As a businessman who founded and sold one technology company, then headed another, Frank Fawzi believed he could solve almost any problem. That was before he entered the IPO market, attempting to take his company public.

As he and other executives have learned on the IPO trail this year, the process isn't always easy--or successful--even in buoyant markets.

'IPOs are one of those things that are not in your control' after companies start marketing the stock to potential investors, says Mr. Fawzi, chief executive at IntelePeer Inc., a telecom-services provider based in San Mateo, Calif. 'CEOs think we can fix anything. This was the first time I felt that I couldn't fix something.'

With the pace of initial public offerings in the U.S. picking up in recent months, more companies are hoping for the iconic post-IPO bounce--and the riches that follow for their founders, investors and employees. The biggest so far this year is expected to be this week's up-to-$763 million offering by Carlyle Group L.P., which will likely be quickly eclipsed in coming months by the Facebook Inc. debut.

But amid the pre-IPO excitement, companies also face the very real prospect that their coming-out parties will fall flat.

Six deals ended up getting postponed or withdrawn during March, even as pricing and performance for IPOs began improving. Seven more were pulled in April, with the companies again citing market-related reasons, according to Dealogic. The latest example was biofuel company Enerkem Inc., which withdrew its $138 million deal after attempting to price it throughout most of April.

In the last six years, the proportion of deals pulled compared with the number filed has fluctuated; it was as low as 21% in 2006 and 2007, when IPOs were thriving, but widened considerably in 2008, when the IPO market was barely functioning, says Dealogic.

The reasons deals don't work out are varied--and often not even related to the quality of the business.

'That unknowability of how a deal will turn out is unbelievably taxing,' says Sam Schwerin, a co-founder of venture capital firm Millennium Technology Value Partners.

Mr. Fawzi, 50, and his fellow executives at IntelePeer endured a whirlwind two weeks in January, crossing the country from San Francisco to New York City to meet with large investors and host so-called roadshow meetings for 70 or more potential buyers at a time.

It wasn't uncommon for him to have seven meetings a day, telling the story of his company's business plan and financial performance. At first, the feedback seemed positive, said Mr. Fawzi. But toward the end of the first week, he sensed sentiment shifting. He heard concerns that the company's business story was complicated, it wasn't a consumer brand, and it wasn't profitable. What followed, he said, was 'the longest week of my life.'

'Once you've lost momentum, it's very hard to turn things around,' as word spreads through the investorcommunity that buyers aren't lining up, says Mr. Fawzi. He felt investors and the media didn't look closely enough at the company's financial statements. IntelePeer ultimatelywithdrew its IPO and Mr. Fawzi flew back to his home in Florida.

Meanwhile, just as IntelePeer's IPO plan was falling through, the roadshow for another tech deal-computer--security-software maker AVG Technologies NV--was in full swing. Chief Executive J.R. Smith, 47, was going through a blur of investor meetings; in one instance, he visited Milan, Frankfurt and London in a day.

The shares for AVG, which is based in Amsterdam, were priced within the expected range on Feb. 1, and began trading the next day--only to flop, declining 19% on its debut.

'The biggest surprise for me was that we came out with a price of $16, and suddenly, when it started trading, the price became $13.50,' says Mr. Smith. 'What had changed? Weren't we the same company last night, when people were willing to buy it at $16?'

At least part of the responsibility when deals go wrong falls on the underwriters, who earn millions to advise companies on pricing, timing and selling deals to investors. The banks typically get a percentage of the offering.

Spokespeople for the lead underwriters on IntelePeer's deal, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, and Barclays, declined to comment. Spokespeople for AVG's lead underwriters, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also declined to comment.

Several bankers said that the IPO process is a cooperative effort between banks and company executives, with the companies having the last say on whether to accept a lower valuation or shelve the deal.

'It's ultimately correct that bankers are supposed to be bringing their capital market expertise to the table, on the one hand,' said Scott Rostan, a former Merrill Lynch investmentbanker and founder of Training the Street, which trains junior professionals at investment banks. 'But it's nearly impossible to time the market. If they could, then every deal would work.'

Messrs. Fawzi and Smith said they didn't blame their bankers for the way their deals ended.

The morning after the end of their respective roadshows couldn't have been more different for the two men. Mr. Fawzi said he spent a day at home thinking about why the IPO hadn't worked and what he and his company could do better.

'Candidly, on a business level, this was absolutely the worst setback I ever had in my career,' said Mr. Fawzi.

Mr. Smith rang the bell at the NYSE on the day AVG Technologies' stock launched. His 1.2 million shares, which are subject to a six-month lockup period in which he can't sell them, are today worth about $17.7 million. After the IPO, he says, he treated himself to a 1968 Gibson acoustic guitar and took his wife shopping.

Lynn Cowan

• executive [ig´zekjutiv]   a.行政的 n.行政官   (初中英语单词)
• riches [´ritʃiz]   n.房地产；丰富   (初中英语单词)
• excitement [ik´saitmənt]   n.兴奋；骚动；煽动   (初中英语单词)
• prospect [´prɔspekt, prəs´pekt]   n.景色；境界 v.勘察   (初中英语单词)
• performance [pə´fɔ:məns]   n.履行；行为；工作   (初中英语单词)
• proportion [prə´pɔ:ʃən]   n.比率 vt.使成比例   (初中英语单词)
• barely [´beəli]   ad.公开地；仅仅   (初中英语单词)
• venture [´ventʃə]   n.投机 v.冒险；敢于   (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• sentiment [´sentimənt]   n.情绪；多愁善感   (初中英语单词)
• complicated [´kɔmplikeitid]   a.结构复杂的；难懂的   (初中英语单词)
• instance [´instəns]   n.例子，实例，例证   (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ]   a.情愿的，乐意的   (初中英语单词)
• responsibility [ri,spɔnsə´biliti]   n.责任(心)；职责；任务   (初中英语单词)
• advise [əd´vaiz]   vt.忠告；建议；通知   (初中英语单词)
• percentage [pə´sentidʒ]   n.百分数；比例；部分   (初中英语单词)
• comment [´kɔment]   n.&v.评论；评注；注意   (初中英语单词)
• supposed [sə´pəuzd]   a.想象的；假定的   (初中英语单词)
• investment [in´vestmənt]   n.投资；(时间等)投入   (初中英语单词)
• banker [´bæŋkə]   n.银行家   (初中英语单词)
• junior [´dʒu:niə]   a.年少的 n.年少者   (初中英语单词)
• absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli]   ad.绝对地；确实   (初中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid]   a.有学问的，博学的   (高中英语单词)
• potential [pə´tenʃəl]   n.&a.潜在的；可能的   (高中英语单词)
• initial [i´niʃəl]   a.最初的 n.首字母   (高中英语单词)
• offering [´ɔfəriŋ]   n.提供；礼物；捐献   (高中英语单词)
• withdrew [wið´dru:]   withdraw的过去式   (高中英语单词)
• considerably [kən´sidərəbli]   ad.显著地；十分   (高中英语单词)
• related [ri´leitid]   a.叙述的；有联系的   (高中英语单词)
• so-called [´sou ´kɔ:ld]   a.所谓的，号称的   (高中英语单词)
• positive [´pɔzətiv]   a.确定的   (高中英语单词)
• consumer [kən´sju:mə]   n.消费者；用户   (高中英语单词)
• profitable [´prɔfitəbəl]   a.有益的；有用的   (高中英语单词)
• community [kə´mju:niti]   n.团体；社区；公众   (高中英语单词)
• lining [´lainiŋ]   n.衬里；衬料   (高中英语单词)
• amsterdam [´æmstədæm]   n.阿姆斯特丹   (高中英语单词)
• founder [´faundə]   n.奠基者 v.陷落   (高中英语单词)
• buoyant [´bɔiənt]   a.能漂浮的；快活的   (英语四级单词)
• withdrawn [wið´drɔ:n]   withdraw过去分词   (英语四级单词)
• whirlwind [´wə:l,wind]   n.旋风；猛烈的势力   (英语四级单词)
• uncommon [ʌn´kɔmən]   a.非常的，非凡的，罕见的   (英语四级单词)
• ultimately [´ʌltimitli]   ad.最后，最终   (英语四级单词)
• cooperative [kəu´ɔpərətiv]   a.合作的 n.合作团体   (英语四级单词)
• respective [ri´spektiv]   a.各自的，各个的   (英语四级单词)
• investor [in´vestə]   n.投资者   (英语六级单词)
• valuation [,vælju´eiʃən]   n.估价；价值；重要性   (英语六级单词)
• guitar [gi´tɑ:]   n.吉他，六弦琴   (英语六级单词)