Revenue to go Public

Devin in Salt Lake City asks an excellent question, "How big [I assume you mean revenue] does a company have to be to go public today?"  Well, I like numbers because they've never lied to me, so let's let the stats answer the question.  I analyzed just the 13 tech IPOs in 2005 (there were 41 total, but I'll let you do the rest Devin) and found:

• Average TTM Revenue Prior to IPO = $82.6 million
• Average Quarterly Revenue Growth (YOY) Prior to IPO = 39.3%

Here is what's interesting to me - based on my quick analysis of the current valuation multiples for the class of 2005, only 60% are trading above were they would have likely been sold.  So the question I have is why risk it?