Venture is built on long holding periods. Companies founded in the 2010s stayed private far longer than their 1990s predecessors. Median time from first VC round to exit has stretched toward a decade for the largest outcomes, while IPO windows opened and shut. The result is a large and growing secondary market: transactions in which existing holders (LPs, VC funds, founders, employees and early investors) sell their positions to new buyers without the company raising primary capital. Secondaries are now a core part of venture's plumbing. They give LPs liquidity before funds wind down, let employees pay mortgages and taxes, let GPs extend their hold on winners, and give buyers access to mature assets at a discount. They also bring opaque pricing, information asymmetry, conflicts of interest, and the temptation for companies to stay private indefinitely.
What the study covers
- 1Overview: why venture needs a secondary market
- 2Mechanics
- 3Key numbers
- 4Landmark episodes
- 5Who the buyers are and how they make money
- 6Pitfalls
- 7How an expert thinks about it
- 8Glossary
- 9Related sections
Technical exhibits
Worked examples, checklists and case studies included with this study.
LP Stake Pricing Worked Example
Pricing a VC fund LP interest at 78% of NAV: buyer IRR by scenario, deferred payment, breakeven math
Direct Secondaries and Tender Offers Guide
Company-stock transfers, ROFR, SPVs and forwards, tender offers, tax and legal mechanics, and a computed common-vs-preferred pricing example
VC Continuation Funds
GP-led continuation vehicles in venture: process, conflicts, a computed sell-vs-roll example, and recent VC cases