A record-breaking year for IPOs 💸

2019 is shaping up to be a breakout year for tech IPOs. The economy is strong, unemployment rates are low, and investor optimism is high with rising tech valuations. Airbnb, Slack, and Lyft could all go public within the next year, and despite its slowing growth, Uber is among the most antici [AngelList]( [View Online]( [11508997_MotionElements_uber-technologies-inc_converted_93125-640x360-3s-q2.gif]( 2019 is shaping up to be a breakout year for tech IPOs. The economy is strong, unemployment rates are low, and investor optimism is high with rising tech valuations. Airbnb, Slack, and Lyft could all go public within the next year, and despite its slowing growth, Uber is among the most anticipated offerings in years. The ride-sharing company's latest valuation sits just over $70 billion, but recent estimates could have it pegged at upwards of $100 billion. Even though Uber announced $1.07 billion in third-quarter losses Wednesday, it still has the potential to be the biggest IPO in history. Alibaba currently holds that title for its $25 billion offering in 2014, but at a rumored valuation of $120 billion, Uber would only need to offer a fraction of its shares to take the crown. For comparison, Uber’s possible $120 billion valuation would be roughly four times Airbnb’s current $31 billion, eight times Lyft’s $15 billion, and over 17 times Slack’s $7 billion. The numbers are staggering in their own right, but their potential is even more impressive when you consider activity from earlier this year. In the first quarter of 2018, "the median IPO size for U.S., VC-backed companies was $110 million," according to [a Pitchbook analysis](. [Q1 2018 VC activity]( By the end of September, 173 U.S. IPOs had raised just over $45 billion, according to data from PwC. That's almost a 50% increase compared to the same period in 2017. And while 2018 has seen the strongest IPO activity since 2014, if the tech giants currently expected to go public in 2019 follow through, we’ll have a front-row seat to record-breaking activity. As Bloomberg [aptly described it]( "The last time three 11-figure U.S. tech companies went public in the same year, Bill Clinton was president and Apple Inc. was worth less than 1% of Microsoft Corp. That was 2000, when, with air leaking out of the dot-com bubble, the company that made the Palm Pilot was valued at $21 billion" --------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Blank: How to keep your job as your startup grows [Steve Blank]( "If you’re an early employee at a startup, one day you will wake up to find that what you worked on 24/7 for the last year is no longer the most important thing – you’re no longer the most important employee, and process, meetings, paperwork, and managers and bosses have shown up. Most painfully, you’ll learn that your role in the company has to change. "I’ve seen these transitions as an investor, board member, and CEO. At times they are painful to watch and difficult to manage. Early in my career, I lived it as an employee, and I handled it in the worst possible way. "Here’s what I wish I had known." [Keep reading]( Mullet startups and how Silicon Valley has changed [PH Radio]( This week on Product Hunt Radio, Ryan Hoover made the trek from San Francisco down to Sandhill Road to talk to Andrew Chen and Ada Chen at Andreessen Horowitz. Their matching last name is not a coincidence — yes, they are siblings. They cover everything from the uniqueness of the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem to how you can port the concept of OKRs  in to your personal life (and why you would want to). [Keep reading.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Hot startups hiring now 🔥 🏡 [Compass]( is a new way to find a great place to live in every major U.S. city, making every step of the process easier, from searching through quality, up-to-date listings online, to working with a great agent to find the perfect apartment. [Hiring a senior devops engineer, full-stack engineer, and more.]( 📚 [Outschool]( is a marketplace of live online classes for kids. Classes meet in small groups over live video-chat. Independent teachers offer classes directly to parents. [Hiring a principal software engineer.]( 🤝 [Resource]( believes the recruiting process should be human, enlightening and fun—not a transaction. Its team is challenging the status quo through smarter software driven by data and deep care for the candidate experience. 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