“We started at the very top with these outliers like Facebook and Twitter, but the aim is to work our way down to much less high profile companies.”
I don't see how SecondMarket is going to fill the void left by FB, Groupon, and Zynga with long-tail trades. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see that happen.
But all I've heard is the headache caused by these types of trades on the company. Sure, disproportionately on Facebook, but if I or one of my coworkers posted and actually sold shares on SecondMarket from our little company, it would be a major annoyance, and spark a lot of internal hand-wringing and tension.
I see it difficult for SecondMarket to create a long-tail market in the smaller, non-SV/NYC, non-consumer internet startups. I can't imagine them doing trades in small middle America biopharma companies (such as we are).
What epxerience does anyone on HN have when SecondMarket trading started happening with Founders/employees/investors at their companies? Was it noticeable? What impacts on employee morale/focus/work did it have, if any? It would drive me nuts if I was CEO and all the water cooler talk was about employees selling shares/options/RSUs (if even possible to trade options/RSUs) on Secondmarket and what they got out of it, etc. Seems like a horrible, distracting idea at a small, <25 person company - not to mention the impacts on your valuation/investor perception in future raises, other externalities.
I don't see how SecondMarket is going to fill the void left by FB, Groupon, and Zynga with long-tail trades. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see that happen.
But all I've heard is the headache caused by these types of trades on the company. Sure, disproportionately on Facebook, but if I or one of my coworkers posted and actually sold shares on SecondMarket from our little company, it would be a major annoyance, and spark a lot of internal hand-wringing and tension.
I see it difficult for SecondMarket to create a long-tail market in the smaller, non-SV/NYC, non-consumer internet startups. I can't imagine them doing trades in small middle America biopharma companies (such as we are).
What epxerience does anyone on HN have when SecondMarket trading started happening with Founders/employees/investors at their companies? Was it noticeable? What impacts on employee morale/focus/work did it have, if any? It would drive me nuts if I was CEO and all the water cooler talk was about employees selling shares/options/RSUs (if even possible to trade options/RSUs) on Secondmarket and what they got out of it, etc. Seems like a horrible, distracting idea at a small, <25 person company - not to mention the impacts on your valuation/investor perception in future raises, other externalities.