The First Few Months on the Road to IPO

One thing has quickly become clear in the early stages of this journey. When preparing for a stock market listing, there is no single moment when the project properly begins. It happens gradually. First, there is a lot of discussion, planning and learning. At the same time, we build an understanding of what a journey like this really entails. At some point, you realise that the discussions are starting to turn into tasks. That’s how you know we’ve moved on to the next stage.

For us, the first few months have largely been about learning and getting a grasp of the bigger picture. Now we’ve gradually moved on to the practicalities. We’ve mapped out our own Road to IPO and started drawing up a systematic to-do list of everything that needs to be done this year and next. At the same time, the project has been added to the board’s monthly agenda.

One of the key items on my own to-do list has been finding the right CFO to join us on this journey. The further we progress along the IPO path, the more important the role of the CFO becomes. Over the summer, one important piece of the puzzle fell into place: we found the right CFO to join us on the journey. I’ll share more about that in my next blog post.

However, there is still a great deal to learn. We’ve been having discussions about structures, reporting, leadership, governance and what it actually takes to become IPO-ready. At the same time, I’ve had a feeling that many founders will probably recognise: the more you learn, the more you realise just how much there is still to learn.

Going public does not automatically make a company successful. Only a small proportion of companies manage to build sustained interest, investor confidence and growth over the long term. If we didn’t believe in our own ability to succeed in this marathon, we wouldn’t have set out on this journey.

Ambitious goals, determined execution, continuous learning and the ability to enjoy the journey. These are the things I want to carry with me throughout this project.

It’s still easy to be enthusiastic at this stage, but only as the journey unfolds will we see what the IPO path really demands of us.

In this blog series, HTGP CEO Joni Lappalainen shares HTGP’s journey toward a potential stock market listing in 2028. The series explores the lessons learned, decisions made, challenges encountered, and successes achieved along the way as the company prepares for its next phase of growth.

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