For Secondaries, You Don’t Need a Round - You Need a Reason

The myth that secondaries must ride on a funding event is outdated, and costly.

“We’ll wait for the next round.”

It still comes up. Founders, CFOs, even board members often say it like it’s the most natural thing in the world. As if secondaries are something you plug into a raise, once the “real” work is done.

That mindset didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from history.

For a long time, secondaries were seen as reactive. Something you folded in at the tail end of a funding round - usually to help new investors get more exposure, or to tidy up a few early angels. It wasn’t thought of as a proactive tool for alignment and motivation. It was convenient, not strategic.

And so the habit stuck: do a round, then do a secondary while you're at it.

But here’s what we’ve seen again and again: The need for liquidity doesn’t follow a funding calendar. It’s ongoing. It’s varied. And when handled well, it benefits everyone, not just the person selling.

The change didn't happen overnight. Companies now stay private far longer than they used to. A decade ago, the median age at IPO was under 7 years. Today, it’s closer to 11. That extra time means more people contributing more value, and waiting much longer to see any of it. As that gap widened, the conversation shifted, sophisticated CFOs and boards stopped asking, “Is this allowed?” and started asking, “How can we make it happen?”

Secondaries, done right, became an important part of the answer.

The reality is simple: Employees get to participate in the upside while they’re still building. Founders stay motivated and unburdened. Investors, new and old, appreciate a more stable, aligned cap table.

And the company as a whole becomes more attractive because the people inside it feel like they’re part of something durable, not just waiting for the next liquidity window, or an exit ten years down the road.

That’s the shift - not just in behavior, but in mindset.

In mature, post-PMF companies - the kinds we work with across deals from $5M to $100M - those liquidity needs don't pause. And they shouldn't have to.

One CFO we know reached out about a deal. We passed,  pricing didn’t make sense at the time. Nine months later, he called us back. Not because they were raising. Because he realized this wasn’t a one-time thing. It was something the business would need regularly, as part of its rhythm. Just like comp reviews or board meetings. A tool that keeps the company and its people moving forward.

That’s the mindset shift we’re seeing more of.

When done right, secondaries don’t send mixed signals. They send clear ones: That the company is aligned. That its internal systems are strong. That it’s confident enough to reward the people who helped build it - not just someday, but now.

So why does the myth still linger?

Sometimes it’s old habits. Sometimes it’s a misplaced belief that liquidity will hurt motivation. But more often, it’s because secondaries feel like a big lift: complicated, distracting, hard to price. 

That's rarely true for companies ready for it.

If you've got solid reporting, a functional board, a clean cap table, and aligned shareholders, the pieces are already in place. You don't need a new raise. You just need a sophisticated partner who knows how to work with what you've already built and who can price based on business quality, not just a discount off the last round.

We’ve done deals with no discount, not because we were being generous, but because the numbers backed it. The company had earned it. The risk was clear. And the outcome made sense for everyone involved.

And when that’s the case, the result isn’t friction, it’s flow.

Waiting for permission from a funding calendar is no longer a viable strategy. If you have the infrastructure, the performance, and stakeholders who need liquidity, explore your options. Treat secondaries as a strategic tool for building a stronger, more aligned organization.

You don't need to force a secondary into the structure of a round. You don't need to dress it up or wait for someone else to say it's the "right time."

You just need to act on what you already know: Smart liquidity decisions drive better long-term outcomes for everyone.