What would the exit strategy for a company like Github be? Get acquired by a big co like say, Google or IPO? An IPO and the accompanying scrutiny of a public company sounds like an unlikely strategy for a Github. Thoughts?
I almost feel like a buyout would not be possible without alienating companies from using it. If Microsoft bought Github, Google might be hesitant to use it, and vice versa. I think they will likely stay private and take capital injections from institutions like Google/Microsoft which will own a small bit of equity in exchange for funding.
Google naturally comes to mind. Facebook / Parse, also. Amazon Web Services. Actually any company in this space (that is worth more than $20bn).
Why do you say an IPO is unlikely? I don't see why the public markets would be wary: Github is IaaS done right, has clear ways to make money and grow on its current offering, and can very well come up with innovations adjacent to its core services.
Re: IPO I didn't mean to say that the public markets would be wary. Quite the opposite - the short-term scrutiny from Q to Q that a company faces after going public is not for every type of company. Look at Twitter, Yelp etc. I'm not sure if Github is profitable yet, but unlike an Amazon (eCommerce), the market would expect most other companies to show rapid revenue/profit growth once public.
