Wojcicki told Insider that she wouldn't have considered going public via a SPAC even six months ago, shortly before Clover's headline-grabbing debut. She said she reconsidered when she learned of Branson's involvement.
"I know who your shareholders are matters," Wojcicki said."It's one of the number one pieces of advice I give to founders and startups is that you have to pick your investors wisely."only to recover amid the pandemic.Steve Jennings/Getty Images/TechCrunchThe companies haven't disclosed how much of 23andMe Branson's SPAC will own following the merger, but the nature of SPAC deals would indicate his regular involvement with the company once the deal is finalized.
"I was quite convincing, even to myself, that we were not going to go public for a while," she said. Wojcicki said her primary motivation for taking the company public is better access to funding that comes with public markets investors. It raisedfrom existing investors Sequoia Capital and NewView Capital as recently as December 23.
"That was before, obviously, the SPAC was finalized," Wojcicki said of the decision to raise private funding so close to the SPAC announcement."It was an insider round and our investors were really supportive of what we're doing, and having additional cash is always helpful.