By Louis Lehot, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP. Garage to global, since Y2K.After 25 years advising companies from the garage to the public markets, I have learned to pay attention when a room of CFOs stops being polite. That happened on
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Is Your Company IPO-Ready? The 12-Month Checklist
Traditional IPOs raised roughly $114 billion in the first half of 2026, more than seven times the total from the same period last year. Sixty-five companies went public, nearly double the prior year’s count, and most opened above their offer
Why I Joined the CFO Executive Forum, and What It Is
The CFO Executive Forum is a peer-first room where finance leaders work through their AI decisions with other CFOs, off the record, rather than with a vendor’s deck. I joined its board because I have spent my career advising companies
How to Make IPOs Great Again
In May, the SEC made its most ambitious proposals in a generation to bring companies back to the public markets. That is the right goal and a strong start. We endorse it, but more is needed.The argument in brief1 .The public market has
Three Companies Get a Growth Multiple. The Rest of You Get a Conversation.
By Louis Lehot. From garage to global, since Y2K. A read on Rob Bartlett’s June 2026 Jefferies Software Valuation Update, for the founders, CEOs, and directors who have to make a decision about it.Friends,I am not a banker, and I do
Business & Legal Developments | June 2026
Friends,Before diving into this month’s newsletter, we are pleased to share that Heather Miles has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in its Transactions Practice Group. Miles’ arrival enhances the firm’s capabilities across the Innovative Technology, Manufacturing,
It’s Time to Get Going
Friends,I spent yesterday afternoon in New York at the Nasdaq MarketSite for the Sidebar Summit, and I moderated a panel on markets, AI, and capital formation. Sidebar Summit was part of a series of events comprising New York Tech Week.
Looking Forward to Speaking at Sidebar Summit During New York Techweek on June 1 at Nasdaq…
Looking Forward to Speaking at Sidebar Summit During New York Techweek on June 1 at Nasdaq Marketsite!Looking forward to speaking at Sidebar Summit during New York TechWeek on June 1 at Nasdaq MarketSite!Our outstanding group consists of leaders across venture,
AI, Automation, and Robotics Are Reshaping Value Creation for Private Equity
I have spent close to three decades sitting across deal tables from private equity sponsors, and for most of that time the game looked the same. Buy a good business, fix the capital structure, drive operational discipline, dress it up,
One Week Left to Sign Up for This Month’s Hard Things Event
As a reminder, Hard Things is an ongoing, invite-only event series co-organized by Mavka Capital and Foley & Lardner LLP, dedicated to the founders, investors, and builders shaping physicalAI. We’re curating every gathering to spark the conversations that matter most