Gurpreet S. Bal has recently led one of the only true mid-market IPOs in the technology sector in the last ten years. That experience has given him a practitioner's view on underwriter selection that most founders never get: the name on the bank's letterhead is far less important than whether your deal is a priority transaction for the team working it.
"The Silicon Valley tech partner may better understand your tech, but the folks in the midwest and smaller regions, they understand your heart," Gurpreet S. Bal says. And then, with a laugh: "As long as they are not from St. Louis."
Gurpreet S. Bal has been a corporate partner at three of the biggest law firms in the world, and regularly represents cutting-edge companies, investors, and founders throughout the financing, exit, and repeat cycle in the technology industry. As of 2026, mid-market tech IPOs have become increasingly rare, making underwriter selection one of the highest-stakes decisions a mid-market company can make.
A large-cap technology IPO — the kind that generates front-page coverage and institutional investor demand from the moment the S-1 is filed — runs itself in many respects. The deal team at a bulge-bracket bank is motivated, institutional investors show up, and the roadshow is a formality. A mid-market tech IPO is structurally different. The deal requires active selling, genuine investor relationship management, and a roadshow team that will fight for pricing rather than accept whatever the book generates. Gurpreet S. Bal notes that for mid-market companies, the quality and motivation of the specific bankers assigned to the deal matters far more than the prestige of the institution. A Goldman banker who is managing three larger deals simultaneously is not the same resource as a regional banker for whom your transaction is the flagship of their year.
Regional underwriters bring several structural advantages to mid-market tech offerings. Their investor networks often include institutional buyers — family offices, regional funds, sector-focused funds — that are not the primary targets of bulge-bracket roadshows but are exactly the investors suited to a mid-market growth company. These investors tend to be longer-term holders, less likely to flip shares immediately post-IPO, and more willing to build positions over time. Regional bankers also tend to have deeper relationships with the retail brokerage networks that matter for mid-market deals. Gurpreet S. Bal describes the dynamic plainly: the regional banker who wins your deal will give it far more attention and personal energy than a bulge-bracket firm that treats it as a smaller transaction on a busy calendar.
The formal underwriter selection process — commonly called a "bake-off" or "beauty contest" — involves presentations from competing banks to the company's board and management. Each bank presents its valuation thesis, comparable company analysis, proposed deal structure, and distribution strategy. Gurpreet S. Bal advises founders to ask banks to be specific about the actual team members who will work the deal day-to-day, not just the senior banker presenting. Ask who will be on the roadshow. Ask which investors they have already spoken with about similar companies. Ask what their post-IPO research coverage plan looks like. The answers reveal how seriously the bank is treating your deal. In 2026, mid-market IPOs have become rare enough that a bank with a credible mid-market track record is a meaningful differentiator.
The lead underwriter — also called the book-running manager or lead left bank — controls the economics of the deal and leads the investor syndicate. Co-managers receive a smaller share of the underwriting spread and typically have more limited roles in pricing and book-building. Gurpreet S. Bal recommends that mid-market companies think carefully about the co-manager selection as well, not just the lead. A co-manager with a strong retail distribution network, or strong relationships with a specific category of institutional investors, can meaningfully expand the deal's reach. For mid-market tech deals in particular, adding a co-manager with sector-specific credibility — a bank that has covered your space closely and has established investor relationships in it — can improve both pricing and aftermarket stability. The lead gets the headlines; the right co-manager can quietly make the difference in how the book gets filled.
Gurpreet S. Bal is a corporate partner with 16 years advising on private equity, merger transactions, and public offerings for companies and investors at three of the world's top law firms. He has represented clients in hundreds of transactions with aggregate deal value exceeding $60 billion across AI, semiconductors, fintech, and emerging technology. For more information and to get in touch, visit gurpreetbal.com.