Climbing on the Social Media IPO Bandwagon

By Mikal E. Belicove|For Entrepreneur.com|June 23, 2011

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the likes of LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD), Pandora Media (NYSE: P) and Groupon file to sell shares to the public. And while at least two of these stocks were flying high at the outset, they’ve since sunk — along with fellow entrepreneurs’ hopes for a similarly frothy showing.

For its part, LinkedIn opened at $88.30 a share on May 27 and was trading at $66.81 a share today, which is down 32.4 percent. Pandora started trading a week ago, opening at $16 a share, and was trading at $13.30 a share today (down 15 percent.)

Like many tech-company watchers, I found myself wondering: Why the about-face? To find out, I tapped Leslie Weiss, a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg, who, as it turns out, has some interesting thoughts about the recent stampede of social media-related firms filing initial public offerings.

Here’s Weiss’ take on what all this social media mania might mean for entrepreneurs and their plans to similarly take their companies public: Given the gloomier turn for LinkedIn and Pandora, how do you expect Groupon’s IPO to perform?

Despite the backslide, there’s a renewed enthusiasm for technology and online startups. Venture sources are starting to…

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