Newsela

Augment is a marketplace where shareholders, investors, and brokers of the most sought after private technology companies come together to buy and sell shares. Users post anonymous orders, message each other to negotiate a deal, and execute the trade on-platform.

Augment is open to accredited and institutional investors, shareholders of private companies, and private markets brokers.

Typically, larger companies ($1B+ valuation) have more liquidity. A variety of factors affect liquidity in a company, including if the company allows sales of their shares, how much information is available about the company, and supply/demand dynamics. 

To view & create live orders and negotiate with counterparties, you must complete a KYC (Know Your Customer) workflow. Augment collects your address, SSN, and a copy of an ID. If you represent an entity, formation docs are also required.

Add your holdings to your portfolio, and track changes in price. If you verify your holdings via stock certificate or Carta, you earn a “Verified” checkmark next to your listings.

First, post an order indicating a price and size at which you’d like to sell. This opens your inbox for buyers to contact you and vice versa. You can then negotiate trades using our anonymous messaging system. After terms are agreed upon, one user will send an offer, the other will accept, and a deal is formed. Augment’s deal execution engine processes contracts, paperwork, and notice to the company.

Yes. Identities are kept anonymous until you enter into a deal or choose to reveal your identity to the other party in the negotiation process.

Each company is different. The answer is usually found in your stock agreement provided when you were granted shares. Some companies allow open selling of shares, and others have blanket bans. The standard policy allows shareholders to sell shares with a transfer fee paid to the company and a 30-day Right of First Refusal (ROFR) period in which the company may exercise their option to buy the shares from the seller instead of the proposed buyer.

Augment’s data platform allows users to track historical pricing of private companies based on buy/sell orders, executed trades, primary financing rounds reflected in public filings, and fund marks.

Generally, $100,000 and above. The typical trade is a few million dollars. Fees are typically higher for smaller blocks.

If you’re matched with a non-broker counterparty, your fees are set according to Augment’s fee schedule (2-4%). If you’re matched with a broker, these fees are variable but are disclosed upfront.

Brokers can use Augment to find counterparties for orders. You may negotiate fees directly on the platform. Augment takes a portion of the total fees collected from the buyer and seller in the transaction.

Orders are tagged with the category of the creator: broker, individual, or entity.

Sellers put up a set amount of shares for sale and specify an end date. Buyers may anonymously bid on the shares live, and observers can view bids as they come in. The highest bidder at the end of the auction is then obligated to trade at the winning bid's price for the entire block for the seller's shares. A buyer and seller's identity is never revealed except to each other.

Augment is registered as a broker-dealer and Alternative Trading System with FINRA and the SEC. While investing in private companies is risky due to their speculative and illiquid nature, Augment has a legal obligation to you to create transparency, manage disclosures, and provide an experience that meets all regulatory standards and laws.