🐂 Issue #9: To the (Claremont) Window to the Wall (Street)
It's time to call it what it is. The Year of the IPO...especially for Claremont-founded companies! 🤤
💬 Welcome to issue #9 of Between the Lines
Well….I’ll let the title (and Lil Jon) speak for itself. This week we have a piece for you that is certainly worth celebrating! Keep reading to find out about what a crazy year its been for Claremont on Wall Street, how continually impressive our alumni are at running successful companies, and Claremont’s newest author and future best times seller ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My Best, Miles
📊 6th Street Stats: The Year of the IPO
Authors: Josh Tatum & Miles Bird
Remember back in 1602 when The Dutch East India Company (VOC) became the first-ever company in history to formally go public and sell their shares? Yeah, we remember too - like it was yesterday. While I’m sure there were some other forms of “public” companies back in the heyday of the Roman Republic or the Middle Kingdom, the VOC was the first known company to officially be listed on an actual stock exchange. We’re going to flash forward to the 21st century, though, and talk about public companies in the modern era.
IPOs have moved from the raucous floor pictured above to the wild, wild world of the world wide web. And, thanks to the internet, IPOs are much much more common than they were in the VOC days. Here’s a quick look at exactly how many IPOs have happened per year in the U.S. over the last 20 or so years.1
As you can see, in only three of the last 21 years has the number of IPOs ever surpassed 400 in the US - and two of those years were during the dot com boom when the markets finally exchanged sweaty floors for the slick screens. 2020 was also quite the year for IPOs, likely due to the uptick in special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The 407 tally for 2020 was equal to the previous two years combined….and people thought that was crazy. I’m guessing you know what’s coming next, though. 🤷♂️
Spoiler alert: 2021 has more IPOs than 2020 - way more.
As of August 20th, there have been over 700 IPOs on the US stock market this year.2 For context, at this time last year there were only 170 🤯. It is no shocker then, that 2021 is also setting records for the highest amount of exit value with well over $300B. To read more about the crazy market, exit values, and IPOs this year, scope out this article by Footwork Ventures GP, and fellow substacker, Nikhil Basu Trivedi.
But this newsletter is about Claremont, right? Right! So, I’ll let you in on a secret. Somewhere buried within the record number of 700 IPOs, lies four Claremont-founded companies. Four different Claremont-founded companies have already IPO’d this year and they are crushing it! However, since you’re reading this newsletter, you are likely not surprised because you’re already aware of how impressive Claremont founders are - particularly our female founders. Enough ego-stroking, though. Let’s talk through these four companies, and give you the inside scoop now that they’ve made the move from Silicon Valley to Wall Street.
Company #1 - Janux Therapeutics:
Janux was founded by HMC grad David Campbell, and it was the first Claremont-founded company to IPO this year back in June. Janux Therapeutics is one of the most innovative biopharmaceutical companies around, developing next-generation therapeutics based on its proprietary Tumor Activated T Cell Engager (TRACTr) platform technology. They are currently using this platform to better treat patients suffering from cancer. Currently, the company is rocking a therapeutic market cap of over $1.2B for its investors!
Company #2 - Doximity:
Another June IPO this year came from Doximity, the leading digital platform for medical professionals (think LinkedIn for doctors). Co-founded by CMC grad Nate Gross, Doximity’s current member network includes over 80% of U.S. physicians across all practice areas. Their ticker is showing no signs of letting up, and the stock has more than doubled since its IPO. It currently finds itself with a cheeky $16B market cap. Not too shabby for a former Government major ;)
Company #3 - Caribou Biosciences:
The third time... and every time seems to be the charm for PO grad Jennifer Doudna. Caribou Biosciences is Doudna’s third founded company that has gone public. Yes, you read that correctly! Caribou Biosciences is a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome editing biotechnology company, and they are using their CRISPR technologies to boost the persistence of off-the-shelf cell therapies with a goal of developing best-in-class therapeutics. Their technologies also seem to be well on their way to boosting their market cap to a crisp(r) $1.7B.
Company #4 - Matterport:
Covid has not slowed down Matterport one bit, and they are among many proptech companies that are helping push businesses forward despite the pandemics’ efforts to shut it down. HMC grad, Michael Beebe, co-founded Matterport which has become the world leader in immersive 3D technology, offering a platform for prosumers and professionals to easily capture, edit and share 3D models of physical spaces. Whatever they are modeling seems to be working because you don’t even need a 3D model in order to see their 1D $3.4B market cap.
From proptech, to biotech, to healthcare, and everything else in between (....the lines), Claremont founders are making a big splash on Wall Street and the private markets. Despite certainly being the year of the IPO for many other companies as well, these achievements by these four Claremont companies and their founders are incredibly impressive. A very loud and proud congratulation to these companies and their founders for their accomplishments! I don’t know about you - but I keep feeling like my Claremont degree just keeps growing in value. Claremont stonks always go up, right? 📈
🤔 Follow-up Questions
We hope you enjoyed this 6th Street Stats because there is still so much more to uncover and talk about! What is the next Claremont-founded company that is going to go public (we have some guesses)? How sustainable is this monster of a year for the public markets? Will next year continue with even more IPOs? What outside of SPACs are causing this uptick in the amount of IPOs?
We certainly don’t have all the answers, but we’ll keep digging in Between the Lines. Leave a comment or question below!
🚨Claremonster Call-Out: Bret Jorgensen & MDVIP
A huge shout to CMC alum, Bret Jorgensen. Bret is the former founder of TheraTX (acquired by Kindred for $350M+), a serial and successful CEO, and the current CEO and Chairman of health care company MDVIP. MDVIP is a personalized healthcare program that empowers people to reach their health and wellness goals through in-depth knowledge, expertise, and one-on-one coaching with an affiliated primary care doctor. Bret has been running the show at MDVIP for over seven years now, and Goldman Sachs and Charlesbank just announced that they are acquiring ownership of MDVIP. Congrats to Bret and the rest of the MDVIP team on this accomplishment!
"The past 18 months have been a catalyst for Americans to become more engaged in their health, and many are recognizing the need for better prevention and coaching from a primary care doctor who really knows them," said MDVIP Chairman and CEO Bret Jorgensen. "For 21 years, MDVIP has built and scaled its physician practice model to meet this consumer demand, and the market for our services will continue its momentum. This investment by Goldman Sachs and Charlesbank speaks to the strength and resiliency of our business model, and we are excited to partner with them as we embark on our next phase of growth."3
👨🎓👩🎓 Pardon the Introduction: Ashkon Aghassi & CCG
Meet Ashkon Aghassi, a current CMC senior and President of Claremont Consulting Group. Ashkon is fresh off of his internship this past summer with Bret and MDVIP from up above, and he and CCG are looking to work with some Claremont companies this fall for their student consulting projects. Here’s a note from Ashkon below…
Claremont Consulting Group (CCG) is a student-run, revenue-generating consulting firm based at Claremont McKenna College. Our consultants have a diverse set of majors and experiences, many of which have received on-the-job experience at top consulting firms, investment banks and tech companies. CCG offers access to these top skills at a fraction of the cost of a traditional consulting firm.
Tackling projects that range from high-level strategy work to specific needs (e.g. SEO and web analytics), CCG has provided value for a variety of clientele including early-stage startups and Fortune 500 corporations. For further information, please visit our website.
The CCG team is currently looking for exciting and innovative companies to partner with for the upcoming fall semester. If you, your company, or anybody else you might know is interested, email Ashkon & CCG here! 📧
💼 Who’s Hiring?:
Elham Ali, CMC alum and Lead Experience Design Research at Aledade, is hiring some new team members! Aledade is fresh off a $100M series D raise, and they are a new company with an old-fashioned goal: putting doctors back in control of health care. They are looking for someone who is excited about getting to develop and pioneer processes and operations critical for the XDR team. Currently, they are hiring for the following roles:
Interested in financial inclusion, energy access, and/or making a positive impact in emerging markets? Joe Swartley, CMC alum and Cheif of Staff at Angaza, is looking to hire! Angaza is a technology company that enables businesses to provide affordable, life-changing products to people in emerging markets. They’ve raised over $30M in venture dollars to date and are looking to expand for the following roles:
CMC grad, Solon Teal, is working to create an online place to have rich conversations and make connections for a life well-lived. His company, Talk Social, is the place where relationships are created and deepened through real conversations. He is currently looking for some Claremont alumni to fill out some really exciting roles:
If any of these roles catch your eye 👀 , apply and mention Between the Lines! Or if you are an employer and are looking to hire tip-top Claremont talent, fill out this form!
🤤 BTL Snacks:
You may not be able to get your favorites snacks at the Claremont dining halls anymore on the weekdays, but hopefully, these juicy tidbits from BTL will satisfy the hunger for now! 🍽️
🎬 It’s slowly becoming a digital media world….so do yourself a favor and check out this new book by PO alum and media expert, Erica Berry
👶 Any working parents wanting to join the impressive ranks of Claremont founders?….. Check out this great article by PO alum and founder of Kinside, Shadiah Sigala.
🐘 Solon Teal is currently building what he calls, an Elephant…..read all about the exciting work CMC alum Solon Teal is doing with his company social software company, Talk Social!
🗣️ Conversations on the interwebz:
by Josh Tatum
This week’s top read 🔥
Some inspiring words for your early Thursday morning read! Micha Chellam is a PO graduate and 3X founder of companies Scanadu, Tradecraft, and now Council on Technology. Keep shooting your shots, Claremont! 🏀
Everything else you need to know….📖
Trust…. and three key elements for organizations according to Ho Nam, HMC grad and Managing Director at Altos Ventures 🔑
A great read on an overview of cryptocurrencies and NFTs impact on our world brought to you by nonother than PO alum Jesse Pollak. Jesse is the Head of Engineering at Coinbase and the former co-founder of Cleff! 🥇
Congrats once again to the former Sagehen coach and Hall of Fame legend, Coach Pop! Enjoy this lil clip of his post-Gold Medal speech to Team USA 🇺🇸
I’m guessing most of us alumni wish we could join you, but welcome back to all the new and returning Claremont students this week! 📚 🥳
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Feedback? We love to hear it. Hit us with an email. 👊🏼
https://www.statista.com/statistics/270290/number-of-ipos-in-the-us-since-1999/
https://stockanalysis.com/ipos/statistics/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goldman-sachs-asset-management-and-charlesbank-capital-partners-to-acquire-majority-ownership-of-mdvip-from-leonard-green--partners-and-summit-partners-301358846.html