Public vs. Private — Wall Street Sways Fortunes

“Without this large level of equity funding, plus significant additional debt financing, our business model is untenable,” Keane remarks. “VistaPrint has an explicit strategy of serving micro-businesses, which place tiny orders averaging about $30, including shipping charges. The only way for us to make money at that price is to have ultra-high-volume, capital-intensive facilities, with expensive automation at every step of the process. Being public makes that possible.”