NewView, Carta Launch Program to Help Startup Staff Sell Shares Early

Employees at private companies are increasingly stuck holding stock they cannot sell, a problem that worsens as startups remain private for longer periods. NewView and Carta have announced a joint program designed to make it easier for these firms to run tender offers, allowing staff to sell a portion of their shares to approved buyers before a public listing or acquisition.

The collaboration combines NewView's experience in structuring secondary deals with Carta's equity management platform. Ravi Viswanathan, founder and managing partner of NewView, stated that the goal is to help CEOs and founders launch liquidity programs more smoothly. He described early liquidity as a win-win-win for employees, companies, and investors, urging founders to view these offers as a core part of their strategy rather than an occasional exception.

Data from a recent study by NewView Capital and Carta indicates that tender offers among Series C and later-stage startups are projected to have grown threefold over the past three years. Viswanathan noted that these transactions are no longer limited to the most valuable private firms. He cited Hightouch, a marketing customization startup, as an example; NewView led a tender for the seven-year-old company last year at a $1.3 billion valuation.

Despite this growth, the practice remains far from universal. The research found that only 44 tender offers were executed in the first half of 2026. Viswanathan wants to widen the group of companies using this tool, arguing that tenders serve as strong retention mechanisms and morale boosters for teams that have been waiting years for an exit.

He also argued that the standard recruiting pitch has lost some of its force. A decade ago, reaching unicorn status was enough to attract talent, he said, but the increase in billion-dollar companies has made that label less distinctive. He said a tender is an opportunity to tell candidates, 'you will also get liquidity in your journey with us.'

Recent companies that have held tender offers include Decagon, an AI customer support startup, Wayve, which develops self-driving technology, and ElevenLabs, an AI voice generator that carried out two such offerings in under a year. Viswanathan said the longer timelines for going public are unlikely to reverse. 'The companies are staying private for 12 to 15 years. That's not changing,' he said, adding that liquidity must be provided to prevent a talent drain from venture-backed companies to their public counterparts.