How to capture early position in IPO

I'm looking at some companies preparing their IPOs (initial public offering). Anybody else doing this? What are some strategies in getting in position as early as possible?

For example, the Registration Statement to the SEC always says something like, “approximate date of commencement of proposed sale of common stocks to public is as soon as practicable after effective date of this registration…” so it seems to depend on some kind of administrative paperwork.

So how do you keep track of when exactly they launch?