Companies are staying private longer, but you may need cash now. We can help.
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What We Do
EquityZen is a marketplace for private company investments. Our mission is to help shareholders in proven, private tech companies get liquidity for their illiquid company stock while giving investors access to this new asset class.
For Employees
You are compensated in options and stock that can be quite valuable. Yet, as the company grows in size and success, your net worth is increasingly concentrated in illiquid, hard to value equity. From a risk and money management perspective, this is not prudent.
Additionally, over time real life gets in the way. You may need liquidity in order to address ordinary course life events, such as purchasing a home, preparing for the birth of a child, or paying down educational debt. We’re here to help.
For Early Investors
We understand that you may need or desire liquidity before your portfolio company exits. If you hit your target IRR in 3-4 years time, you should not have to stay aboard for the 10-12 year ride to exit.
In fact, it’s not only better for you but for the economy. Everyone is better served if you take your returns and re-deploy those proceeds into new investments. Our platform provides you a way to do just this.
It was great doing business with you guys. You are much better than your competitors who I was dealing with! 10 million times!
S.S.Shareholder in multi-billion-dollar company^
EquityZen is helping us buy a house and is making it much easier to get it done. We are grateful for your service.
G.S.shareholder^
^Specific customer experiences are not representative of all customer experiences and are no guarantee of future returns or success.
Why EquityZen?
Pay For Life Events
Reduce your student debt, buy a home, or finance an engagement ring.
Company Friendly
Our solution honors all transfer restrictions, and has no Cap Table impact.
Diversify Your Risk
It doesn't make sense for your net worth to be concentrated in one private company's stock.
Private and Secure
Discretion and confidentiality are paramount. Your personal information will stay private.
How it works
1.
Register as Shareholder
The first step towards turning your private shares into cash is easy: create an account, take a quick survey about your holdings and liquidity goals, and sign our mutual NDA, which assures that information you provide to us will be held in confidence.
2.
Conducting Diligence
EquityZen will perform initial due diligence on the company in which you are seeking liquidity. If the company is an appropriate fit for our investor base, we will ask you to provide a list of documents we need to review to complete our standard diligence. You can
upload the documents anytime here
for us to get started. We will not ask you for sensitive, non-public company information. Your equity documents will be reviewed to:
verify your ownership and
ensure that your participation on our platform does not run afoul of agreements you have in place with the company.
As the diligence process moves forward, EquityZen will perform a valuation analysis on the company. We use this along with publicly available information, comparables, and other market data to initiate pricing.
3.
Generating Investor Interest
We will list the offering to gauge interest from our investor base and report back to you. This process typically takes two weeks, and the listing will be featured on our website and in our weekly investor newsletter during such time.
If there is enough buyer demand and if we are in agreement on the core terms (size and price), we’ll enter into a placement agreement with you, formalizing our mutual intent to complete the transaction.
4.
EquityZen Works with the Company
With the deal terms in-hand (price, number of shares, and deal size), we will provide you with the language and documentation necessary to notify the company of your intent to sell your shares through a share transfer. We will then work with the company through its internal processes to complete the transaction.
You will also be asked to sign a placement agreement and submit a one-time placement fee to EquityZen Securities LLC ("EquityZen Securities"), our SEC-registered broker-dealer.
We usually close (i.e., money hits your account) in 2-3 weeks from receiving company approval on the transaction.
6.
Be a hero, tell a friend
Psst. Share this secret with a friend, and help them get liquidity too.
*EXERCISE OF OPTIONS
If you are an Option Holder, you will be required to exercise your options before we can move forward. We do not provide a loan nor do we provide funding to cover the cost of exercise. Instead, we will enter into a Bona Fide offer with you, formalizing our commitment to a transaction, so that you may exercise with confidence that a transaction will follow.
*COMPANY TRANSFER FEE AND LEGAL OPINION
Depending on the Company you hold shares in, you may be required to submit a one-time transfer fee and legal opinion to the company in order to transact. This is required by the Company, not EquityZen, in order to meet their transfer requirements.
*PLACEMENT FEE
Submit your one-time placement fee to EquityZen Securities. We will send individual instructions.
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Still Have Questions?
Unclear about a specific step? Chances are our FAQ can clear it up. We're happy to discuss anything that's on your mind.
Interested in finding out more?
To learn more about whether you're eligible, typical investment size, company valuation, and share price, request access here.
Please provide a valid email address.
Have questions?
Have Questions?
We're here to help! Check out our FAQ, Investor, and Shareholder overview pages for answers to common questions. Still have a question or need support? Send us a quick message and we'll get right back to you.
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