EquityZen

Last updated
EquityZen
Type Private
Industry Financial technology, Investment
Founded2013;10 years ago (2013)
FounderAtish Davda (CEO)
Shriram Bhashyam
Phil Haslett
Headquarters
New York City
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Products Secondary Market
Services Electronic trading platform
Online marketplace
Website equityzen.com

EquityZen is an online marketplace for trading pre-IPO employee shares from privately held companies. [1] [2] The platform often links employees from private companies with investors who would not otherwise be able to invest in the company prior to an IPO. [3] [4] EquityZen is based in Manhattan's Flatiron District. [5]

Contents

History

EquityZen was founded in 2013 by Atish Davda (CEO), Shriram Bhashyam, and Phil Haslett in New York City. [1] [6] [7] From its outset, EquityZen was designed to allow employees of private companies to sell their equity in the company to accredited investors. [4] [8] The firm started out as part of the 500 Startups accelerator program in the fall of 2013. [9] [10] The company received seed funding in January 2014 [11] and as of September 2015 had raised Series A funding from undisclosed investors. [12] [13] EquityZen has raised $6.5 million in outside financing, including a $3M injection in 2017 led by Tim Draper's Draper Associates. [14] The financial technology firm was recently mentioned in Forbes' Fintech 50 list. [15]

Service

EquityZen operates a marketplace in which employee shareholders in private companies can make their equity available to outside investors. In addition to traditional share transfers, EquityZen introduced a new offering in the private shares market by working with the issuer to register a transfer of shares so employees and early investors can sell a portion of shares for cash without having to wait until an IPO or acquisition. [1] [16] [17] The firm works exclusively with companies that have already raised capital from large, institutional investors. [3] Companies need to have at least $50 million in enterprise value to be listed on the marketplace. [18] The minimum investment amount for investors is $20,000. [3]

Financial Advisors, who manage capital on behalf of others, invest their clients' capital through the platform. [19] Investors outside of the US have invested in private companies. [20] [21] EquityZen has transacted in over half of the largest 25 private Venture Capital-backed companies, such as prominent companies including Lyft, Evernote, and AppNexus. [1] [22] [23]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Messina, Judith (22 January 2014). "A new way to buy shares in startups". Crain's New York Business . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Picker, Leslie (4 November 2015). "Risking Your Neck to Run With the Unicorns". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Kenwell, Bret (1 April 2015). "EquityZen Shows the Way for Investing in Privately Held Companies". TheStreet.com . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 Mott, Nathaniel (4 November 2013). "Meet EquityZen, the company borne from its co-founder's need for an engagement ring". PandoDaily . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  5. ↑ McEnery, Thornton (9 January 2015). "Investment deal may ease IPO pressure on MongoDB". Crain's New York Business . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Giving investors access to pre-IPO shares". Fox Business. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Hook, Leslie (2 June 2015). "Private share trading takes off as tech companies shun IPOs". Financial Times . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Bort, Julie (7 December 2013). "Here's How Hot Startups Help Employees Cash Out Before An IPO". Business Insider . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (5 February 2014). "My Favorite Companies From The Seventh 500 Startups Accelerator Class". TechCrunch . Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Yeung, Ken (29 October 2013). "500 Startups reveals its 7th batch of accelerator startups, which includes its first biotech company". The Next Web. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "EquityZen Obtains $450,000 New Funding". Xconomy. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "EquityZen Lands Series A Investment". VentureDeal. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "EquityZen Secures $3,499,994 Series A Round". Xconomy. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  14. ↑ Newswire, PR (2017-07-18). "EquityZen Raises $6.5 Million; Draper Associates Leads $3M Infusion". PRNewswire.
  15. ↑ Novack, Janet (9 December 2015). "Introducing The Forbes Fintech 50". Forbes . Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Liesman, Steve (2016-08-10). "Executive Edge: Private Investing". CNBC.
  17. ↑ Evans, Kelly (2017-03-03). "Investing in the private market: Should it become easier?". CNBC.
  18. ↑ Anan, Ritesh (16 December 2014). "EquityZen: A Stock Market For Private Companies". Benzinga. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "The Pre-IPO Investment Opportunity in a Down Market". Advisor Perspectives. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "EquityZen helps Indian investors to invest in US companies". The Economic Times. India. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "EquityZen helps Indian investors to invest in US companies". The Times of India. India. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "A Rare Look at Small Investor Deals in Private Tech". The Information. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Movement in Secondary Market". CNBC, Squawk Alley . Retrieved 26 April 2016.
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