Here’s how Snap might compare to best and worst tech IPOs of the past decade

Without a doubt, the potential Snap IPO this year is one of the most anticipated developments for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. With the IPO market hitting a slump the last two years, despite a decent economy, hope abounds that a strong Snap could repair the broken relationship between tech startups and Wall Street.

In advance of a possible Snap IPO, the data visualization specialists at Geckoboard have pulled together a range of interesting data about which tech IPOs have been winners and losers over the past decade. The numbers contain some surprises, as well as offering good perspective about how some of the most familiar names performed.

First, it’s worth noting that of the 100 largest tech companies that went public over the past decade, 67 percent are currently trading up. That’s a pretty good track record.

What are the odds that Snap will end up on the right side of the winners-losers line?

According to Geckoboard, the projected $25 billion valuation of the Snap IPO would make it the fourth largest tech IPO in the past 10 years. That number would make it bigger than the IPOs of notable names like LinkedIn, Tesla Motors, and Atlassian. Indeed, it would be the biggest U.S. tech IPO since (cough, cough) Twitter, which has lost about half of its valuation.

So, which are the most successful IPOs? Based on percentage gains (and keeping in mind that some have been public much longer than others):

1. Workday: +2422 percent
2. vip.com: +2157 percent
3. Luxoft Software: +1870 percent
4. Tesla Motors: +1770 percent
5. Medidata Solutions: +917 percent

Honorable mention: Facebook, up 249 percent, despite its size.

And the worst:

1. Renren Inc.: -97 percent
2. Rocket Fuel: -89 percent
3. Limelight Networks: -84 percent
4. Groupon: -84 percent
5. JuMei.com: -81 percent

Honorable mentions: Zynga in 7th place, down 66 percent; Fitbit at 9th, down 61 percent; Twitter at 16th, down 49 percent.

Snap has also raised a reported $2.3 billion in venture capital. That does not put it in the best of company. Four other companies on the top 100 list raised more than $1 billion in venture capital before their IPO: Facebook, Alibaba, Groupon, and Twitter.

Alibaba is up 2 percent from its IPO. But while Facebook has soared, the other two have sputtered.

Snap will be six years old this coming May, which puts it in a sweet spot in terms of age. Geckoboard found that the most successful IPOs came from companies between six and 10 years old.

One other slight mark in Snap’s favor: Six of the 10 social media IPOs are trading up.

Still, the company would seem to have a big challenge ahead if it’s to deliver returns on such a lofty valuation. Clearly, Snap and investors are hoping it will be the next Facebook and not the next Twitter.