August 10, 2023

Expanding access to the secondary market

Hiive makes the process of selling your shares easier and more transparent than ever before. We are excited to announce the launch of an exclusive portal for employees like you who are looking to sell your shares, regardless of your accreditation status. Now, whether or not you are an “accredited investor”, you can easily create a Hiive account, discover the current and historical market for your shares, and sell them when you’re ready. 

Putting you in the driver's seat

One of the core features of the platform is that it’s self-directed.

We’ve simplified the process of selling shares, enabling you to independently navigate the market and engage with potential buyers at your discretion. Unlike legacy secondary marketplaces which require you to work through a human broker to understand the market for your shares and identify a suitable buyer, we’ve made live market data accessible to all users, and enable you to engage with all active buyers for the stock you hold. While we stand ready to support you should you need further assistance, we’ve given you the tools to make an educated decision and kickstart the process on your own. Selling your shares has never been this easy. 

Making sure the Seller Interface is right for you

We designed the Seller Interface primarily for current and former employees of startups who are looking to sell one holding and who would not normally qualify as an accredited investor in order to buy private stocks. If this is you, then select “Seller Only” during the sign-up process when you arrive at the investor status page.

If you have more than one holding to sell and you are not sure if you qualify as an accredited investor, then please contact [email protected] for more help. In all other cases, select “Investor”.

Seller Interface overview

Once you make a Hiive account as a seller, you’ll be routed directly to the company page associated with the shares you own. We’ve given you the ability to view information about the company alongside a live snapshot of the current market pricing for the security. You can also view a historical record of how the price for that company’s stock has changed over time, and the prices at which previous transactions occurred. When you're ready, we've given you several options around initiating a sale process.

Accepting a standing bid

The fastest and most direct way to sell your shares is to accept a standing bid on Hiive. A standing bid is a posted by a buyer on the platform that indicates a price and number of shares they are willing to buy now, without any further negotiation.

On the main dashboard for your company, all relevant standing bids will be visible to you. You are also able to click into any of the standing bids to view more information about it, such as the minimum number of shares that the buyer is looking for.

When you find a standing bid offering a suitable price, and are selling at least the minimum number of shares, you are able to directly accept the buyer’s standing bid. This will start the transaction process and you will be prompted to sign an initial agreement between you and the buyer. Alternatively, you can message the buyer directly on the platform if you want to ask any questions about their bid.

Creating a listing

The other way to sell your shares is to create a listing. If none of the standing bids interest you, you can create a listing for your shares where you can indicate the number of shares to sell, and the price you’re looking for.

Once you’ve placed a listing, all relevant buyers will be automatically notified and they will be able to bid directly on your listing. If you receive a bid, you can either accept it, or counter the bid with a higher price before you move ahead with the transaction.

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