Kingscrowd Podcast

Inside the Pink Sheets of Private Markets: TerraCycle & Liquidity

Episode Notes

Secondaries just got more interesting. Brian and Scott break down the sudden wave of buy orders in TerraCycle on StartEngine’s secondary marketplace—why shares listed well below the current round price got scooped, how to sanity-check classes and terms, and what real liquidity might look like as ATSs roll out. We also talk through risk profiles, adverse selection vs. forced sellers, and a quick note on GigaStar’s announced ATS timing for creator revenue shares. If you invest in online private markets, this is your playbook for spotting mispricing and avoiding traps.

Highlights include...

• TerraCycle case study: why a flood of sub-$1 asks vanished when a new round priced higher
• How to read secondary listings (common vs preferred, splits, terms, round context)
• Liquidity ≠ exits: why paper discounts still carry long hold risk
• The buyer’s edge: catalysts, filings, platform data, and timing
• Why more ATSs (e.g., creator revenue shares) could change retail behavior
• What needs to improve: volume, price discovery, better issuers, clearer order flow

Chapters

01:16 TerraCycle background: 2020 raise vs. current round context

03:16 The secondary sweep: sub-$1 asks get filled—what likely happened

06:02 Why secondaries matter: volatility, volume, and real price discovery

08:20 Terms & traps: share classes, splits, and apples-to-apples pricing

10:19 “Is this unfair to sellers?” Risk, motive, and market reality

12:25 The bigger picture: retail liquidity, tokenization, and ATS momentum

15:02 Price vs. value: unicorn secondary resets and mindset shifts

18:33 What institutions need: better issuers + larger floats

21:04 Playbook: using platform data & filings to underwrite secondaries

25:33 Creator rev-share ATS note & why it may trade more actively

30:55 Teaser for next week: Aptera IPO & IPO market check