The technology-based start-ups have emerged as important drivers of innovative activities across many industries. For these start-ups, the initial public offering (IPO) has been used as an important measure for performance and leads to an influx of capital that enables these firms to implement their ideas. This study brings the IPO strategy of start-up companies into focus by investigating their performance after IPO in the Korean new stock market. For entrepreneurs, this study has two important implications. The first one is that the timing of technology acquisition is more important than the type of technology sourcing. The second one is that an early IPO is more effective for startups with the purpose of future sales growth rather than start-ups with the purpose of future acquisition. Key words: Start-up; Initial Public Offering; High Technology Industry