After $18B IPO, Bending Spoons founder says success comes from minimizing luck

Bending Spoons, the Milan-based technology company known for scooping up struggling but recognizable internet brands, completed its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with shares opening at a valuation topping $18 billion before climbing 40% by the close of trading. The listing marks a milestone for a firm that has spent roughly the past ten years building a portfolio of once-troubled online platforms rather than pursuing the more conventional route of a single flagship product.

Among the company's holdings is AOL, meaning the once-iconic internet pioneer has effectively returned to the public markets through its parent's stock offering. Founded 13 years ago, Bending Spoons has spent the last decade steadily acquiring names that many internet users grew up with, expanding a portfolio that has quietly grown far larger than most casual observers realize.

Its acquisition history includes Meetup, the community-organizing platform; Eventbrite, the ticketing and events service; Vimeo, the video-hosting site; and WeTransfer, the popular file-sharing tool, among numerous other properties. Rather than simply managing these brands as legacy assets, the company has applied techniques often associated with private equity firms — restructuring operations and tightening execution — to a long string of deals.

Unlike typical private equity buyers, however, Bending Spoons has said it does not intend to acquire companies simply to resell them for a quick profit. Instead, executives describe a strategy centered on retaining ownership long-term while using technology to modernize and strengthen the acquired businesses.

Matteo Danieli, the company's co-founder and chief product officer, framed the approach as an effort to be seen as a caretaker of well-known consumer brands rather than a short-term financial buyer. He told TechCrunch that the company's ambition is to take names that people already have affection for and substantially improve them under new management.

The public offering arrives as scrutiny grows over how large tech and private-equity-style consolidators treat legacy internet platforms that once had passionate user bases but struggled financially on their own. Bending Spoons' bet is that operational discipline and reduced dependence on chance — a philosophy its founders have said was shaped by an earlier startup venture that did not succeed — can turn faded but beloved products into durable, profitable businesses rather than assets to be stripped down and discarded.

Whether public investors will reward that long-hold strategy over time remains an open question, particularly given how differently the market often treats roll-up companies once the initial listing enthusiasm fades. For now, the strong first-day trading pop suggests investors are, at least initially, buying into the idea that a more disciplined, tech-driven approach can succeed where the original owners of brands like AOL, Vimeo and WeTransfer fell short.

Source: TechCrunch