"Silicon Valley venture capitalists–who invest in startups with the aim of profiting later when those companies go public or are sold–have found it tough to produce returns recently. Not only have the markets been largely devoid of public offerings and M&A of their startup companies, many private company CEOs also are more reluctant to take their firms public given concerns over the cost and hassle of an IPO. gurley_DV_20090724145847.jpgBenchmark Bill Gurley, a partner at Benchmark Capital Now some venture-capital firms are trying to tamp down the anxiety levels over taking a company public. Earlier this week, Benchmark Capital–which has invested in hits such as eBay and Red Hat over the years–held an IPO workshop for 20 of its largest portfolio companies. The event was designed to walk startup CEOs through the IPO landscape and to debunk some of the myths about the hurdles of going public." - jho