Nicole Lapin

But what happens before that is where the cracks of the foundation really do show.

To IPO, first a company has to hire an underwriter.

These are typically investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, who are tasked with managing the IPO process itself.

Their job is basically to do due diligence on the company, to help determine its valuation, and to really build the buzz.

They do take a fee, typically 3-7% of the total money raised.

So on a $75 billion deal like SpaceX, that fee could be well into the billions.

Then the company files a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC.

This is the company's full financial disclosure to the public.

It includes revenue, profits, losses, who owns what, and how the money raised will be used.

This is a public document.

When SpaceX files its prospectus, you could read it.

You should, by the way, or at least have AI give you a summary.

And that's honestly what I'm going to do if I'm being real.

Next, the roadshow.

This sounds way more fun than it actually is.

This is where the company and its bankers go on tour and pitch institutional investors.

These are the big pension funds, the mutual funds, the hedge funds out there.

The roadshow usually runs about 10 to 14 days, and the goal is to gauge demand and to build what's called the book.

It's a list of investors who want in and at what price.

The night before the IPO officially launches, the company and its underwriters set a final IPO price based on the demand.