Or they may become angels themselves, investing in other tech startups. Don't be fooled, though. Not all IPOs are successes. Most are volatile, and some can be downright dogs. Lycos Inc. and Infoseek Corp. shares are trading at less than half their opening prices, while Excite hovers around its opening price of 17.
Truth is, most high-tech IPOs go south.
With this sort of track record, it might seem that investors would sour on putting money into high-tech startups or newly public companies. Far from it. There are dump trucks coming to Silicon Valley wanting to pour the money in,'' says J. Neil Weintraut, managing director at 21st Century Internet Venture Partners. They won't all hit pay dirt. Plus, there is another downside.