Exploring Secondary Direct Investments with Andrea Walne of Manhattan Venture Partners

<p>With an abundance of capital chasing a limited number of opportunities, one unique entry point for investors is in secondary direct investments. Secondary opportunities consist of buying shares in private, pre-IPO companies directly from employees and investors versus the traditional route of participating in the next round of fundraising.</p><p>Andrea Walne is at the center of this world at Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP), where 80% of their investments are in late-stage companies by buying secondary investments. Andrea and her team are focused on tapping into the value that already exists. Formerly a founder of Forge Global, Andrea has worked with over 100 late-stage private companies and has facilitated over $10 billion worth of transactions. On this episode of The Modern CFO, Andrea shares insights on this growing market segment in VC, its evolving landscape, and the opportunity for liquidity it presents.</p><p><strong>Show Links</strong></p><ul> <li>Check out <a href="https://mvp.vc/">Manhattan Venture Partners</a> </li> <li>Connect with Andrea Walne on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrealamari/">LinkedIn</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/DrDreSay">Twitter</a> </li> <li>Check out <a href="https://www.nthround.com/">Nth Round</a> </li> <li>Connect with Andrew Seski on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-seski-819b2581/">LinkedIn</a> </li> </ul><p><strong>Key Takeaways<br></strong><br></p><p><strong>3:20 - Build a secondary position</strong></p><p>Instead of fighting to issue a term sheet and compete with late-stage investors, MVP uses its network of relationships to enter a business at the ground level.</p><em>“We're on our fourth fund right now. With our strategy, it allows us, strategically, to pinpoint how we want to enter a business that we're interested in. When I say enter a business, we're not fighting to issue a term sheet and compete against other late-stage investors to lead a round of funding. What we are doing is generally considered “friendly” to many of our counter