Linqto Offers Retail Investors A Path Into Private Company Ownership Before Going Public

Private company success stories like Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), and Uber (NYSE: UBER) demonstrate a crucial reality: wealth creation often happens in the private investing phase, long before a company’s IPO. Research shows that private companies generate approximately 50% higher profit margins than their public counterparts, and private assets typically command higher average valuations according to private equity analysts. Yet for most individual investors, accessing these opportunities has remained locked behind prohibitively high barriers to entry.

Linqto, a California-based investment platform, is working to change this dynamic by enabling retail investors to participate in private markets with a significantly lower entry point. The platform’s core mission centers on making pre-IPO investments accessible, affordable and genuinely liquid for everyday investors—a goal that directly addresses a growing demand in the market.

Reimagining Private Investing For Individual Investors

The traditional private equity landscape has long required minimum commitments of $100,000 or more, effectively excluding most retail participants. Linqto restructures this model by allowing investors to begin with just $2,500 as the minimum investment, with subsequent purchases available at $5,000 increments. This represents a fundamental shift in who can access private company ownership opportunities.

The platform’s technical infrastructure provides a streamlined digital experience designed for ease of use and transaction speed. What distinguishes Linqto is its commitment to transparency—investors face no hidden fees or surprise costs, creating a straightforward cost structure compared to alternative platforms that continue to impose traditional wealth-manager pricing models.

How Linqto Maintains Market Liquidity

One primary obstacle to pre-IPO investing has always been illiquidity. Once you purchase shares, they typically remain frozen until an exit event occurs. Linqto addresses this through an active strategy of maintaining significant share holdings across platform companies, sourcing shares directly from founders, employees and existing investors through negotiated transactions. This approach enables the platform to facilitate secondary market sales without requiring original company consent—a crucial operational distinction.

The Investment Selection Process

Linqto focuses exclusively on mid to late-stage private companies within the technology sector. To gain platform inclusion, target companies must demonstrate meaningful revenue generation and possess backing from institutional venture capital or private equity firms. The investment team conducts rigorous due diligence using in-house research capabilities, and notably, Linqto invests its own capital alongside investor money—ensuring alignment of interests throughout every transaction.

The executive team brings substantial expertise across venture capital, technology development, corporate innovation and strategic investment disciplines. This deep industry experience enables continuous refinement of the platform’s offerings and user interface.

Understanding The SPV Structure

When investors purchase shares through Linqto, they receive equity positions in a Special Purpose Vehicle managed by the platform but owned by investors themselves. This structure delivers meaningful investor protection and operates with a key strategic advantage: by maintaining Linqto as the single investor on each company’s capitalization table, portfolio companies reduce administrative complexity and satisfy regulatory requirements—while investors retain beneficial ownership and upside participation.

The SPV mechanism also enables faster settlement. Rather than requiring a company’s consent to transfer ownership, Linqto can guarantee immediate execution on investor sales, creating a more efficient market.

The 90-Day Holding Period Framework

Share purchases on Linqto require a 90-day holding period from the transaction date. During this window, investors cannot sell positions or use purchased shares to enter additional platform investments. This structure aligns with regulatory requirements for private placement securities.

Regulatory Compliance And Market Oversight

Linqto operates as a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and maintains membership status with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The platform also holds Alternative Trading System (ATS) licenses, establishing it as a fully regulated venue for private securities transactions. An ATS operates as a SEC-regulated trading system that functions independently of traditional stock exchanges, allowing investors to transact in private company shares with efficiency and legal compliance.

Capitalizing On Extended Private Company Lifecycles

Companies are remaining private longer than historical precedent, creating extended windows for pre-IPO investors. As institutional interest in private markets accelerates, Linqto’s platform presents an opportunity for younger investors and those building diversified portfolios to gain early exposure to companies positioned for eventual industry leadership and significant valuation expansion.

With Linqto’s minimum investment starting at $2,500, the barrier to private market participation has fundamentally lowered, transforming what was once an exclusive institutional domain into an accessible wealth-building avenue for retail investors seeking exposure to high-growth private enterprises.