Google had its IPO 15 years ago, and it was a big deal for a couple of reasons. First of all, Google's IPO was a glimmer of hope after the dotcom bust. And Google was trying to reinvent the IPO by making it more transparent, using a process called a Dutch Auction.

Today, the IPO hasn't changed for the most part, but maybe it's about to.

Prominent venture capitalist Michael Mortiz of Sequoia Capital wrote an op-ed arguing that Slack and Spotify are leading the way to a better day where Wall Street won't control and mystify the process of going public. Instead, companies will directly list their shares when they go public.

But what would that mean for mom-and-pop investors? What would it mean for startup employees looking to make good?

Jon Fortt breaks down the IPO market with Mr. IPO Jay Ritter, Quartz's Kevin Delaney and TechCrunch's Connie Loizos.

Fortt Knox is a weekly podcast from CNBC anchor Jon Fortt. Previous episodes of the program can be found here.