Mr Hosking said it was now the right time for the company to go public because it had a strong 10-year track record.

"We've had private shareholders for around 10 years now and they've done well out of their investment, but now we're letting them realise a return," he said.

"Redbubble employees also have access to share ownership plans, and making those real for them is very important. The third factor is the capital support, Redbubble is genuinely targeting a global market."

Redbubble has appointed Canaccord Genuity and Morgans as joint lead managers for its IPO.

Blackbird Ventures founding partners Niki Scevak, Bill Bartee and Rick Baker have backed RedBubble ahead of its IPO.

Tough market

Mr Hosking admitted that the current volatile bear market was not an easy one to list in.

If the market is performing especially poorly in the June quarter, he said he will consider delaying the listing, but he believes the company will be relatively immune to the weakness surrounding some tech stocks with high valuations.


"It's not an easy environment to list in if you don't have the fundamentals right, but we've been around for 10 years and the market conditions are relatively indifferent," Mr Hosking said.

"There has been a return to quality and Redbubble will be a quality stock."

Redbubble said it has had an 80 per cent growth in its gross transaction value (revenue plus sales tax and artist margin) for the first half of the 2016 financial year to $80.6 million.

It has also grown its customer base to 1.25 million, up 62 per cent on the previous corresponding period, and has increased its number of returning customers by 98 per cent.

Mr Hosking said Redbubble had appointed both Morgans and Canaccord because it is going to target both major funds and mum and dad investors, unlike most tech stocks which just target institutional investors.

"It's a quality investment, so we're seeking the support of the large funds, superannuation funds and then Morgans brings the retail component," Mr Hosking said.

"Unlike stocks like Atlassian and Aconex … retail investors will get Redbubble."

Familiar figure


This will be Mr Hosking's third experience in a leadership position in a listed company.

In 1999 he took online directory and listings business LookSmart public through a Nasdaq listing, alongside co-founders Evan Thornley and Tracy Ellery.

As well, he has served as chairman of Australia's new tech darling Aconex, in which he is also an investor.

Mr Hosking said he wants Redbubble to follow the path of Aconex, rather than LookSmart.

"LookSmart, while it was good for investor returns, didn't create enduring value," he said.

"It's not going to be a quick up and quick down; it's about creating a sustainable long-term company that will be here in 30 years."

Street Talk revealed that Redbubble had appointed two firms as joint managers for the listing in February.

The $50 million raised will go towards continuing to expand the marketplace by investing in new products and its supply chain, entering new markets (it launched in Germany last week and intends to be in Spain and France by later this year), and improving the mobile experience and building an app.


Redbubble has a number of notable business people on its board - former EY and Deloitte partner Grant Murdoch, Vida health chief executive Stephanie Tilenius, Jolimont Capital venture partner Teresa Engelhard, Piton Capital partner Greg Lockwood and former chief executive of Centrepoint Alliance Richard Cawsey.

Last year it secured a $15.5 million investment from London-based Piton Capital and Acorn Capital.

Blackbird Ventures venture partner Rick Baker said the firm loved global marketplaces as investment opportunities.

"With our new later stage fund, we're very pleased to be part of the company's journey," Mr Baker said.

"Redbubble is precisely the kind of company we hope to be seeing listing on the ASX, rather than seeking offshore listing. We think it's got every chance of joining REA, Carsales and SEEK as one of our leading internet companies."