Time to IPO – why Founders should plan for 10+ years (US vs Asia)

By John D. Evans, CFA, Founder & General Manager at SEIML

Founders – building an IPO-scale company is usually a decade-plus journey.

Not because teams are slow – but because the capital and scaling ladder is long.

What the data shows (US):

Long-run IPO data shows the median age of US companies at IPO is now ~12–14 years, up from ~9 years historically. Companies are staying private longer, raising more rounds, and exiting later.

Asia tells a similar story – with regional differences:

• China / Hong Kong: many tech IPOs occur 8–12 years post-incorporation, often accelerated by policy windows, but with heavy volatility

• Southeast Asia: fewer IPOs overall, with successful companies typically taking 10–15+ years, often after multiple private and late-stage rounds

• Japan / Korea: longer, steadier paths – often 12–20 years from founding to listing

What this means for founders:

1. An exit plan is really a time plan

      If you are 3–5 years in, you are not late –

      you are early in the journey.

2. Your investors have clocks

      VC funds have fixed lives. Where a fund

      sits in its cycle affects how patient it can

      be.

3. Build for endurance

      Runway, governance, talent, and capital

      structure should assume a long private

      phase, not a quick exit.

Quick founder test: “What year is this fund in – and how many years do you have left to reach liquidity?”