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Letters & Theses
Startup & FounderIPO founder letter

Atlassian's 2015 IPO letter from the founders

Written by
Michael Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar
Organisation
Atlassian
Published
9 Nov 2015
Sector
Collaboration software

Read the original at sec.gov (opens in a new tab)

About this letter

Atlassian's two co-founders and co-chief executives, Michael Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, wrote this letter for the registration statement on form F-1 that Atlassian Corporation Plc filed with the SEC on 9 November 2015. It is signed 'Mike and Scott' and placed before the business section of the prospectus.

They introduce Atlassian as unlike any other enterprise software company, pointing to a decade-long history of consistent growth and free cash flow, and note that the public offering would be the first time in the company's 13-year history that it raised any external financing. The letter states the mission, to unleash the potential in every team, and explains how the company is led by two founders serving as two co-CEOs. It then sets out the beliefs the founders say make Atlassian different, which they describe as core to both past achievements and future success.

Why read it

A rare IPO letter from a company that had never raised external financing, explaining a product-led model with no quota-carrying sales force and a deliberately long-term view of growth.

What to notice

  1. 1

    The go-to-market thesis is that software is bought, not sold: no quota-carrying sales reps, far more investment in R&D than peers, and products distributed online and at scale.

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“We don't think about the Fortune 500, we think about the Fortune 500,000.”
Michael Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, 9 Nov 2015

Companies discussed

  • Atlassian Corporation Plc (TEAM)

Topics

  • ipo
  • business model
  • culture
  • long term thinking
  • competitive advantage
  • free cash flow
Read the original at sec.gov (opens in a new tab)

L3VLUP does not host this document. It belongs to Atlassian; the notes above are L3VLUP’s reading of it.

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