I trust you mean currently existing ops, if frozen as is. Lots of companies go public while still taking on debt because their ROI in expanding operations is significantly higher than the interest rates. Amazon wasn't profitable for years because of this.
Message: You're not ready to float if you're not floating, i.e. have a viable business model and can fund operations with revenues.
Also, having a down round after going public likely rained hard on a lot of people's options situations.