Hi members!
After several years of quietly raising billions of dollars, some of the world’s most talked-about companies are preparing to take on public investors in 2019. Uber, Airbnb, Slack, The We Company, and many others are at different stages of going public, but their arrival on Wall Street marks a stage in the evolution of businesses that, only a few years ago, were little more than a pitch deck and a dream.
Quartz’s Alison Griswold has taken a close look at more than a dozen global firms expected to go public this year, and has written up a spotter’s guide to acquaint you with all the new stock symbols you’ll be seeing. From major international businesses like Uber, to regional powerhouses like Jumia (the largest e-commerce platform in Africa), companies are choosing to issue stock sooner rather than later—both to turn some paper wealth into real money and to get out ahead of what many predict is a coming global slowdown.
Also this week, we have additional materials about batteries from Akshat Rathi, who deftly educated us about battery technology in last week’s field guide. Today, Akshat looks toward the future of batteries, and what will be required for the next breakthroughs the world desperately needs.
Today also marks the beginning of a new, member-only video series we’re calling “Because China.” China is reshaping education, technology, global tourism, and more. We travel around the world to find stories showing a Chinese superpower in action—from building the biggest infrastructure projects in history to reshaping the economy of trash—along with all the opportunities, tensions, innovations, and dangers that come along with the exercise of that power. In our inaugural episode, Quartz reporter Nikhil Sonnad looks at how China is changing the world of recycling.
Our in-house economist and regular columnist, Allison Schrager, has a new book out! An Economist Walks Into a Brothel is an eye-opening look at the role risk plays in all walks of life. Today, we’re proud to publish an excerpt from the book in which Allison examines how the motion-picture industry is really just a series of bets, and woe to any producer or studio that believes they’ve developed a “formula” to guarantee success. As William Goldman wisely said about how Hollywood works: “Nobody knows anything.”
We’ll have even more this week, including a look at India’s upcoming elections, how to travel with two passports, and a conference call to talk more about IPOs. Click here to add the call to Google calendar, or meet us on Friday, April 12 at 11 am ET/4 pm GMT. I’ll send out the link in advance.
As always, we want to hear from you. Send questions, comments, and stock grants to members@qz.com.
Here’s to a rewarding week,
Sam Grobart
membership editor