Going Public: The SPAC Route Demystified
Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 11:00 AM PDT – 12:00 PM PDT
Virtual event
Hosted by Fundable Startups
Do people still do SPACs? Yes, but founders must implement best practices to find success. “Do people still do SPACs?” and “Why would anyone do a SPAC?” are among the most common reactions whenever SPACs come up in conversations. In this webinar, we'll address how SPAC transactions work, the historical and current market landscape, the main advantages and disadvantages of going public via a de-SPAC, common misconceptions about SPACs, key considerations for potential SPAC sponsors and de-SPAC targets, and the 2026 market outlook. Marriage is a useful analogy to understand SPACs. The SPAC raises a dowry ("IPO proceeds") from friends and relatives who resonate with its partner-search criteria and are confident in its ability to find a good match. It begins its partner search after the IPO, becomes exclusive with one or more targets ("the LOI stage"), gets engaged ("deal announcement"), and seeks approval from the dowry contributors ("the shareholder meeting"), who can get their money back, plus interest, whether they vote for or against the marriage. If additional parties stand to benefit from a successful marriage, the couple may also receive red envelopes ("PIPE capital") at the wedding ("de-SPAC closing"). If the engagement falls apart, however, the dowry, plus interest, must be returned ("liquidation"). Just as how a couple met has little bearing on how successful the marriage will be, whether a company goes public through a traditional IPO or a de-SPAC doesn’t dictate trading outcomes. If we think of SPACs as dating apps and traditional IPOs as professional matchmaking: just because a few years ago the apps were full of people who weren’t ready to get married or were looking to get married for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t mean the apps themselves are deficient; similarly, just because professional matchmaking is a better path for some people, it may not always be the best option. Rather, it’s factors like experience, vision, due diligence, compatibility, synergy, and aligned incentives that are far more important. These are exactly the primary factors that drove the 2025 SPAC market recovery: more experienced sponsors with proven track records and clear investment theses, more robust due diligence and realistic valuations, stronger synergies between public-company-ready targets and sponsors with complementary resources, and better-aligned incentives. Fundable Startups provides coaching, training, and tools that helps founders build healthy, fundable companies. As a published author and a CEO, CTO or Tech VP of 5 startups with 3 exits, Sam Wong leads Fundable Startups in creating premium, deep-dive, visual training and tools to help founders with great execution. Sam is also a member of Band of Angels, the first high-tech angel investment group in the USA. Since its inception in 1994, the Band has funded 400+ companies with 97 profitable M&A exits and 17 IPOs. Olivia Wang is Counsel in Rimon’s Securities and Capital Markets practice. Olivia has significant experience advising clients on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, including initial public offerings and other registered securities offerings, de-SPACs, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, public company reporting, and corporate governance matters. Olivia has a particular focus on transactions in Asia, which have collectively raised over $5 billion of capital, and is one of the most experienced capital markets attorneys advising Asian companies on SPAC deals. She has prior experience at Kirkland & Ellis and Baker McKenzie, where she advised domestic and foreign companies in industries such as technology, life sciences, clean energy, financial services, consumer products, education, and entertainment.