Hootsuite needs a CFO and break-even cash flow before filing an IPO, says CEO

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With Canada caught in an IPO frenzy, one of the most-watched domestic companies expected to take the leap to the public markets is Vancouver social media management firm Hootsuite Media Inc.

Last month's hugely successful initial public offering by fellow Canadian software firm, Shopify Inc., "has uncovered a massive appetite for this type of offering not just globally but within Canada…. [and] I want to get the company in a fantastic position to put out an offering," Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes told Streetwise Thursday at the Traction conference in Vancouver, where he spoke to more than 600 guests from the startup world in Canada and the U.S.

But while Hootsuite has "core fundamentals in place in terms of revenue and growth," the company has a couple of boxes to tick off before going public.

First is hiring a "world-class" chief financial officer to succeed James Rumble (who will stay with the company) with experience taking a hot technology company public. Hootsuite has been looking for months, and it hasn't been easy for the company to find the right candidate willing to relocate from Silicon Valley – where there are countless Hootsuite-sized companies in similar pre-IPO positions – to Vancouver, where the vibrant tech scene is still relatively small but emerging.

But Mr. Holmes said, "We've got a nice pipeline of some really amazing, world-class candidates and some that I'm really excited about. We're getting closer to making a decision there."

There obviously won't be an IPO until there's a CFO. "That's a precursor," Mr. Holmes said. He'd also like to see the company get its cash flows to a break-even level, something that is likely to take several months to accomplish. As for the company's venture backers, including the active VC arm of pension giant OMERS, "they're giving us no pressure and in no hurry for us to do something premature," said Mr. Holmes. "They want us to do this when it makes sense for us."

As for the expected timing of an IPO, Mr. Holmes was non-committal. "We're not commenting on timeline," he said. "But we're putting everything in place."

Fortunately for IPO-mad investors, there are plenty of other options to choose from as Bay Street continues to churn out prospectuses, including fresh filings this week from Shred-It and Spin Master, among others.