Poor governance is the primary cause of major private company failures, such as WeWork, Theranos, and FTX, making it a critical area for due diligence.
The quality and execution capability of a management team is a more important determinant of investment success than the company's initial product-market fit.
A structural market shift is causing companies to stay private significantly longer, which prevents public market investors from accessing their most crucial growth phases.
A disciplined, fundamental valuation framework that resists chasing narrative-driven hype is essential for long-term success in private market investing, a lesson reinforced by the 2020-2021 market cycle.
Effective risk management in an illiquid private portfolio requires broad diversification across many sectors and careful position sizing based on company-specific risks like cash burn.
1980
Cites Apple's IPO four years after its creation with ~$150 million in revenue as a historical benchmark for how quickly companies used to go public.
2002
References the founding of SpaceX, which he notes grew into a trillion-dollar business while remaining private, as a prime example of the modern long-term private growth model.
Approx. 2004-Present
Identifies this 15-20 year period as the timeframe during which the trend of companies staying private for much longer has solidified, fundamentally changing the investment landscape.
2014
States that The PrivateShares Fund began investing in venture-backed companies, marking its entry into this market.
2020-2021
Refers to this period as a time of market excess where many chased high valuations. He presents it as a lesson that reinforced his fund's commitment to a disciplined, fundamentals-based valuation framework.
▶The Structural Shift from Public to Private MarketsJul 2026
Moss argues that a significant trend over the past 15-20 years is high-growth companies remaining private for much longer, or never going public at all. This shift denies public market investors the opportunity to participate in the primary growth phase, as exemplified by how a company like 1980s Apple would likely stay private for 15-20 years today.
This theme suggests that traditional public equity strategies may no longer capture the full spectrum of innovation and value creation, necessitating new vehicles like The PrivateShares Fund for investors to access this growth.
▶Primacy of Governance and Management ExecutionJul 2026
Moss posits that the quality of a company's management team is more critical than its product-market fit, as execution is paramount. He attributes the most high-profile private company failures, such as WeWork, Theranos, and FTX, directly to fundamental breakdowns in corporate governance.
For analysts evaluating private companies, this perspective shifts the due diligence focus from purely market and product analysis to a deeper investigation of leadership character, board structure, and internal controls.
▶A Disciplined Framework for Private InvestmentJul 2026
Moss details a rigorous investment process for The PrivateShares Fund that emphasizes a fundamental valuation framework and risk management. The fund avoids chasing narrative-driven valuations, uses public comps and financials for valuation, and carefully sizes positions based on risk factors like cash burn.
This highlights a structured, almost public-market approach to the often opaque and relationship-driven world of private equity, aiming to institutionalize access and mitigate common pitfalls.
▶Navigating Illiquidity and Valuation ChallengesJul 2026
Moss acknowledges the unique challenges of private markets, including the potential for misleading valuation signals from small secondary transactions. The fund has specific strategies for illiquid positions, such as opportunistically selling post-IPO or diluting underperforming assets over time if a sale isn't feasible.
This theme reveals the operational complexities of managing a portfolio of private assets, where entry price discipline and long-term exit planning are as crucial as the initial investment thesis.