We are specifically talking about secondary markets, though. They only really happen I think when the risk is fairly low but people are illiquid, or occasionally when the hype is insane.
This is a separate thing from the natural evolution of risk over startup life. That happens to every one. Viable secondary markets letting you take some money out early don't happen in most cases.
Yes, you're right and I wasn't following that. I haven't had experience with secondary markets. I had to wait a few years for an IPO and then there's the lockup.
> Yes, you're right and I wasn't following that. I haven't had experience with secondary markets. I had to wait a few years for an IPO and then there's the lockup.
If the company is valuable and you want cash out fast, then you can just send messages directly to investors, if you have any contacts. There are always some investors looking for that kind of deals. However it has to be significant value, like 100k +. And naturally the price will suck, if IPO is in the horizin it makes almost always sense to wait.
This is a separate thing from the natural evolution of risk over startup life. That happens to every one. Viable secondary markets letting you take some money out early don't happen in most cases.