tender offer

Definition

When a company or investor offers to buy shares from existing shareholders at a set price, providing liquidity without a full exit. A release valve for the equity pressure cooker.

Example Usage

Facebook arranged a tender offer for early employees before their IPO, letting them sell up to 20% of their vested shares.

Origin

Public markets terminology adapted to private company liquidity

Fun Fact

Tender offers became popular as tech IPOs delayed longer, with some employees waiting 10+ years for liquidity.

Source: Corporate finance and liquidity terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

dilution

The soul-crushing moment when a startup issues new shares, and existing shareholders watch their ownership percentage shrink faster than a wool sweater in a hot dryer. While you still own the same number of shares, you now own a smaller slice of the pie—assuming the company actually grows enough to justify the dilution. It's the price founders pay for other people's money, and the reason early employees cry into their vested options.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

catch-up provision

A term in VC fund agreements where once LPs get their initial investment back, GPs get an accelerated share of profits until their normal split is reached. Basically letting the manager 'catch up' to their 20% after paying back investors.

🚀 Startup / VC

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take rate

The percentage of transaction value a platform extracts as revenue, revealing how much you're actually taxing your users for the privilege of using your service. Too high and users revolt; too low and investors revolt.

🚀 Startup / VC

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dry powder

Unspent capital sitting in a VC fund, waiting to be deployed into investments. The ammunition that lets VCs act fast when hot deals emerge or support portfolio companies needing emergency cash.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

sales-led growth

A go-to-market strategy dependent on human sales teams to drive customer acquisition, typical in complex B2B products with long sales cycles. The opposite of letting the product sell itself.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

elephant hunting

A sales or fundraising strategy focused exclusively on landing enormous clients or investors rather than building up smaller ones. It's high-risk, high-reward betting where you either feast or starve.

🚀 Startup / VC

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