Mark Zuckerberg turns 28 today—just in time for his company’s initial public offering to either prove the massive dominance of Facebook or to telegraph a pop in the world’s second huge tech bubble.
In just eight years, Facebook has gone from Harvard dorm-room project to a company that could deliver $18 billion to Zuckerberg’s pockets alone this week. And going public with the possibility of becoming more valuable than McDonalds or Goldman Sachs is mind-blowing for any executive—especially one under 30.
So far, Facebook’s IPO has reportedly drawn lower-than-expected demand from investors concerned about growth prospects. Like so many modern tech companies, Facebook is still better at gaining users than advertising revenue. But that hasn’t stopped people like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak from being bullish about buying in. And even in today’s fast-moving tech world, some still remember: There were similar worries about tech’s last IPO rock star… a little company called Google that’s doing pretty darn well.
