Session 8. Preparing for an IPO

Nov 29, 2016. Shanghai - CEIBS eLab Bootcamp participants heard from Hope Ni, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Capital, and Chief Investment Officer of Cogo Buy Group, in the camp’s eighth session held today on the Shanghai Campus.

“I’ve played all the roles within the IPO process,” Ni said. These have included being an investment banker, attorney, CFO and CEO. “Fortunately, I still have all my hair!”

Ni shared some of her own experiences from her many years in the IPO and investment banking industry helping large, high-profile companies go public. In her Bootcamp session she articulated the pros and cons of doing an IPO, and gave a comparison of the different IPO markets in the United States, China, and Hong Kong. She also emphasized the unpredictable nature of the investment banking industry and pointed out that besides the long hours and huge amounts of money involved, things can change in a heartbeat. In one example, Ni shared her experience bringing one of the biggest oil companies in China through an IPO, only to have it fall apart at the eleventh hour due to miscommunication with its investment banking partners.

“You have to enjoy what you are doing,” Ni told participants. “When you’re passionate about something, do it. Don’t worry about success or failure. Whether you become big or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s the experience and the learning that counts.”