Unicorns, IPOs and the fear of repeating the late 1990s

2019 likely to break the record for IPOs set in 1999

The current hype about two-sided digital platforms, blitzscaling and winner-takes-most markets has fuelled a surge in IPO listings. As a result, a rising tide of doomsayers have warned that we are repeating the excesses of the dot-com boom.

One consequence of this dynamic is there are now over 360 unicorns (privately held start-up companies valued at over $1bn) globally, with most in tech-related sectors. To illustrate, last year delivered a sizeable herd of new unicorns, 96 according to PitchBook, with 2019 on track to surpass that number and set a new record. With such an impressive number and variety of unicorns, many chomping at the bit to go public, it is perhaps unsurprising that 2019 is likely to break the record for IPOs set in 1999. High profile recent listings have included Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Beyond Meat and Z...