Simply put, going public is an intense journey outfitted with adrenaline, little sleep and too much coffee.
As a German company that is now publicly traded on Nasdaq, Trivago has had a unique road map to get to where we are now.
Going public without losing your authenticity is an interesting process. Before our decision to proceed with an IPO, we were certain, as a company, that we were going to operate our way. What we learned was invaluable, but there's nothing you can do to prepare yourself for such a process. If we could go back and do it again, there are things we did right — and a few things we would've done differently.
Here's the advice I would give other companies that are considering an IPO.