HACKER Q&A
📣 throwaway_2mkt

Should I sell equity in a past startup on the private market?


Many years ago I worked for a start-up that showed some signs of success but merged with its only real competitor and laid-off many of the redundancies. I left the company around this time but exercised my stock options and now own a decent amount in this (still private) company formed from the merger.

I was notified recently that I can sell my equity on the private market. The offer included details of a share price, which would give me a decent payout (6 figures), but I’m wondering if this is a good deal. From crunchbase, the company has done one more round of funding since I left, and it appears they are gearing up for either an IPO or another funding round.

Should I sell? Or how could I better assess the terms of this deal?

I feel that if investors are willing to pay for my shares then they think these will be worth more soon. I don’t need the money right now. Thanks for any advice.

  👤 akg_67 Accepted Answer ✓
Six figures include a wide range from $100,000 to $999,999. If you are near upper range, you could sell 10-30% to take some money of the table. If you are at the lower range, either you can sell or keep everything. Without knowing anything more about company and valuations, it is difficult to be more specific.
👤 __blockcipher__
Without knowing more about the company in question, you should sell and invest in SPY.

There aren’t many opportunities to liquidate. Take the one you get.

👤 dyeje
I had a friend who was approached to buy his private equity. In his case, the company was doing quite well and expected to IPO, so he felt it would be better to just wait for the liquidity event. Might be a similar situation for you, maybe work some old contacts and see what the trajectory of the company is.
👤 gt2
Can you sell part of it? Does anyone besides OP know if that is definitely allowed or no?
👤 CloudNetworking
If you had that money, would you invest it all on this company?

If the answer is "no", sell.

👤 petesmithy
There are never any future guarantees of liquidity, so take this opportunity.