Secondary Conference Success

Next time we do a virtual conference I'm grabbing a better screenshot, I promise.

We had over 450 people watching live for over 4 hours and actually finished the day with over 550 live viewers. It was a great day and we're so thankful to all our panelists for showing up to talk secondaries.

Here's a link to the raw recording if you missed it!

I also want to take a moment to give Walter from Sacra a special shoutout. He put together pre-panel research and questions that made me look smart and for that I will be eternally grateful. If you haven't taken the time to check out Sacra yet you should!

We had 3 great sessions and I've pulled some key takeaways out for you here. More highlights on the way via Twitter and Linkedin.

State of Secondaries: In the first session, we covered the state of the secondary market, discussing key trends and emerging opportunities for investors. 

My takeaway: Data in this market is incredibly new. It was not so long ago that you had to call 20 people to get a good sense of price. Infrastructure is being built and it makes a real difference in how people understand the asset class.

Session recording here.

How Deals Get Done: In our second session, a panel of active investors provided views of the deal process in the secondary market, offering perspectives from real experiences deploying millions.

My takeaway: The startup who's secondary you're buying is your client too. As much as it might be faster to go around them, you want them to like you and to earn a spot on the cap-table in a similar way to primary buyers if you're serious about being involved as a manager.

Session recording here.

Future of Secondaries: In the final session, we explored how the secondary market is expected to change in the coming years and heard from 4 founders who are actively building that future.

My takeaway: There are things that will change and things that might not. The need for liquidity is real, but so is the benefit to private market companies who are able to control their data and story for so long. Navigating competing incentives will be the key to a better future for the secondaries market.

Session recording here.

Thank you again to everyone who came out and we'll see you at the next one!