What is Zest?
Since the Dotcom era tech companies have continuously skyrocketed in valuation, with many approaching (even surpassing) a one trillion dollar valuation. These companies, coined as “Unicorns”, standout among their peers; they often showcase world-changing technology and innovation, early in their inception.
While many people are able to recognize these outliers, only a select few are able to contribute to their early growth. Deal flow is a privatized business and only the most elite of the Silicon Valley financiers will be able to access them. Established market-makers use their heavy wallets to guide the sector in their favor. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy where the wealthy choose what company they think will make it big and in turn actually make the company succeed; they reap all the rewards while locking others out. In general, younger and less experienced individuals have neither had enough time to meet the requirements of large funds nor build the network necessary to participate.
The public only has one option: to wait for the IPO to purchase stock in the company. Unfortunately, this the first major liquidation event for people who have funded the company prior to the IPO, and unsuspecting individuals may find this out the hard way. A recent example of this behavior was during the Lyft IPO. Carl Icahn was able to make five times his return versus the public losing 25%.