‘Act like a public company before you are one’: Figma CFO shares IPO playbook

For 16 months, Figma was in limbo. Adobe had announced plans to acquire the company for $20 billion in September 2022, but as the government review dragged on, the deal's fate grew increasingly uncertain. That created a unique challenge for CFO Praveer Melwani: How do you run a company when you don't know if you'll be independent or part of a tech giant?

His answer: Prepare for both. When the two sides mutually agreed to terminate the agreement in late 2023, the company was not caught on its heels. A year and a half later, Melwani was ringing the bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

"I think the thing I've learned the most is that most people are trying to learn on the fly."
Praveer Melwani, CFO, Figma

In a conversation with Ramp CEO Eric Glyman at OnRamp San Francisco, Melwani shared what he learned from taking Figma from zero revenue and 25 employees when he joined to a successful IPO earlier this year. Here's his top advice:

1. Act like a public company before you are one

The time to build the right team and systems is not in the immediate run-up to the IPO. That’s why Figma started operating like a public company years ago. The finance team built rigorous financial plans, held mock earnings calls, and brought on tax and procurement specialists. Melwani hired people who had been through this before. Figma’s Chief Accounting Officer, for example, helped lead Slack through its IPO and acquisition by Salesforce.

He also invested in finance and accounting software that could scale and provide highly detailed financial reports and forecasts.

"We focused on being really critical about the way we set a plan, how we achieved it. If we missed an area, we wanted to be able to explain it," Melwani said. "We tried to hold ourselves to the standard that we knew we were going to need when we were a public business."

A secondary tender in 2024, where shareholders sold shares to investors, was also valuable. The experience helped Figma solidify its equity story and build credibility with investors later involved in the IPO.

This was inspired in part by the planned Adobe acquisition, which would have made Figma part of a publicly traded business. But as the government's review extended to more than a year, the company maintained these practices because it saw a path to going public independently.

2. Realize the power of vulnerability

Melwani started at Figma as an individual contributor and credits his willingness to learn and problem-solve for his rise to CFO. He maintained that mindset through the many high-pressure moments in the IPO process, never seeing himself as the smartest person in the room.

"I think the thing I've learned the most is that most people are trying to learn on the fly," he said. "If you surround yourself with the right set of experts and people that you trust, and you listen, you can probably figure it out.

"When you show that level of vulnerability with others, it actually works in your favor. … If you can show up transparently in that way, more often than not you're going to get the benefit of the doubt."

3. Provide transparency amid uncertainty

The IPO, and Adobe’s planned acquisition before it, were landmark moments for Figma employees. But the company's transparent communication and practical support prevented these events from becoming a distraction. It worked — Figma’s headcount grew by more than 50% in the 16 months between the deal announcement and dissolution.

Throughout the Adobe deal process, leaders shared key updates internally rather than having team members read about developments in the news. Thanks to that approach, employees were not caught by surprise when the deal was ultimately called off. Melwani and fellow executives also outlined what the company would look like both as part of Adobe and as an independent company.

"I think you learn a lot by doing. Being willing to throw your hand up and having no ego and realizing that a lot of this stuff is learnable."
Praveer Melwani, CFO, Figma

Figma recognized that an IPO would be life-changing for many employees and provided planning resources as well. The company proactively connected employees with tax advisors, wealth managers, and lawyers who could help them navigate a complicated, potentially overwhelming situation.

"It's one of those decisions in life that they're going to need some support on, so we wanted to provide them access to these experts who can help them feel like their own internal house is in order," Melwani said.

4. See the IPO as the start, not the finish

There's often a sense a company has "made it" once it goes public. While it was a big moment for the entire Figma team, Melwani said the team quickly refocused on "building."

Even as the stock price jumped 250% from its IPO price on day one, executives emphasized that the company now had to prove itself to a new group of investors.

"At the end of our first day as a public company, our CEO got back in front of the whole company as the market closed and said, 'We haven't changed, much of the public markets are still trying to understand our story,'" Melwani said.

Put ego aside and learn by doing

Whether you work at a company on the IPO track or are the first finance hire at a startup, there's much to learn from Melwani's story. It's also a testament to the power of a growth mindset.

"I think you learn a lot by doing," he said. "Being willing to throw your hand up and having no ego and realizing that a lot of this stuff is learnable."