UpMarket Blog - Learn more about Private Market Investing

Test Post -> Accredited Investor Status - Am I an Accredited Investor?

Understanding SAFEs: A Quick Guide to Simple Agreements for Future Equity

A SAFE, or Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), is a financial instrument used by startups to raise capital. Introduced by Y Combinator in 2013, SAFEs have become a popular alternative to convertible notes for early-stage funding. This guide will explain what SAFEs are, how they work, and the most

Mike Ivancie Apr 5, 2022

About UpMarket

UpMarket's mission is to unlock the private markets for individual investors.

We provide access to a range of asset classes and investment strategies that span private equity, hedge funds, crypto, real estate, and other alternative assets.

The problem

Historically, accessing private market investments had these challenges:

A large barrier to entry due to high investment minimums
Time-intensive because sourcing deals is a lot of work even if you’ve got a great network, and
Costly because of investment-related diligence costs, paperwork, and legal fees

The solution

UpMarket works to address these barriers for individual investors by:

Offering lower investment minimums
Sourcing and conducting diligence on opportunities for investors, empowering them to pick and choose from pre-screened opportunities
Making the investment process entirely digital, straightforward, and easy to manage from a single portal

View open opportunities

UpMarket has brokered over $1 billion in alternative investments*

*Includes principal invested and appreciation of investments originated via the UpMarket platform based on historical trade volume and valuation estimates through December 31, 2025. Of the total, approximately $146 million is managed by UpMarket Management, with the remaining originated investments managed by affiliates. Past performance is not predictive of future results.