ServiceTitan Runs With the Bulls in Well-Timed IPO

Timing is everything. ServiceTitan, a smallish tech firm that specializes in selling software for plumbers, roofers and other tradespeople, demonstrated that on Thursday when its shares debuted on the public markets at $101 apiece, a 42% premium to its IPO price of $71. That translates to a market capitalization of about $9 billion, which is not too far from the $9.5 billion valuation at which it raised funds during the go-go era of 2021.

Since then, ServiceTitan has been on a bit of a roller coaster. It’s one of a number of private firms that spent much of 2022 trying to raise money without taking a haircut on its 2021 valuation. Those efforts ended badly—ServiceTitan raised money at a high cost, as we chronicled here. While in 2022 it became a poster child for what can go wrong with highly valued but money-losing startups, today it’s the example of a company that nails its IPO timing, striking in the midst of a remarkable stock market rally. (For another perspective on the current IPO market, check out this piece we ran today).