ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

IPO model

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of companies like Facebook or Snapchat going public? That's when they become an IPO or Initial Public Offering model. It's like when you have a toy and you want other kids to play with it. They give you money in exchange for being able to play with it too.

When a company becomes an IPO model, they are allowed to sell shares or pieces of their company to the public. These shares are like trading cards. Someone who buys a share becomes a part-owner of the company and can make money if the company does well.

Typically before a company is able to go public, they get help from banks and other financial institutions to figure out how much their company is worth. This is called a valuation, and it helps determine how much people should pay for each share.

Once the company goes public, people can buy those shares on a stock exchange. The stock exchange is like a big store where people go to buy and sell shares of companies. The price of each share can go up and down depending on how well the company is doing.

So, think of it like this: When a company wants to become an IPO model, it's like they're inviting everyone to play with their toy. And if the toy is really popular and makes a lot of money, everyone who has a piece of the toy will get some money too!