Investing in Postman | How to Buy Pre-IPO Shares

Postman provides developers with access to a suite of helpful tools designed to streamline API development and deployment. Notably, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) enable different software to communicate securely without requiring additional software changes. As such, they’ve become a crucial component of daily business activities.

Postman remains instrumental in driving AI integration across top-performing firms, with nearly 80% of the Fortune 500 utilizing its services. Currently, it’s the most popular all-in-one API service provider due to a combination of unique features, advanced services, and simple integration. Impressively, Postman has built up a strong network of over 500k clientele since its launch.

These factors have helped make Postman shares a coveted asset. However, the company is privately owned and has not listed any IPO date. As such, you will need to take an unconventional approach to gain access to these assets. Here’s how to navigate the secondary market and qualify for access to Postman Pre-IPO shares.

What is Postman?

Postman entered service in 2012 as a free Google Chrome plugin. Its founders include former Yahoo engineer Abhinav Asthana, alongside Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane. This team noticed early on that large enterprise clients were increasingly relying on third-party software integration via APIs.

As such, Postman’s original focus was on simplifying the API lifecycle. It originally launched in India but moved to San Francisco in 2017, with its name originating as a reference to a common API request type called a POST.

Streamline API Lifecycle

There are many aspects to creating an effective API. From designing to testing and managing, these applications require skills to ensure they function correctly. Postman provides developers with all the tools they need to create, build, test, and collaborate with others.

Leverage Collections

One of Postman’s best features is its collaborative options. These features allow users to create and then share, store, catalog, and work with others to improve their designs. There are tons of helpful items, including workflow recipes, metrics, documentation, and modules.

All-in-One Platform

Since its inception, Postman has continually expanded its offerings to create one central platform capable of providing everything you need to ensure API functionality. It allows users to automate key tasks such as testing and monitoring performance. Additionally, you can store and manage a variety of APIs from a single account.

Manage API Workflow

Managing an API workflow is a time-consuming task that required considerable effort in the past. Postman API service enables you to create vibrant workflows, organize API collections, and monitor the results in real time. Gain valuable insight into campaigns to see what works.

Drive Collaboration

Another game-changing feature provided by Postman is the ability to foster collaboration across massive networks seamlessly. The protocol enables you to create workflows that combine both AI agents and humans to achieve the desired results.

AI Tools that Work

Users can leverage AI tools to improve their APIs across the board. The addition of AI support in Version 11 has improved performance and streamlined API aspects considerably. For example, the new AI system can improve deployment, with the average time taking less than 90 days.

Source – Postman

Additionally, you can leverage AI to write your scripts, generate test scenarios, and create powerful visualizations to help share your ideas and concepts with others. These AI systems can also help the onboarding process by automating the creation of crucial documentation.

Acquisitions that Drive Innovation

Postman has made several acquisitions since its launch. Recently, the company acquired API tracking software provider Akita, which helped it expand its monitoring capabilities. Also, the firm acquired Orbit the same year, which expanded its developer tool set and capabilities even further.

Historical Funding Rounds

Summary of Postman Funding:

Total Funding: Postman secured $434M across 6 funding rounds

Largest Round: Postman’s largest funding round secured $225M in August 2021.

Investors: A total of 9 institutional investors and 6 Angel investors back Postman

Latest Round: The latest funding round raised $225M and was a Series D round held on August 18, 2021.

Funding Rounds Breakdown:

• 2 Seed
• 2 Early-Stage
• 2 Late-Stage

Key Investors:

Postman secured funding from a variety of institutional and angel investors, including Insight Partners, CRV, Nexus Venture Partners, Coatue, Battery Ventures, Bond Capital, and more.

Why Invest in Postman?

There are many reasons why investing in Postman could be a smart maneuver. For one, the company is a premier all-in-one API solutions provider. It offers extensible features that combine collaborative efforts and AI services to improve performance and reduce development times.

Easy Onboarding

Another reason why the company is a smart addition to your portfolio is that it offers its services via a free sign-up. This approach enables businesses to try out their products to ensure they are a good fit. It also allows the firm to cut out paid competition before they even get a chance.

AI-ready Deployment

The ease of onboarding is seen most in the AI API protocols. As corporations seek to integrate AI systems across their organizations, Postman provides a reliable solution that can get these firms from development to deployment in 90 days, much faster than competitors or developing systems alone.

Postman has High-Level Partnerships

You can’t deny the high level of clientele Postman secured. The company provides API service to the majority of Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, including firms like WhatsApp, OVO, VISMA, and others. These clients helped to build consumer confidence in Postman’s capabilities and demonstrated their enterprise-level security.

Postman Leads the Pack

One of the prime reasons why investors see Postman as a smart move is that it’s the industry leader. It currently ranks 1st out of 173 active competitors. As such, it remains one of the most reliable and popular API solutions available today.

Funding and Investor data sourced from Tracxn

1. Pre-IPO Secondary Marketplace

Secondary markets are purpose-built exchanges that connect pre-IPO shareholders with potential investors. These marketplaces can offer these assets because they work closely with employees, early-stage investors, and venture capitalists, who are crucial to the company’s pre-IPO growth.

Investing in pre-IPO shares of Postman could offer strong returns if the company’s valuation increases following its IPO. It’s common for company valuations to increase following an IPO. As such, it makes sense to add pre-IPO shares to your portfolio before the firm announces plans to go public.

Secondary marketplaces have many requirements. Here are some concerns you should be made aware of:

Eligibility: This approach requires you to be an accredited investor, meaning you will have to show at least $1M in liquid assets to qualify for access.

2. Private Equity Firms

Private equity firms gain access to pre-IPO shares during investment rounds. They then offer these shares to high-net-worth accredited investors with a commission. Notably, private equity firms are known to have extra stipulations, including blocking the sale of shares for years in some cases.

3. Employee Equity Sales

Many consider employee equity sales as the best way to acquire pre-IPO shares in Postman. This method of acquiring pre-IPO shares requires you to connect with former employees. It’s common for companies to issue shares as part of an incentive package. Notably, this profit-sharing method has become more popular, leading to more pre-IPO share opportunities for investors.

Private Transactions: There are a lot of hoops you will need to jump through to complete a private pre-IPO transaction, including creating specific legal agreements, conducting valuations, and setting in place any limitations on the transfer of the asset.

Brokerage: Brokers will take a lot of the confusion out of the pre-IPO process. These professionals can guide you through each step, ensuring full compliance and avoiding common errors untrained professionals make.

There are several risks that you should consider before jumping into the pre-IPO shares investment arena. Here are the top concerns:

Liquidity Risk

If you are looking for an asset that you can sell right away, pre-IPO shares are not the best option.

These investments can include sales and transfer clauses that prevent the transfer of the asset until certain criteria, such as the IPO’s completion, are met. It’s even common for pre-IPO shares to require you to wait years before gaining the ability to sell your assets.

Finding a Broker

If you meet the requirements and are comfortable with the risks, several platforms offer access to pre-IPO opportunities:

Forge Global: One of the largest private stock marketplaces, offering shares in late-stage startups like SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks. Minimums typically start around $100,000.

EquityZen: A popular platform allowing accredited investors to buy into private companies with minimums as low as $5,000. Past offerings include companies like Discord and UiPath.

Rainmaker Securities: A full-service broker that helps source and negotiate private share sales, including opportunities in companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and Palantir.

Hiive: A newer platform with live bid/ask pricing for hundreds of private companies. Transparent and low-fee, with minimums starting around $25,000.

MicroVentures: Offers pooled access to late-stage companies through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), including past investments in SpaceX and Instacart.

EquityBee: Allows investors to fund employee stock option exercises at startups, often at discounted valuations, with minimums around $10,000.

Augment: A digital-first marketplace showing real-time pricing for pre-IPO shares, targeting tech-savvy investors and offering lower transaction fees.

StartEngine Private: Launched in late 2023, this platform offers accredited investors access to Regulation D offerings in later-stage, venture-backed companies. In its first nine months, it generated $16.5 million in revenue, with average investments of around $32,000

Important: Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor before investing in private company shares.

Valuation of Postman and Future IPO

Postman achieved Unicorn status after it secured a $5.6B valuation on August 19, 2021. The company secured this value by staying true to its core business model and overdelivering on its products. Today, it has +40M registered users located across the globe.

Of these users, many are some of the most reputable companies ever created. All of these factors have helped Postman secure billions in value with less than 300 employees. This low employee count symbolizes lots of room for internal growth and demonstrates the high level of expertise its workers possess.

Those holding Postman shares seek to capitalize on the company’s prime positioning and the growing demand for its API services. If Postman can continue to keep its current momentum and market positioning, it’s likely to see continued gains moving forward.

Investing in Postman Pre-IPO Shares | Conclusion

Holding Postman Pre-IPO shares opens the door for future opportunities as the company expands. Its pivot towards an AI API ecosystem was a smart move that has paid off in the form of increased share value and client base. Today, Postman shares are a sought-after asset that will require some effort to acquire.

However, before making any pre-IPO investment, it’s recommended that you consult a financial professional. There are several stipulations that make Pre-IPO shares different from traditional options. These restrictions can include no-sale periods and other factors that could increase your risk exposure.

Consequently, you will need to do further research prior to making any investment. For those who complete their homework and find that Postman hits their check boxes, there’s a good chance the company will see further growth as AI API services are in high demand.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Pre-IPO shares are typically available only to accredited investors and carry significant risk. Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor or legal expert before making investment decisions.