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Jun 30, 2009 · Sharespost is a marketplace where people who own pre-public shares can connect with investors who want that stock. Since these private companies also don't have open, audited books where...
May 12, 2020 · Forge has raised $109 million to date, including an expansion of its Series B round that helped pay for the acquisition. SharesPost has raised $38 million from investors over the years.
Glassdoor has 8 SharesPost reviews submitted anonymously by SharesPost employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SharesPost is right for you.
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- Disadvantages of SECFI
- When SECFI Is Not Right For You
- Forge Global
- Advantages of Forge Global/Sharespost
- Disadvantages of Forge Global/Sharespost
- Equityzen
- Advantages of Equityzen
- Disadvantages of Equityzen
- How to Decide Between Forge/Sharespost, Equityzen and SECFI
You get less cash upfront
While Secfi lets you tap into the value of your options through financing, you won’t get as much cash upfront as you would if you sold your options instead (even though in the latter case you would lose the upside).
Your exit may take awhile
The full truth is you don’t know when your company is going to IPO. So if you finance instead of selling your options, you don’t know exactly when you’ll experience an exit. If you instead sell your shares on a secondary marekt, you get cash as soon as the deal is done (which is often a matter of weeks or months).
When Secfi is right for you
1. If you think the value of your company is going to continue to grow, want to hold on to the upside, and want to get the most long-term value out of your options 2. If, besides the costs to exercise your options, you don’t need cash right away and can afford to wait for the IPO or acquisition of your company 3. If you don’t have the cash you need to exercise, but want to maximize your tax advantage and save money 4. If you left your company and only have 90 daysto exercise your options
If you think the value of your company has reached its peak and won’t go any higherIf you are “cash hungry” and want to get your hands on as much cash as possible – right nowSharesPost merged with Forge Global in 2020 and now the combined company operates under the name Forge Global. Forge/SharesPost acts as a marketplace for selling private company shares so startup employees can turn their equity into liquid assets (aka cash 💰). It's an advanced platform that has the feel of a publicly traded marketplace. Basically,...
You'll maximize the amount of cash you can get now
Startup employees that want cash now and don’t want to wait for an exit can sell their shares and gain liquidity. This is especially ideal if the employee doesn’t feel confident in the future of their company and isn’t optimistic about the potential value of their shares.
Their platform is a well-designed marketplace
The process of selling shares, looking for a buyer and closing the deal can be messy, so it doesn't hurt to have a well-designed environment to place your listing. Forge also offers helpful visualization tools and some information on recent price points.
You lose the upside of your equity
When you sell your stocks through a secondary market, you get immediate cash but you’re letting go of your ticket to the IPO. Fair warning – you may wake up with a major case of FOMO one day if your company has a successful exit.
You need company approval
Many companies don’t allow selling shares on secondary markets. For those that do, company approval is required to sell on a secondary market. It’s not always in a company’s interest to let their pre-IPO shares be traded, so many of them refuse.
You may run into ROFR
Many companies reserve the Right of First Refusal (ROFR). That means when you attempt to sell your shares, your company can step in and decide to buy the shares back themselves. If that happens, you're still on the hook for the 5% fee to Forge/SharesPost.
Founded in 2013, EquityZen is another secondary market similar to Forge/SharesPost. It works basically the same way. You list your shares and a broker helps you find a buyer. As of 2020, EquityZen also charged a 5% fee on all transactions. The biggest difference is that there’s a $175K minimum sale size (as opposed to $100K with Forge/Sharespost), ...
EquityZen has the same advantages as Forge/SharesPost: if you want to cash out as much as possible on short notice, you can use their platform to find a buyer and sell your equity. Additionally:
The disadvantages of EquityZen are similar to those of Forge/EquityZen: 1. You lose the upside of your shares in a potential future IPO or acquisition 2. You need company approval and might run into ROFR (Right of First Refusal) when trying to sell 3. Buyers often only want to buy your equity at a discount to its current value 4. The money you make...
It really comes down to whether financing versus selling on a secondary market is best for you. Secfi was built for startup employees who want to exercise their options before an IPO occurs, who are looking to save money on taxes (and increase their profit), and/or who only have 90 days to exercise their options and need cash to make that happen. S...
People also ask
What is SharesPost?
Is sharespot a good place to buy or sell shares?
Who owns SharesPost & forge?
How much does sharespot cost?
This sharespot review covered all you need to know to buy or sell shares from a private company. If you want explosive growth, reliable service at a reasonable cost, sharespot is a suitable place for you.
Mar 18, 2020 · Pros. Direct investment (rather than through LLC), which may have tax advantages. Wide selection of investments. Long track record. Cons. Startup investments are already inherently risky and illiquid, and additional uncertainty around cannabis industry adds to that risk. Only open to accredited investors.
See what employees say it's like to work at SharesPost. Salaries, reviews, and more - all posted by employees working at SharesPost.
