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Linqto's vision is "Your Access to Private Investment". Our mission is to make investing in private companies as easy and accessible as investing in the public stock market. Our platform features high growth, technology driven companies who we believe will go public or be acquired within 5 years. Ripple, Polysign, Epic Games, Zipline- these are just a few of the companies we have featured on our platform. Robinhood, Coinbase, and SoFi are examples of companies that our investors were able to purchase before they were publicly traded and experienced an IPO within a year.
There are many reasons to invest in private equity. First and foremost, the private markets have far outperformed the public markets. Over the past 25 years, the average internal rate of return (IRR) for the top quartile of VC funds has ranged around 25% according to the Cambridge Associates Venture Capital Index. Over the same period, the S&P 500 returned around 10% per year. On a fundamental level, these investments are generally riskier and therefore demand higher returns on investment.
In today’s market, companies are staying private for much longer than they used to. The median age for tech companies going public in 2000 was 4-5 years compared with 12 years in 2018. The returns generated by these companies during their growth phase are only achievable by accessing the private share market. As an investor, this makes it essential that you gain an earlier entry point to these companies by investing in private company shares.
Linqto is structured in a unique way that benefits everyone involved in the private equity investment process.
For investors, we offer access to top private companies with industry-low minimums and no fees, all through a simple to use platform backed by world-class customer support. Plus, we believe so strongly in every company on our platform that we keep some equity for ourselves, so we're invested right alongside our investors.
For founders and employees of private companies, we provide a mean to realize the value of their equity at a fair price without needing to wait for their company to IPO or be acquired. We handle all the necessary paperwork and negotiations with the company to make it a stress free process for the individual.
For private companies, we provide your employees and investors with a path to liquidity while serving as only one investor on your cap table.
Our team of experts uses an incredible amount of information to determine the best companies to invest in and feature on the platform. While each situation is unique, generally we target the following companies:
-Mid-to-late stage in terms of financing (Series C or later)
-Growing fast
-Part of a large market and industry
-Solid financials - positive earnings or have a clear path to it
-Incredible leadership team
-Potential to exit within the next 5 years
Linqto purchases shares from current and former employees, early investors and advisors of the company. They are typically selling only a portion of their holdings in order to cover costs associated with exercising and paying taxes on the remainder of their shares, for life events such as purchasing a home or preparing for a child, or to diversify their holdings.
Linqto purchases shares in large quantities from founders, employees, and investors, so we're able to get a great price on them. We then turn around and sell that equity in smaller quantities to many investors with a reasonable markup.
To have access to all investments on the platform, yes. As a US based company we are bound by regulations that state you must be accredited or qualified to invest in private equity based on your local regulations. Under Regulation D Rule 506(b), investment opportunities are limited for US non-accredited investors, while accredited investors can access all investments on our platform. Most countries have regulations that require you to have sufficient net worth, income, or are considered a sophisticated investor.
In the US, an accredited investor includes anyone who:
-earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse or spousal equivalent) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year, OR
-has a net worth over $1 million, either alone or together with a spouse or spousal equivalent (excluding the value of the person’s primary residence), OR
-holds in good standing a Series 7, 65 or 82 license.
Not in the US? Click here to contact our team to learn about your countries requirements.
No! Linqto sources deals and marks them up so that there are no further follow on fees for the investor whatsoever. While fees have historically been very high in private markets, we, at Linqto, are proud to offer a zero-fee investment management platform. Linqto has no continuing management fees/expenses, no brokerage fees, no carried interest, nothing.
At Linqto we want to make private investing accessible to all. Historically, investing in a private company required you to invest at least $100,000, but at Linqto you can invest with as little as $2,500 on your first order. After that, the minimum investment is $5,000. This allows you to diversify your holdings across a number of companies- an important aspect of achieving consistent returns in the private markets.
If you haven't already, start by signing up for an account and verifying your email address.
Once you have an account, there's a three step process you'll need to complete in order to make an investment on Linqto.
Step 1: Identity Verification
This is a standard practice as part of our Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML) compliance. You'll be asked to scan your Drivers License or Passport and take a self-photo to verify your identity.
Step 2: Basic Information
You'll need to complete the rest of your profile such as your citizenship and SSN/Tax ID number. This information is used for things such as tax reporting and is not shared with anyone.
Step 3: Verify Accreditation Status
Verify if you are an accredited investor in order to have access to all investment opportunities. Most countries have regulations that require you to have sufficient net worth, income, or are considered a sophisticated investor in order to invest in private companies.
In the US, an accredited investor includes anyone who:
-earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse or spousal equivalent) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year, OR
-has a net worth over $1 million, either alone or together with a spouse or spousal equivalent (excluding the value of the person’s primary residence), OR
-holds in good standing a Series 7, 65 or 82 license.
Not in the US? Click here to contact our team to learn your countries requirements.
The rapid growth in private equity is sparking debates over the fairness of access to private equity opportunities. Linqto is helping to solve that and make it easy for you, but US law only allows us to primarily serve accredited investors. Under Regulation D Rule 506(b), however, a limited number of non-accredited investors are permitted. The SEC reportedly wants more people to have access to private markets, possibly by making changes to the accreditation rules. Until then, non-accredited investors will have a limited experience on our platform, based on the number of non-accredited seats available for each company.
Yes, many of our investors are not from the US. As long as you meet the qualification standards in your country, you are eligible to invest on Linqto.
To verify your income, you can provide the last 2 years worth of tax documents that prove you have had sufficient income for the last two years to meet the requirements of your country.
To verify your net worth, you can provide account statements, cryptocurrency wallets, proof of property ownership, or other documentation showing ownership that proves you have a net worth that meets the requirements of your country.
To verify your Series 7, 65 or 82 license, you can provide your FINRA CRD number for validation.
Alternatively, you can have your financial advisor provide verification documentation on your behalf.
Submitting your documentation is easy and only takes a minute. Once submitted, we'll review your qualifications within 2 business days and confirm once it's completed.
Identity verification is a standard practice as part of our Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML) compliance. Once you’ve created your account, you will be directed to a screen that allows you to scan either your passport (available for investors worldwide) or driver's license (available for US investors). Once you’ve scanned your passport or driver’s license, you will be asked to take a selfie to complete our identity verification process.
If you are based outside the USA with no passport, please click here to contact our team for help.
Click here to contact our team for help verifying your identity.
Our Invest page provides a quick view of the companies on our platform, along with a brief description and what industry they're in. When you view an individual company, we provide in depth information about that company including key facts from our investment team, leadership team, funding rounds and key investors, as well as the Implied Valuation based on the unit share price.
Once you know which company you want to invest in, use the slider to select the size of your investment. After you click the Place Order button, you'll be asked to choose your payment method, which can be a linked Uphold account or your Linqto cash balance*. Lastly, you'll be presented with a review page where you can review your investment and associated agreements and place the order.
*Some accounts may be subject to our legacy Wire Transfer process. When you go to place an order and choose Wire Transfer as the payment method, instructions will be provided once you place your order and we will confirm with you upon receipt of your funds. Funds must be received within 5 business days of the order being placed, after which the order will be cancelled.
When you make an investment on Linqto, you are purchasing the equivalent number of shares in a Special Purpose Vehicle managed by Linqto but owned by the investors and are protected against creditors in the event of bankruptcy.
We do this for several reasons. First, when private equity is sold, the company has the right to refuse that sale. By selling representation of shares that Linqto owns, we can guarantee an immediate sale to investors without the company having the right to refuse that sale. Secondly, this structure allows only 1 investor, Linqto, on the company's cap table, which is desirable to the company as they want to minimize the number of investors on their cap table for funding and regulatory reasons.
No, all investments are instantly yours once funding is complete.
Unlike many firms that provide access to purchasing private company shares, Linqto isn’t simply a broker. We won’t put your money into escrow while we wait for the underlying company to (hopefully) approve the deal. Instead, before we feature an investment in a company, Linqto has already taken its own capital and fully bought the company’s shares. So when you come to Linqto, we already own the shares. This means we can transfer that exposure to you immediately, and there is no risk of the deal falling through. Every offering you see on Linqto’s platform is 100% guaranteed to close.
When the underlying company exits to the public markets, Linqto will reach out to obtain your brokerage account information. If you don’t have a brokerage account, you can open one (many times for free) at a variety of online or traditional brokers. Linqto will then transfer your now-public, registered shares of stock into your brokerage account.
At that point, the company shares can be fully managed by you. Linqto wants to provide you to the exposure of private companies- once they go public, you should have flexibility to manage your own situation as you see fit. While some of our investors like to hold a company’s stock after it goes public, many others want consistent exposure to the private markets. After the company exits, they will liquidate their position to re-invest the proceeds back into the private markets.
