A Thanksgiving Message from our CEO

Thanksgiving is easily one of my favorite holidays. Not only is it an opportunity to spend time with loved ones, it’s a time of gaining perspective through reflection and gratitude.  As I prepare to gather with my family this week, I’m reflecting on the incredible journey of this year and the past dozen years. My gratitude list is long, but a few things stand out.

I am incredibly thankful for:

• Our Mission in Action: Seeing our goal of broadening access come to life is what it's all about. This year, we launched innovations like Bids and $5K minimums, leading to a 200% increase in first-time investors investing on our platform. We also celebrated 11 years of our Multi-Company Funds, a cornerstone of our effort to provide broad-based access to the private markets through a single investment.
• Our Clients & Community: To our clients and the 800,000+ users on our platform, thank you. You are at the center of our mission, and your trust and engagement fuel our innovation. We are honored to be your go-to partner in accessing the private markets.
• The Best Team in Fintech: To the entire EquityZen team, our new hires, and our incredible alumni: we don’t win without you. Your dedication, brilliance, and resilience are commendable.
• Educating the Market: I’m grateful for our partnership with Yahoo Finance and the many others that have shared our private market insights with millions of market participants. Bringing transparency to the pre-IPO ecosystem is necessary and you have helped us to do this with scale.
• Market Momentum: It has been fantastic to see IPO activity picking up and to celebrate successful exits for our portfolio companies: a win for investors and the ecosystem.
• Tasting Our Own Champagne: After years of helping shareholders of other private companies get liquidity, I am grateful we are able to deliver meaningful liquidity to EquityZenners and all of our shareholders.
• A Future with Morgan Stanley: This year's agreement for EquityZen to join forces with Morgan Stanley is an incredible validation of our mission and of the future of the private markets. It is a testament to EquityZen’s “do it the right way even when others aren’t” ethos being recognized at a global scale.

From our early days to today, the mission has always been to make private markets more accessible. Seeing that vision expand is something I’m truly thankful for.

And what started it all…the engagement ring I struggled to buy that became the genesis of what is now EquityZen, has turned into a family with young kids I can’t wait to spend the holiday with.

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!