一定要認識:改變產業的新興上市公司

閱讀暖身:

當公司上市上櫃後,通常意味著必須滿足投資者更多的期望,但是,這並不代表公司要放棄創業時的初衷。一起來認識幾間新上市公司,仍能保有初創時的風格。進入本文前,請先想想以下單字: 
a) 下台
b) 買進 (股票)
c) 共識

1. Yelp 
Review site Yelp was founded to help people find great local businesses like dentists, hair stylists, mechanics and restaurants, based on the reviews people posted. It was launched in 2004 by former PayPal engineers Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman, after a conversation about why it was so hard to find a good doctor. Though Simmons a) stepped down from the company in 2010, Stoppelman continues to 1) keep a tight rein on things. "This company is my identity," Stoppelman says. "I know how and why it was built in the first place and I know where to take it in the future." 

點評網站Yelp讓人根據大眾的評論,找到當地好的牙醫,髮型師,技工和餐廳等。創立於2004年。兩位PayPal的前任工程師Russel Simmons和Jeremy Stoppelman,聊起好醫生有多難找後,決定打造Yelp。2010年Simmons離開公司,Stoppelman則繼續管理公司大小事務。「這家公司就代表我,」Stoppelman說,「我知道它為何而生,也知道怎麼帶他走向未來。」 

2. GrubHub 
The popular online platform lets customers order food online from local restaurants. Founded in 2004, today GrubHub processes orders for 30,000 restaurants in 800 cities. GrubHub went public in April 2014. And investors love how the company's original business model remains largely intact. "When the business model is complicated, it's much harder to explain that value to investors and makes them less likely to b) buy in," Malone says.

廣受歡迎GrubHub網站讓客戶在網上訂購當地餐館的餐點,公司成立於2004年,如今GrubHub處理800個城市裡30000間餐廳的訂單。GrubHub在2014年4月上市,投資者喜歡此公司仍然完整如初的原有經營模式,創始者之一Matt Maloney說:「如果商業模式是複雜的,就很難向投資者解釋公司價值,投資者更不想買進。」

3. Natural Grocers
Founded by a waitress named Margaret Isley in 1955 after she fell ill and wanted to get back to health by eating wholesome natural foods. Now Natural Grocers is run by the second-generation siblings Zephyr, Kemper, and Heather. It took four years of internal discussions for Natural Grocers to go public in 2013. "We run the business on a c) consensus basis rather than an adversarial basis, so essentially we all have to agree unanimously or we don't do it," says Kemper. "We're a little bit idiosyncratic."

Natural Grocers是由一個名叫Margaret Isley的女服務在在1955年創立,起因是她生了場病,想藉由吃健康的天然食品來回復健康。現在Natural Grocers由創始人兄弟姐妹第二代的Zephyr, Kemper, and Heather經營,公司內部花了四年的時間討論是否在2013年上市,Kemper 表示:「公司的營運是基於一致的共識,而不是互相對抗,所以基本上大家都同意才做,不然就不做,我們和別人有點不一樣。」

4. FireEye
It's the 2) go-to company whenever there's a huge data breach by hackers, for its expertise in forensic sleuthing deep into compromised computer networks. In recent years, JP Morgan Chase, Sony Pictures, and the health insurer Anthem have all turned to the Milpitas, California, company for help. FireEye was founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz, a serial entrepreneur who had worked as a Sun Microsystems engineer before tackling security. He still has a hand in the creation of the company's products and services. 

當駭客造成龐大的數據洩露,FireEye 為提供偵探型專業系統,解決電腦網絡受到入侵問題的重要公司。近年來,摩根大通、Sony影視,以及醫療保險公司Anthem都轉向這間位於加州Milpitas市的公司尋求幫助。FireEye於2004年由Ashar Aziz成立,在進行電腦安全的生意前,他是Sun公司的微型系統工程師,也是連續創業家,至今他仍然親手為公司設計產品和服務。

5. SolarCity

The company, which was founded in 2007, is now the biggest installer of solar panels in the U.S., operating in 15 states. Lyndon Rive, the company's chief executive, explains his reasoning for taking the company public in 2012, which also sums up his management philosophy: "Trust your instincts. There will always be naysayers, but they don't understand your business as well as you do." 

Solar City成立於2007年,目前是美國太陽能板最大的安裝商,業務橫跨15個州,公司的首席執行長Lyndon Rive解釋公司於2012年上市的原因,同時也總結出他的管理理念:「相信你的直覺,身旁總是會有反對者,但他們不會像你一樣了解自已的生意。」

6. Shake Shack
In the years between its 2001 founding by restaurateur Danny Meyer and its IPO in early 2015, Shake Shack grew from a single food cart to 32 stores on three continents. But CEO Randy Garutti has stuck close to the family-friendly atmosphere of the company--known as the "anti-chain chain"-- Meyer stresses that the company's financial performance isn't his primary focus. "Nothing has mattered to me more than surrounding myself with a great staff who are fun to be with and who want to make the place better, and pleasing our guests," he says.

2001年由Danny Meyer成立的Shake Shack餐廳在2015年初上市,Shake Shack從一輛食品餐車,成長到橫跨三大洲32家店;CEO Randy Garutti 堅持營造歡樂家庭聚餐的氣氛— 被稱為「反連鎖」(anti-chain chain); Meyer強調,公司的財務業績不是他的主要焦點,他說:「沒有什麼比身邊有一群偉大、好相處、想把餐廳變得更好,而且善於取悅客人的工作人員更為重要。」

口語詞彙:
1) keep a tight rein:嚴格控制
Rein 原意是繮繩,動詞引申有駕馭,控制的意思。
The government is keeping tight rein on immigration. 政府嚴格控管移民。

2) go-to:關鍵地位,靈魂人物
這裡的go-to 不是去哪裡,而是具指標性,靈魂人物的意思。
He is the team's go-to receiver. 他是這個球隊的關鍵接球員。

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