A secondary is you selling existing shares to a buyer, rather than the company issuing new ones, so the moving parts are the buyer, the price, and permission. The buyer is usually an existing or incoming investor, often as part of a funding round; the price is negotiated, frequently at or below the round's share price. Because your shares carry transfer restrictions and a right of first refusal, it needs board and often investor approval, and the company's counsel handles the paperwork. It can be a one-off direct sale or, at larger companies, a structured tender where several people sell at once. Raise it with your lead investor or board early, framed around a specific need, rather than shopping your shares around yourself.
2 resources.
A calm explainer of what a secondary actually is, who has to approve it, and how the price gets set, before you raise it with your board.
From Carta by Carta
Open carta.com →A working glossary of the words on your cap table, from the company that stores most of them, so the jargon stops getting in the way.
From Carta by Carta
Open carta.com →The same ground, over in Raise money, our Starting Up track.
