Imagine you have a lemonade stand and you want to sell lemonade to lots of people. You can either go to each person and ask if they want some, or you can put up a sign that says "Lemonade for sale", so more people can see it and decide if they want to buy some. A direct public offering is like putting up a sign, but instead of selling lemonade, a company puts up a sign for everyone to see and decide if they want to invest their money in the company.
When a company wants to raise money to grow, they can sell "shares", which are like little pieces of the company. Instead of owning the whole company, many people can own a little piece of it. When a company sells shares to the public, it's called an "initial public offering" or IPO. However, an IPO is often expensive and is mostly for bigger companies, so a direct public offering (DPO) provides another option for smaller companies to raise money.
A DPO is when a company offers shares directly to the public, without using a middleman like a broker or investment bank. The company creates a prospectus, which is like a big book that explains everything a person might want to know about the company before they buy shares. The prospectus tells things like how much money the company wants to raise, what the company does, how much money the company has made in the past, and any potential risks or problems.
The company can then advertise the DPO to the public, telling people that they can buy shares directly from the company. People who decide to buy shares can buy them online or by mail. The company then receives the money from the people who bought shares, and the people who bought shares own a small part of the company.
Overall, a DPO is a way for companies to sell shares directly to the public without using a middleman, like a broker or investment bank, to raise money to grow. It's like putting up a sign for everyone to see and decide if they want to invest in the company.