As a startup employee, your stock options or shares can represent a meaningful part of your compensation and your financial future. But accessing that value isn’t always simple. Many employees face tough questions:
With exercise costs averaging ~$140K (Equitybee data), and companies staying private longer, it’s no surprise that over 55% of employees ultimately walk away from their equity(Carta), and many others are looking to cash out while their company is still private.
There is no single "best" choice. The right path depends on your personal goals, your equity details, your employment status, and your company’s policies.This guide compares both options side by side.
Two Approaches to accessing your equity:
Use Equitybee to fund your stock options exercise cost and potentially accessing partial liquidity while retaining ownership of your shares
Use secondary marketplaces (Forge, EquityZen) to fully sell your shares and cash out.
Equitybee offers employees and founders of private tech companies a flexible way to exercise stock options without paying out of pocket, and in some cases, to access cash, before an exit event and without selling or transferring shares. The platform connects employees with a network of investors who fund their exercise costs (including estimated taxes) in exchange for a share of future proceeds.Depending on your stock option package terms and investor demand, funding can cover:
• The full cost of exercising stock options
• Associated tax liabilities
• Additional cash upfront, while still retaining equity ownership
Whether you’re departing your company and need to act quickly, or still employed and looking to realize some of your paper wealth, Equitybee offers tailored solutions to fit your needs.
Secondary marketplaces such as Forge and EquityZen provide a platform for existing shareholders of private companies to sell their shares to accredited and institutional investors, offering early liquidity prior to an IPO or acquisition. Selling shares of private companies are in most cases subject to company approval.
Forge Global
Forge is a secondary marketplace that enables shareholders of private companies to sell their shares to accredited and institutional investors. It primarily serves shareholders of high-demand, late-stage private companies.
EquityZen
EquityZen is a secondary marketplace focused on making private market access more accessible. It allows employees and early shareholders of mid-to-late stage private companies to sell their shares to accredited investors.
*Equitybee does not offer tax advice and encourages you to speak with your tax adviser about the impact on your specific tax situation. Equitybee funding amount includes estimated taxes related to exercising your stock options. A successful exit event is defined as one in which the proceeds from a liquidity event (IPO, M&A, Tender Offers, etc) exceed the total funding amount (plus interest and fees). Equityzen and Forge details are sourced from equityzen.com and forgeglobal.com November of 2025.
Equitybee:
• 4,000+ unique companies - driven by index-like funds and accredited investors on the platform.
• Employees from a wide range of private companies, mainly from Series B to pre-IPO.
• To date, Equitybee has helped employees from over 850 startups, across a broad range of industries and stages.
Secondary Marketplace:
• Primarily mid-to-late stage, well-known private companies.
• For example, EquityZen focuses on mid-to-late stage private companies, but only supports companies that are on their active supported list (~300–400 companies at any time).
Equitybee:
• Apply on Equitybee’s platform and provide details about your option grant or existing shares.
• Review funding proposal. If eligible, you receive a personalized offer to review.
• Investor matching. Once you accept the offer, Equitybee seeks to match you with investors.
• Funding & execution: Investors provide funding to cover the cost of exercising your vested stock option, estimated taxes and/or provide extra cash, in return, upon future liquidity event you will:
- Repay the original funding amount
- Share % of the total share value at the time of the liquidity event (~20% - 45%)
- Pay an annual interest rate (~3% - 5%)
Option Holders
• Exercise only: Exercise with no out-of-pocket cost → become shareholder → Participate in potential future upside.
• Exercise + liquidity: Exercise with no out-of-pocket cost + receive extra cash → become shareholder → Participate in potential future upside.
Shareholders
• Liquidity only: Receive extra cash → retain full ownership of shares → retain 70%-51% of future upside. Time to complete: Typically 7-14 days once matched. The full process may take several weeks, depending on investor demand.
Secondary Marketplace:
• Sign up & submit shares on the platform (Forge, EquityZen).
• Market assessment. Platform assesses demand for your shares.
• Company approval & compliance. Company approval is required; may include board consent and waivers (ROFR, other restrictions).
• Investor matching & execution:Once approvals are in place and buyer is secured, legal docs are signed, and cash is delivered (minus platform fees).
• Outcome: You sell shares outright. You receive full cash now and give up future upside.
Time to complete: Typically 6-8 weeks; can take 30-60 days longer if board approval is required.
Equitybee:
With Equitybee, you are not selling your shares. You are sharing a % of the potential future share value with investors, while keeping ownership. In short: Equitybee = less cash now, more potential cash later.
Secondary Marketplace:
With a Secondary transaction, you are selling your shares. You give up 100% of future proceeds in exchange for full cash now.
In short: Secondary Market = more cash now, zero later.
Equitybee:
Fees only apply if your company has a successful exit:
• 5% placement fee on original funding amount (deducted from investor funds)
• 5% stock appreciation fee on employee profit, in case of successful* exit
• No repayment if no exit**
• No out-of-pocket payment ever required
*A successful exit is defined as one in which the proceeds from a liquidity event (IPO, M&A, Tender Offers, etc) exceed the total funding amount (plus interest and fees).
**An exit is defined as any liquidity event where shares can or would be sold, such as an IPO, M&A, or Tender Offer.
Secondary Marketplace:
• Typically 2% to 10% platform fee (Forge: 2% to 4%; EquityZen: ~5%)
• Company may impose legal and transfer fees ($1,000 to $1,500 legal, $1,000 to $3,000 transfer)
• No future obligations after sale
Equitybee:
• When you exercise options, you may owe tax (AMT or income tax, depending on ISO/NSO status) - Equitybee funding estimates to cover it.
• If you receive extra cash via Equitybee, this is not a taxable event when funded.
Secondary Marketplace:
• Selling your shares is a taxable event at time of sale.
• You’ll generally owe capital gains tax on the gain:
- If you hold your shares for 1 year or longer after exercising your stock option, you may enjoy long-term capital gains tax rate.
- If you sell before 1 year, your gain is taxed as short-term capital gain, which is taxed at your ordinary income tax rates (that can be significantly higher).
• You give up the shares, so there’s no further future tax event tied to those shares.
Equitybee does not offer tax advice and encourages you to speak with your tax adviser about the impact on your specific tax situation.
Click for real-life example about turning options Into ownership at Reddit
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your situation and goals.
Use Equitybee if you want to:
• Become or remain a shareholder without risking personal savings
• Unlock partial liquidity while retaining future upside
Use a secondary marketplace if you want to:
• Fully cash out existing shares (with company approval)
• Exit your position and capture immediate value
Key Considerations:
• If you want to exercise your options or unlock partial liquidity without selling your shares, check your eligibility with Equitybee
• If you want to fully cash out existing shares and your company supports secondary sales, platforms like Forge or EquityZen can be a path to explore.
You earned your equity. Make the choice that fits your needs and risk appetite.