IPO University

An investment bank hired by a company to manage its securities offering. The lead manager, bookrunners and co-managers all serve as underwriters. For a fee, the underwriting syndicate takes on the financial liability of a completed IPO, purchasing all the shares registered in the final prospectus then distributing them to their clients.

A pre-IPO startup that achieves a $1 billion valuation based on private venture fundraising. The term was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013 to describe the "extremely rare and magical" billion-dollar exit. Not long after, the number of unicorns soared to 250+ as venture firms and crossover investors generously paid up for fast-growing technology companies.

One reason why IPOs are different from stocks in the broader market indices is that they lack a trading history, have a limited float and have not developed long-term shareholders who are knowledgeable about the company. For these reasons the stock is said to be unseasoned.