What is Forge Global?

Forge Global is a secondary marketplace that connects holders of private-company shares with institutional and accredited buyers. It focuses mainly on larger, later-stage private companies where there is enough demand to make a market. It is one of several such platforms; we are not affiliated with it.

Who can sell shares on Forge Global?

In practice, holders of shares in companies with enough buyer demand — typically larger, well-known private firms — and whose company permits the transfer. Buyers are generally accredited or institutional, and your company's right of first refusal and transfer restrictions still apply.

Does my company have to approve a sale on Forge?

Usually, yes. Most private shares carry transfer restrictions and a right of first refusal, so the company can block a sale or buy the shares itself first. A marketplace does not override those rights — read your shareholder agreement before counting on a sale.

Secondary marketplaces

Preparing to use Forge Global — what to get ready first

Secondary marketplaces can help you find a buyer for private-company shares — but they don't remove the two things that really gate a sale. Here's what to understand, and prepare, before you start.

Written & maintained by the PrivateTechShares team · Published November 2026 · Reviewed November 2026

Part of our guide to where to sell private company shares.

Forge Global is one of the larger secondary marketplaces — a platform that connects holders of private-company shares with buyers, typically institutions and accredited investors. It tends to focus on larger, later-stage, well-known private companies, where there's enough demand to make a market. We're not affiliated with Forge; this is an independent, plain-English guide to getting ready.

Who can actually use it

Two things gate most secondary sales, and a marketplace doesn't remove either. First, buyers are generally accredited or institutional and deals tend to be sizeable — a marketplace is a poor fit for a small stake in an obscure company. Second, and more important, your company usually has to allow the transfer. Most private shares carry a right of first refusal and transfer restrictions, so the company can block a sale or buy the shares itself first. No platform overrides that.

What to get ready before you start

Know exactly what you hold — share class, number of shares, whether they're vested, and whether you've exercised your options or still need to.
Check your transfer rights — read your shareholder and option agreements for a right of first refusal, company consent and transfer restrictions.
Expect company involvement — many marketplace deals need the company's cooperation and approval; some companies simply don't permit secondaries.
Set a realistic price — a private, minority sale trades at a discount to the headline valuation.
Understand fees and tax — marketplaces charge fees, and a sale is a taxable event. Model the net, not the headline number.

Set realistic expectations

A marketplace can help you find a buyer for shares in a sought-after company, but it won't make an illiquid stake liquid on its own. Expect a discount, expect the company to have a say, and expect the process to take time. If your company is smaller or less known, a marketplace may not be the right route at all — a direct sale to an existing investor, or back to the company itself, is often more realistic. (See who actually buys private startup shares.)

Thinking about selling?

It's worth understanding what you hold, what it might be worth and how a private transfer works before you act. Start with the free equity starter kit, or go deeper with the equity toolkit.

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Prefer to read up first? The Equity Toolkit (€39) walks through clearing restrictions and running the sale, step by step.

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