Uplevel Your Private Market Investing: Introducing EquityZen Bids

At EquityZen, we’re dedicated to empowering investors and sellers in the private market by providing tools that enhance flexibility, control, and transparency. Our latest feature — for placing custom Bids — transforms how transactions happen. Bids allow investors to submit their targeted price and size directly to a seller for a specific private company deal. This feature not only enhances deal-making efficiency but also fosters a more dynamic and responsive marketplace.

Here’s how the Bids feature is building a more interactive private market experience for buyers and sellers alike:

How Bids Transform Private Market Transactions

For Investors: Greater Control and Customization

Traditional private company investing often limits buyers to accepting pre-set deal terms when investing in a particular company. With this new feature, you gain the ability to:

• Negotiate on Your Terms: Submit custom bids that better align with your investment goals, whether it's adjusting price, deal size or both.
• Tailored Investing: Target specific deals that meet your financial preferences and portfolio needs.
• Immediate Engagement: Sellers receive your bid directly, enabling the potential for faster transactions. You no longer have to wait for the right investment opportunity to come to you.

For Sellers: Enhanced Liquidity and Visibility

Sellers benefit from a broader pool of investors expressing interest in their deals, creating opportunities to:

• Respond to Market Signals: Quickly gauge investor interest through the custom bids received, providing valuable insights for deal adjustments.
• Faster Closures: The streamlined process allows for swift decision-making, potentially reducing time to close for some Deals. 
• Enhanced Liquidity: Sellers can accept or modify the bids they have received based on market response, improving chances for a successful transaction.
  

Bids allow for a more robust marketplace for all participants leading to:  

1. Increased Deal Activity: By enabling buyers to actively propose custom bids, we create a more vibrant marketplace where transactions are driven by real-time investor and seller interactions.
2. Stronger Price Discovery: Bids allow for more dynamic pricing, helping both buyers and sellers reach fair market valuations. This data can be found in the Market Activity box on a company page, arming private market participants with dynamic market information.
3. Enhanced Transparency: Both parties gain better visibility into market interest, fostering informed decisions and building trust in the transaction process.
4. Efficient Capital Deployment: Investors can engage with multiple deals simultaneously, while sellers can field multiple bids, accelerating the path to liquidity for both sides.
5. Faster Deal Movement: Investors don't need to wait for a new deal to come to them. Sellers can act on deals that meet their needs without onerous and time consuming fielding and repricing to get a price that meets the market's demands. 
   

Key Considerations for Investors When Placing Bids 

• Commitment to Transact: A Bid signals a serious intention to invest. Buyers must be prepared to complete the investment if their Bid is accepted. Bids can be withdrawn before they are accepted if you decide you are no longer interested in buying.

• Defined Expiration: Each Bid has a default expiration date to ensure timely decisions and active deal management.
• Minimum Bid Requirements: Depending on the type of deal, Bids must meet specific size criteria. The minimum bid amount varies depending on the deal itself. For Express Deals, the bid must be for a number of units that exceeds 2% of the underlying fund. The average minimum is typically $40,000 but can be $1,000 or less in some cases.
  

Key Considerations for Sellers When Reviewing Bids

• Submit a Sell Order: Bids can only be submitted for a live sell order. To explore selling your ownership interest in an EquityZen Fund, visit your Portfolio page and click “Explore an Exit” next to an eligible investment.  
  
• Defined Expiration: Each Bid has an expiration date so be sure to review or accept any active bids of interest before they expire. You’ll receive email notifications about the best bid and new open bids available for review on a weekly basis. You can also find reminders to review bids on your Welcome Dashboard. 
• Commitment to Transact: By accepting a Bid, you are committing to selling your investment to the given buyer. Bids should only be accepted if you have made a firm decision to sell your investment.

Explore Bids on EquityZen's Marketplace

EquityZen’s Bid feature is designed to empower both investors and sellers, driving a more responsive, transparent, and dynamic private market ecosystem. Whether you're a seasoned investor looking for strategic opportunities or a seller seeking liquidity, this feature is for you.

Ready to explore? Log in to EquityZen now to explore the private companies you’re most excited about.

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Images displayed are a representation of a fictional investor's view and are not live offerings.

Closing and availability is not guaranteed. Investments in private companies are illiquid, may be speculative, and have substantial risks, including the risk of loss.  Not all pre-IPO companies will go public or be acquired, and not all IPOs or acquisitions are or will become successful investments.