Explore ways to buy Gusto stock as we approach the Gusto IPO date. Get access to select pre-IPO companies at Equitybee.
Gusto IPO and Stock Recent News
02/08/2023: Gusto lays off 5% of staff
05/12/2022: Gusto Secures Series E Round Extension
07/24/2019: Gusto Raises $200M Series D At $3.8B Valuation
07/31/2018: Gusto Raises $140 Million Series C
What is Gusto?
Gusto is a cloud software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides payroll, benefits, hiring, time management, tax, and other human resources services to U.S.-based businesses.
The easy-to-use software helps businesses manage employees and contractors, making it an all-in-one resource for growing companies.
Formerly known as ZenPayroll, Gusto launched from the Y Combinator winter batch of 2012. Its Silicon Valley network has attracted several well-known entrepreneurs, celebrities, and venture capitalists.
Gusto was founded by Joshua Reeves and Edward Kim and is based in San Francisco. The company has a shoes-off office policy.
Here’s an excellent demo of the basic Gusto functionality:
Is Gusto Publicly Traded?
No. Gusto is a private company.
Who Owns Gusto?
Gusto is a venture-backed startup, counting at least 40 venture capital firms and dozens of high-profile entrepreneurs and celebrities as investors.
Gusto has raised more than $921 million in venture capital funding. The latest round was an extended Series E completed in May 2022. The total Series E funding round is estimated to be $230 million
Prominent venture capital investors include CapitalG, Dragoneer Investment Group, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, GV, General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Salesforce Ventures, T. Rowe Price, and Y Combinator.
Well-known individual investors include Aaron Levie (Box), Matt Mullenweg (Automattic/WordPress), Tobias Lutke (Shopify), Kevin Systrom (Instagram), Evan Williams (Twitter, Medium), Patrick Collison (Stripe), Jerry Yang (Yahoo), Sam Altman (Y Combinator), Jared Leto (Actor), and Ashton Kutcher(Actor).
Gusto Valuation
The latest Gusto Valuation is estimated to be $9.5 billion based on the Series E extension completed in May 2022.
When is the Gusto IPO Date?
The Gusto IPO date has yet to be determined. The company has not yet filed publicly for an IPO.
With more than 100 pre-IPO investors and a robust recurring revenue model, we should expect to see news of a Gusto IPO date approaching when the IPO sentiment improves.
We’ll get clues about the IPO date when we learn about the hiring of an underwriter, an S-1 filing is submitted, or reporting discloses a date range.
What is the Gusto Stock Price?
The Gusto stock price doesn’t trade yet. It’s a private company.
What is the Gusto Stock Symbol? Gusto Ticker?
We’ll learn what the Gusto stock symbol will be once Gusto officially files for an IPO via Form S-1 with the SEC.
We can speculate a little about what the Gusto ticker will be.
Here are some suggestions which seem likely and are available in the U.S.:
- GUST
- GSTO
Can You Buy Gusto on Pre-IPO Marketplaces?
The author has yet to see evidence of Gusto stock availability on pre-IPO investing platforms. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been available in the past or won’t be available in the future.
With more than 100 private investors, some early investors may seek liquidity before the IPO and can achieve that goal through pre-IPO investing platforms.
Availability varies among pre-IPO platforms.
Check out our list of top pre-IPO investing platforms that may have shares available.
The SEC requires pre-IPO investors who buy stock directly to be accredited, meaning a net worth above $1 million (not including primary residence) or an income above $200,000 (or $300,000 with a spouse).
However, venture capital funds such as the Fundrise Innovation Fund and the ARK Venture Fund via Titan allow non-accredited investors to participate. Neither fund currently has Gusto stock as a holding.
Please note: This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on AccessIPOs.com. All opinions are my own.
How to Invest in The Gusto IPO
Most investors will not be able to own Gusto stock via pre-IPO investing platforms because they require the investor to be accredited.
When the Gusto IPO date arrives, it will still be difficult for most investors to acquire IPO shares.
The most likely way investors will be able to own Gusto stock is to wait for the IPO and buy shares after it goes public. There may be other opportunities to own the stock before the IPO.
Here are some potential options to own Gusto stock before, during, and after the IPO.
1. Buy Gusto Pre-IPO
Gusto stock may become available on pre-IPO investing platforms before the IPO.
This happens when employees or other early investors want to liquidate a portion of their shares before the public offering.
Investors must be accredited to be eligible to buy pre-IPO shares directly.
Second, investors must be registered on pre-IPO investing platforms to receive notifications when shares become available.
Investors can monitor pre-IPO investing platforms such as Equitybee, Forge Global, EquityZen, and Linqto for share availability.
If shares become available, expect to pay at least a $10,000 investment minimum. It’s free to sign up for data and deal alerts.
Joining pre-IPO investing platforms is free. But each venue and deal may have a minimum investment amount, varying by the deal.
Non-accredited investors can own pre-IPO companies via venture capital funds targeted to retail investors. Venture capital funds are a new asset class that emerged in 2022.
The Fundrise Innovation Fund and the ARK Venture Fund (review) via Titan are the only options for non-accredited investors as of early 2023.
2. Buy Gusto during the Gusto IPO through a participating broker
IPO investors may find chances to invest during the initial public offering. Investors may be able to acquire shares at the IPO price before the company begins trading.
Formerly exclusive to Wall Street’s best customers, IPO access is now more attainable to retail investors.
Online brokers, including the ones listed below, give customers free access to IPOs, even with low account balances.
Brokers negotiate exclusive access to IPO shares, so the chances of getting access to specific high-demand IPOs will be limited by how many brokerage accounts you have.
TradeStation has a more established track record of accessing more than 200 IPOs and secondary offerings via its partnership with ClickIPO.
Robinhood and SoFi have the advantage of Silicon Valley networks and a history of getting allocations for high-profile IPOs (e.g., Sweetgreen, Rivian).
Check out this list of best brokers for IPO investing to learn more about IPO access for retail investors.
3. Buy Gusto stock after the Gusto IPO
Though waiting for the IPO requires patience, there are advantages to waiting for the stock to become publicly traded before owning.
The IPO allows investors to review more established financials after the first quarter of trading. Pre-IPO investing has limited financials available.
IPO stock prices typically rise with high-demand companies. Valuations can become exaggerated. You can benefit if you’re in early and sell when the price overheats but suffer if prices revert to fairly valuations.
Many IPOs start with high valuations. Then the stock falls once the first and second quarterly earnings reports become available.
In 2021, both Rivian and Robinhood became high-flying IPO stocks. But six months after the IPO, both stocks were more than 80% below their price peak.
The stock price declines after the IPOs could become excellent entry points if you were not allocated IPO shares.
Avoid buying overvalued shares immediately after the IPO. Shares often fall after the IPO due to lockup expirations and quarterly earnings disappointments.
However, the most disruptive companies will be higher in a decade. Patience pays.
Where is the Gusto IPO S-1 Filing?
No Gusto S-1 filing has been released to the public, and there is no indication of a confidential filing. The document will become available if the company submits it to the SEC and the regulatory commission approves and releases it to the public.
We’ll post a copy of the S-1 filing on this page when it becomes available.
You can monitor the most recent S-1 IPO filings on this website.
Conclusion
Investors get excited when they identify companies riding extraordinary macroeconomic trends. Cloud SaaS companies like Gusto get a lot of attention.
Though you may want to own the company, buying stock early on can often prove difficult for retail investors.
Pre-IPO investing platforms have opened more opportunities. But private equity investing is still primarily reserved for the ultra-wealthy, requiring millions to invest in seed and early funding rounds for disruptive companies.
So if you decide to pursue IPO shares and early equity in Gusto, maintain reasonable expectations. However, if you identify several favorite IPO companies, you may eventually be able to invest in some of your target companies.
If the Gusto IPO is on your watch list, good luck. Invest in pre-IPO and IPO companies with caution.
* Disclosure: The web page contains affiliate links from our partners. If a reader opens an account or buys a service from a link in this article, we may be compensated at no additional cost to the reader. Opening an account with a broker that provides access to IPOs does not guarantee the customer allocations of specific IPOs. The author is long the Fundrise Innovation Fund, ARK Venture Fund, HOOD, RIVN, and SG.
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