INRIX

Since its founding in 2004, INRIX, a leading global provider of traffic information and driver services, had received four rounds of financing from leading venture capital (VC) firms and by 2012 had been cash flow positive for the past six quarters. Its founder, Bryan Mistele, was looking to pivot into high growth and faced several intriguing options. However, competition in the sector was rapidly shifting, and Mistele also knew that while INRIX's industry-leading technology platform and customized services had set the firm apart, large location-based services companies could more easily enter the sector, posing a significant threat. In recent years, due to the proliferation of smartphones, large firms such as Google and Apple had increased access to location data, potentially threatening to enter the real-time traffic information (RTTI) space. Current competitors Navteq and Tele Atlas were also looking to grow through global expansion. Mistele also knew that the VC firms that held controlling stakes in his company were looking to cash out soon, either with a sale or by taking the company public through an IPO. He pondered both options and surveyed the challenges that each presented. If Mistele and INRIX decided to go public, Mistele would need to be confident that INRIX's strategic position and capabilities differentiated the company from other competitors and potential entrants. INRIX's "exit" options—sale or IPO—also implied different organizational decisions across the firm; Mistele wondered how best to organize INRIX to defend its current position and achieve growth as it continued to operate in a larger and more complex environment.