Startups increasingly offer secondary sales for employee equity

Startups are staying private nearly 11 years, up from seven a decade ago. That means employees wait longer to turn their equity into cash, since IPOs are delayed or uncertain. To address this, more startups—including big names like Stripe and OpenAI—now offer regular secondary sales, letting staff sell shares before a public exit. This is fast becoming a core benefit, not an exception.

• Startups stay private nearly 11 years now, up from 7
• Employees face longer waits to access equity payouts
• Secondary share sales let employees sell shares earlier
• Major companies like Stripe do this routinely
• Regular liquidity may soon be standard at private startups