Squarespace CEO on Wednesday’s direct listing: “No one suffers unnecessary dilution”

Squarespace Inc. (NYSE: SQSP) went public on the New York Stock Exchange in a direct listing today morning with a reference price of $50, giving it a valuation of $6.8 billion.

The New York headquartered company was founded in 2003 and has become one of the website building and ecommerce platform enabling its millions of users to build a brand presence online and transact with their customers.

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Squarespace had 3.7 million unique subscriptions as of the end of FY 2020, which was up 23% year-over-year.

Squarespace CEO on direct listing

The company chose to go public through a direct listing. 

According to Anthony Casalena, founder and CEO of Squarespace, since the company had been profitable since 2016, it did not need to raise capital. Further touting the benefits of a direct listing, he said:

“Noone suffers unnecessary dilution.”

In a direct listing, no new shares are created and only existing shares outstanding are sold with no involvement of underwriters. Other companies such as Roblox and Coinbase have also gone public via the direct listing route.

What helps Squarespace standout in a crowded market?

Companies such as Wix (NASDAQ: WIX) and Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) also provide website creation and payment services to their customers. 

In an interview on CNBC, Casalena said that the company’s focus on design helps it offer a differentiated product in the market space around websites and added:

“We specialize in design. We are one of the few companies that has invested in design as much as we have which helps our customers really stand out, tell their story and sell more.”