Market by 2019. How do you foresee Rokk3r Labs evolving in that space of time?
We will continue the push to democratize access for entrepreneurs and investors along an exponential trajectory. In this time we will see the public launch of the Rokk3r Crowdbuild Platform running on the Rokk3r Crowdbuild OS (operating system). This hybrid human and machine intelligence system built on the blockchain will have the ability to leverage decentralized ledger technologies, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies enabling a future-forward company building infrastructure.
In complement, we will set the foundation for Rokk3r Hubs, a global network of physical locations in select emerging and established economies. This will begin first with a push across the South America region, starting in Ecuador. As we continue to build market confidence through our platform, we will set the stage for our uptick to the NASDAQ.
Rokk3rLabs currently has bases in many countries across the world. What countries are next on Rokk3rLabs list to expand into?
We are evaluating options – we have several locations in LatAM and the US we are looking at for immediate expansion.
What advice do you have for other companies that are looking to go public?
Determine whether going public is first of all the right vehicle for the company’s larger vision. Does it make sense for what you want for your company at the end of the day, or are you being overwhelmed by the hype?
Once you’re firm in an understanding of why going public is the best outcome for your vision, then understand the infrastructure that will be needed to make this happen within the economic climate, and rely on the experience of others who have done this before to develop the roadmap. Don’t kid yourself about the difficulties ahead with this path, but don’t lose sight of the drive to get where you’re going.
This is obviously a big moment in Rokk3rLabs story, what do you foresee or would like to see as the next big moment/step forward for Rokk3rLabs?
As we build on the efforts undertaken to launch this future-forward platform, and having already discussed democratizing access for entrepreneurs, the momentum will be around the investment capacity. The early stage startup technology ecosystem has been inaccessible, with very little understood about participation. Rokk3r will be democratizing access to a traditionally illiquid and inaccessible asset class through shares and participation in the overall ecosystem where exponential companies are launched. This will signal not only a big moment for Rokk3r, but a paradigm shift in how the world engages with early-stage companies.
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