Absolutely agreed on most parts of second point - the mentioned companies are quite far from being start-ups for quite some time now. But not quite IPO-ready ei

Absolutely agreed on most parts of second point - the mentioned companies are quite far from being start-ups for quite some time now. But not quite IPO-ready either, didn't FB delay it's own for at least couple of years? I would even argue so far that when a start-up starts participating in those secondary markets it's not a start-up anymore. Your stock can be had by almost anyone (with at least $1000000 that is) without much due diligence etc.