To “go public” or going public means to get listed on the stock market by launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The act of going public involves receiving approval from existing stakeholders to launch an IPO, the price of which is decided by two methods:
Once the price of the IPO is decided, the shares are offered to the public on the primary market. Not everyone who applies to an IPO may get shares - the system works on the basis of allotment. After the shares are issued, the company is said to move from the “go public” stage to the publicly traded company stage.