--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think going public should not be a goal…" description: "\"I think going public should not be a goal and the more that we make it a goal, the less it will be a goal. It's kind of like, I have three young childr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/chamath-palihapitiya-10473_children_i-think-going-public-should-not-be-a-goa_1899652.jpg" --- # I think going public should not be a goal and the more… ![“I think going public should not be a goal and the more that we make it a goal, the less it will be a goal. It's kind of like, I have three young children and when I tell them to eat vegetables, the last thing they will ever do is eat vegetables. I think it's just this weird thing where…” quote by Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/chamath-palihapitiya-10473_children_i-think-going-public-should-not-be-a-goa_1899652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/chamath-palihapitiya-10473_children_i-think-going-public-should-not-be-a-goa_1899652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/chamath-palihapitiya-10473_children_i-think-going-public-should-not-be-a-goa_1899652.jpg) > “I think going public should not be a goal and the more that we make it a goal, the less it will be a goal. It's kind of like, I have three young children and when I tell them to eat vegetables, the last thing they will ever do is eat vegetables. I think it's just this weird thing where entrepreneurs have a reflexive negative reaction when people are pushing for it. I think you have to view going public for what it is, which is a transitional moment where you can consolidate mindshare and win at an even larger scale.” [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treat an IPO as a strategic transition, not a primary objective; overemphasizing it can undermine its value. **In simple terms:** Going public should be a means, not a goal. Key Takeaway Focus on building lasting value before seeking public markets. Themes business strategy growth IPO entrepreneurship mindset Mood reflective analytical Type strategic advisory When to use this quote - startup scaling - fundraising strategy - board decisions - market positioning - exit planning Key Concepts Strategic transition value creation scale shareholder expectations Questions to Reflect On - What truly defines success for your business? - How can you measure readiness for a public offering? A Different Perspective If the company isn’t ready, an IPO can damage reputation and finances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Entrepreneurs Reflexive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurs-reflexive-2795356/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goal Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal-kind-1612874/) [Goal Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal-make/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Going Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-public-240953/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-goal-2795355/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [The reason to go public is that it is a massive branding, marketing, credibility, trust-building exercise with your customers, and then it allows you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/the-reason-to-go-public-is-that-it-is-a-massive-branding-marketing/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I guess that's the overall goal - to be kind of immortalized within the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calum-hood/i-guess-that-s-the-overall-goal-to-be-kind-of-immortalized-within-the/) [Calum Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calum-hood/) > [I think everyone needs a goal. And what kind of goal will be important. And for that we have to study and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/i-think-everyone-needs-a-goal-and-what-kind-of-goal-will-be-important/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [A goal kind of determines how happy I am with my performance and if I have helped the team, so, yes, scoring goals is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-abraham/a-goal-kind-of-determines-how-happy-i-am-with-my-performance-and-if-i/) [Tammy Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-abraham/) > [My goal--and this is kind of my own little secret--but when I get married, just to head out and finish football and, and, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/my-goal-and-this-is-kind-of-my-own-little-secret-but-when-i-get/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [Whenever you set a goal of any kind, you will have to grow and develop to the point where you are ready to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/whenever-you-set-a-goal-of-any-kind-you-will-have-to-grow-and-develop/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [We're going to go public eventually, because that's the contract that we have with our investors and our employees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/we-re-going-to-go-public-eventually-because-that-s-the-contract-that/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“Going public was a difficult decision, and I had misgivings. My subjective experience was now an objective fact in the wider world. It didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/going-public-was-a-difficult-decision-and-i-had-misgivings-my/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [I've never ruled out the possibility of going back into public service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-ve-never-ruled-out-the-possibility-of-going-back-into-public-service/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [There will come a time and place it will be appropriate for us to consider going public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-griffin/there-will-come-a-time-and-place-it-will-be-appropriate-for-us-to/) [Kenneth C. Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-griffin/) > [Try being my size and going into a public restroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-barty/try-being-my-size-and-going-into-a-public-restroom/) [Billy Barty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-barty/) > [Going public for the sake of going public is not really an optimal thing. You're going public because as a company you believe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-weiner/going-public-for-the-sake-of-going-public-is-not-really-an-optimal/) [Jeff Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-weiner/) > [I think there's nothing new going on. Except that, you're even more public than you've ever been.There's some good and some bad to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-think-there-s-nothing-new-going-on-except-that-you-re-even-more/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I have an ego like anybody else, but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/i-have-an-ego-like-anybody-else-but-i-don-t-need-to-be-stoked-by/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Chamath Palihapitiya > [My first job was at a Burger King.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/my-first-job-was-at-a-burger-king/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [The point of Silicon Valley at least when I moved here was we're all trying to do stuff and none of us quite felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/the-point-of-silicon-valley-at-least-when-i-moved-here-was-we-re-all/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [Good investors have to choose how to allocate their mind share with the precious capital they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/good-investors-have-to-choose-how-to-allocate-their-mind-share-with/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [Valuable companies take decades to build.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/valuable-companies-take-decades-to-build/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [At some point, Apple will become much more aggressive and much more daring in taking their brand and capital to really reshaping markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/at-some-point-apple-will-become-much-more-aggressive-and-much-more/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I was raised in a house where my mom was the primary breadwinner. It was a dysfunctional house, but she showed tremendous resilience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/i-was-raised-in-a-house-where-my-mom-was-the-primary-breadwinner-it/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I was born in Sri Lanka.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/i-was-born-in-sri-lanka/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I wish I had invested in the series A of Snapchat and Uber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/i-wish-i-had-invested-in-the-series-a-of-snapchat-and-uber/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [It's OK, by the way, that it takes 10 years for you to make "money." Since when was it that being in your mid-30s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/it-s-ok-by-the-way-that-it-takes-10-years-for-you-to-make-money-since/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [Startups should be - if you graph their financial performance, it should be what's called a J curve. You start out at zero. you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/startups-should-be-if-you-graph-their-financial-performance-it-should/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [We curate our lives around this perceived sense of perfection, because we get rewarded in these short term signals: Hearts, likes, thumbs up. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/we-curate-our-lives-around-this-perceived-sense-of-perfection-because/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [What you should be in a rush for isn't necessarily the immediate monetary return, but it's to know that this equation existing between an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/what-you-should-be-in-a-rush-for-isn-t-necessarily-the-immediate/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [You need to use data science and machine learning to get the ground truth of what's happening inside of a company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/you-need-to-use-data-science-and-machine-learning-to-get-the-ground/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I've found that a lot of successful poker players grew up poor. And I'm convinced that poor people have a risk tolerance that rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/i-ve-found-that-a-lot-of-successful-poker-players-grew-up-poor-and-i/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) > [I'm a living testament to the value of immigration. I escaped a civil war, and I came to Canada as a refugee, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamath-palihapitiya/i-m-a-living-testament-to-the-value-of-immigration-i-escaped-a-civil/) [Chamath Palihapitiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) [Explore all 65 Chamath Palihapitiya quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamath-palihapitiya/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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