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There are several methods to go public in the US. There are three key grades of listing:

Here are the levels of quotation listing.

OTC PINK SHEETS:

The oldest quotation service for over the counter stocks usually termed "the pinks". There are technically no requirements for reports or audited financials on the pinks, but, the pinks have put into operation their own voluntary reporting system and enforce it by publishing symbols to denote the level of disclosure each firm is subscribing to. To publish voluntary information requires fees of about $5000 a year.

THE OTC BB: The OTC Bulletin Board is managed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and requires that all companies whose equity is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board manage their current reporting status with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which includes current audited financial statements. There are no cost paid to FINRA for this quotation, but keeping a public company current with its SEC reports can easily cost $25,000 - $50,000 annually.

EXCHANGES:

The OTC PINK SHEETS and the OTC Bulletin Board are viable stock markets specifically for budding and new companies, but clients with flourishing businesses will try to be on one of the mature and higher equity markets - Nasdaq Small-Cap, Nasdaq NMS or NYSE. Each of these stock exchanges has its own qualifications that a business must meet to be listed on the exchange. Usually the types of qualification variables they look for include asset levels, number of shareholders, required Board level committees, incomes, and market capitalization. In addition all exchanges require the company to have a current reporting status with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Listing on the equity markets usually involves expenses in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For a US company a listing on the US stock markets leverage points. For Example, a quotation is a method to:

1) Grow your company easier and make it more successful by increasing your ability to invite "mergers", "acquisitions" and also "strategic partners;

2) Grow your company faster and make it more powerful by developing its ability to compete for large corporate deals;

3) Maximize your personal return on investment as an owner by decreasing the amount of time it will take to make money on your investment, and also increasing the value of your company, as well as, changing the liquidity of your asset to a more liquid form than that of a private business;

4)Raise money more quickly and cheaper by increasing the "liquidity" factor for your investors

Now most of these considerations are for firms going public from scratch. For those of you wanting to invest in a shell corporation (public shell), to go for mergers, then you might want to look at changing a quotation as above. For more details on this subject try googling keywords like "mergers companies" or "reverse mergers".