#PowerToTheStoryteller — IPO Lessons From Doug Madey

By Krista Canfield McNish

This week a few dozen talented marketing and communications professionals joined us for a session on navigating PR before, during and after an IPO. CRV companies including Airtable, Cribl, Kong, Mercury, Postman, Vercel and many others gathered in CRV’s San Francisco office and on Zoom for a frank discussion with Doug Madey.

Before Doug Joined Us, Cribl’s Bradley Chambers Gave the Group an Update on His End of the Year Goals

These days Doug is the senior PR team lead at 6Sense, which reimagines the way revenue teams create, manage and convert pipeline into revenue. Prior to that Doug worked at LinkedIn (which is where I first met him) and then after LinkedIn he led the comms team at Procore which had a banner IPO in 2021.

CRV Loves Creating Opportunities for its Companies to Have a Seat at the Table So They Can Learn and Grow

Going public via an IPO can be both an exciting and stressful event. It’s always rewarding to hear firsthand how other practitioners tackle the process. Below are just a few of the key takeaways Doug gave our companies during his chat.

Good Ideas Are Always Bubbling Up at CRV

“Lean into your story. Don’t change what the company is.” — Doug Madey

The nuts and bolts of every company’s story varies. While it’s not uncommon to hear about blockbuster IPOs coming out of San Francisco or New York, Procore sells construction professionals the tools they need to manage construction projects out of Carpinteria, California. Rather than trying to fit the de facto tech success story mold, Doug and his team leaned into the close-knit seaside vibe of the business and used differentiators that were already innate to their advantage to garner media attention.

Good Ideas Are Always on the Table at CRV

“Bookmark your journey.” — Doug Madey

Doug also encouraged attendees not to overlook the importance of documenting wins and milestones via trade publications and media outlets like TechCrunch and VentureBeat. In the weeks and months leading up to a filing, they help set a precedent for what your normal course of business looks like, so you can continue those activities during the pre-IPO quiet period.

“Everyone plays a part.” — Doug Madey

Your team will likely expand and grow as you get closer to your IPO, but the bonds you have with internal stakeholders you’ve always worked with (including finance and legal) will get even tighter. Doug advised our attendees to make sure they foster trust and transparency with team counterparts early on.

From Left to Right in Office — LanceDB’s Jasmine Wang, Kodiak’s Tyler Rosengren, Me, Mercury’s Nic Corpora, Vercel’s Reem Ateyeh, Sleuth’s Tyler Cascade and InWorld’s Monica Tran

Dozens of communications and marketing pros Zoomed in from across the country to join our Bay Area attendees for CRV’s IPO readiness session. The startups CRV invests in hail from all over the world, so we love finding opportunities to connect their employees with experts who have interesting experiences and words of wisdom to share. If you’re an entrepreneur interested in joining the CRV family, get to know our team and reach out to us