Gloo Holdings, Inc.

Final Gloo Holdings, Inc. IPO Guide for Everyday Investors

Hey there! 👋 If you’re thinking about investing in Gloo Holdings’ IPO but don’t want to drown in Wall Street jargon, here’s the plain-English breakdown you’ve been looking for. Let’s get into it:

1. What does Gloo actually DO?

Gloo is a tech platform for churches and faith-based organizations. They started by offering free tools (like texting services and community resources) to faith leaders and now connect churches with nonprofits, businesses, and even run national campaigns. Think of them as a LinkedIn for faith communities—helping share resources, coordinate projects, and grow memberships.

Big wins:

• Ran the He Gets Us campaign (those TV ads you might’ve seen!), which connected thousands of churches with new members.
• Acquired Outreach, a major faith-focused e-commerce platform (like Amazon for church supplies).

2. How do they make money? (And are they growing?)

Their revenue comes from:

• Outreach sales (87.8% of 2024 revenue).
• Ads and tech tools for large faith groups (Gloo360).
• Partnerships like the He Gets Us campaign, which drove most of their 2023 growth.

Growth? Big! Revenue surged after buying Outreach, but the company is still not profitable. They’re diversifying: by mid-2025, only 1/3 of revenue is projected to come from Outreach (down from 87.8%) as they push into ads and subscriptions.

3. What’s the IPO cash for?

Gloo plans to:

• Pay off debt.
• Develop Gloo AI (think ChatGPT for churches—helping with content creation and data analysis).
• Expand their ad network (Gloo Media Network) and enterprise tools.

4. Biggest risks to know

• Outreach dependency: Nearly 88% of 2024 revenue comes from Outreach. A sales dip here would hurt.
• Campaign reliance: The He Gets Us campaign drove most of 2023’s growth. Future projects might not repeat that success.
• Acquisition challenges: Merging companies like Outreach can lead to operational hiccups or culture clashes.

5. How do they stack up against competitors?

Gloo’s advantage? They’ve built the largest network of faith organizations—no competitor matches their reach. Others focus on niches (church software, books, etc.), but Gloo offers tools, ads, e-commerce, and AI. They’re like the Swiss Army knife for faith communities.

6. Who’s in charge?

• CEO Jamie Chen: Grew a small organic skincare brand into a national name.
• CFO Diego Rivera: Scaled a plant-based food startup to $50M in revenue.
• Leadership includes tech experts and faith community veterans.

7. IPO basics

• Ticker: GLOO (NYSE)
• Shares: 12 million at $14–$16 each.
• Raise: ~$180 million at the midpoint ($15/share).

Bottom line:
Gloo is betting on tech and AI to dominate the faith market. Their Outreach purchase gives them scale, but heavy reliance on it is risky. The leadership team has a track record of growth, but profitability remains a question.

Should you invest?

• If you believe in their vision of connecting faith communities and trust their ability to diversify beyond Outreach, it’s worth a look.
• If you’re risk-averse, consider waiting to see how Gloo AI and new ad tools perform post-IPO.

(Reminder: This isn’t financial advice! Talk to a financial advisor or do your own research before investing.) 💡