The fundamental shift in the public markets has taken place, with investors reconnecting to fundamentals and "getting in touch with what a sustainable growth rate of companies is," said Bill Ford, CEO of growth equity firm General Atlantic, also speaking at DA. But that reset for companies that are growing without profits hasn't fully translated to the private markets yet.
Ford's message to his own portfolio companies is to extend their runway for thinking about an exit, manage costs and key performance indicators on a path to long-term profitability. "Buy yourself time. That's what we are preaching to all our portfolio companies," he said. "Figure out what the growth drivers are, and invest in those areas, and expect a longer runway before you can go public," he added.
"For a portfolio company, it might be a terrible time to sell, but it's an awesome time to consolidate. ... and you might be better off in the long term," Bravo said. "Our school of thought has always been protect the profit and loss statement" Bravo said. "Live and die by it and never dip into margin unless you have a compelling investment you can measure separately."