How to Get In On Pre-IPO Stocks Before They're Worth Billions
For individual investors
Your startup stake doesn't have to sit locked up until an exit
A practical resource on secondary sales for angel investors — how to sell shares you already hold for liquidity, and how to buy into companies you missed the first time around, years before any IPO.
$240BGlobal secondary market volume in 2025 — up ~48% on the prior year
10–30%Typical discount an angel stake trades at versus its last priced round
7+ yrsHow long an angel check can sit locked up before an IPO or acquisition
Market figure: Jefferies 2025 Global Secondary Market Review.
A two-sided market
Most people hear "secondary sale" and think only of someone cashing out early. That's half the story. Every secondary sale needs a buyer, and for individual investors, buying into an existing shareholder's stake is often the only way to get exposure to a well-known private company once it has stopped raising rounds at an accessible check size.
This site covers both sides: what it actually takes to sell a startup stake you already hold, and where individual investors go to buy into companies through the secondary market.
Every secondary sale needs a buyer.Angel Secondaries — the premise
Guide
How secondary sales work for angel investors
The illiquidity problem, how a sale actually happens, and what buyers take on.
Stories
How these deals actually go
First-person angel deal stories — partial exits, ROFRs, blocked sales, and clean tenders.
Vocabulary
The terms you'll run into
ROFR, discount to cap, pro rata, and the rest of the shorthand — explained plainly.
Where to buy
Marketplaces for pre-IPO shares
Real platforms individual investors use to buy secondary and pre-IPO stakes.
Watch
Selected from investors, platforms, and financial media
Selling Your Private Company Shares on a Secondary Marketplace
The Rise of Secondaries: Unlocking Liquidity in Private Markets
Part of a broader conversation
Secondary markets are one of the fastest-growing corners of private investing right now, and the vocabulary and mechanics are worth learning before your first transaction. Start with the guide to how secondaries work if you're new to any of this.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell shares in a startup I invested in before it goes public?
Often, yes. This is called a secondary sale — you sell your existing shares directly to another investor instead of waiting for the company to IPO or get acquired. Whether you can depends on your original paperwork: most startups include a right of first refusal (ROFR) and require company consent before any transfer.
Can I invest in a startup that already raised its early rounds?
Yes — this is the buying side of the same market. Instead of investing directly in a company's next round, you buy an existing shareholder's stake through a secondary transaction. It's one of the only ways individual investors can get exposure to well-known private companies that are no longer raising angel-sized checks.
How is the price set for a secondary transaction?
There's no public exchange, so price is negotiated directly between buyer and seller, usually anchored to the company's most recent priced round. Because the buyer takes on more risk and less information than a primary investor, secondaries commonly trade at a 10–30% discount to that round — though in-demand companies can trade at a premium.
Do I need to be an accredited investor?
In most jurisdictions, yes — the shares involved are unregistered securities, so the same accreditation rules that apply to direct angel investing generally apply here too, on both the buying and selling side. Requirements vary by country and by platform.