NIBL and the Future of Responsible Liquidity in Private Companies Explained

For decades, the private company model has asked founders and early investors to accept a simple tradeoff. Build something valuable now. Access the value later. Much later.

That tradeoff made sense when exits were faster, capital cycles were shorter, and the path from startup to liquidity was clearer. But today the reality is different. Companies stay private longer. Holding periods stretch into a decade or more. Founders carry personal financial pressure through the most demanding years of company building. Early investors tie up capital far longer than originally expected.

At the same time, meaningful value is being created well before exit. It is just not accessible.

This is the structural gap NIBL exists to address.

The problem is not effort. It is structure.

Founders are working harder than ever. Investors are more disciplined than ever. Governance standards are higher than ever.

Yet liquidity remains almost entirely binary. You either wait for a major exit or you do nothing. In between sits a grey area of informal secondaries, ad hoc arrangements, and quiet exceptions. These are rarely transparent. Often uneven. Sometimes destabilising.

The result is predictable.

Founder burnout increases in the middle years. Investor portfolios become illiquid and inflexible. Alignment weakens as incentives drift over time. Liquidity becomes something people either avoid talking about or handle quietly on the side.

This is not because people behave badly. It is because the system offers no credible middle ground.

What NIBL is

NIBL Nominal Incentive Based Liquidity is a governance led framework that introduces a disciplined middle ground.

It allows founders and early investors to release a small capped portion of earned equity value before exit. Not through a marketplace. Not opportunistically. Not informally. But through a defined governed company approved process.

NIBL defines in advance

When liquidity may occur
Who may participate
How much value can be released
How equity is managed after release

This turns liquidity from an exception into a mechanism. From a risk into a tool.

Why constraints matter

One of the most important ideas behind NIBL is that liquidity only works when it is constrained.

Unlimited or informal liquidity changes behaviour. It pulls attention away from building and towards trading. It creates signalling risk. It weakens governance. It fragments ownership. It introduces complexity at exactly the wrong time.

NIBL is intentionally designed to avoid that.

Eligibility is time and value dependent. Events are periodic not continuous. Release amounts are capped. All events require company approval. Equity is centrally administered.

This is not a marketplace. It is a framework for responsible recognition of value.

Constraints are not a limitation. They are what make the system safe.

Why this is good for founders

Founders are often the most exposed participants in the private company model. They invest years of labour into building value they cannot access. They take financial risk long after early investors have diversified. They carry emotional and operational pressure through the most uncertain years.

NIBL does not change the need for commitment. It changes the shape of the journey.

By allowing limited recognition of earned value at defined points, NIBL reduces pressure without changing incentives. It offers optionality without distraction. It supports sustainability without weakening ambition.

It gives founders a way to stay in the game longer without burning out.

Why this is good for investors

Early investors accept illiquidity as part of the model. But the reality of holding periods extending from five years to fifteen years changes the nature of that risk.

Capital that cannot recycle cannot support new founders. Portfolios that cannot rebalance become fragile. The opportunity cost of long holds quietly rises.

NIBL introduces predictability without sacrificing upside.

It allows investors to access limited liquidity selectively and transparently. It reduces the pressure to push for premature exits. It supports alignment around long term outcomes instead of short term needs.

It makes patience more sustainable.

Why this is good for companies

At the company level, the biggest benefit of NIBL is alignment.

When founders and investors have shared expectations around value timing, recognition, and liquidity, conversations become easier. Incentives remain aligned for longer. Pressure is managed rather than suppressed.

The framework also strengthens governance. Liquidity stops being something that happens quietly on the side and becomes something that is discussed, planned, and approved properly.

This increases trust. Reduces risk. And ultimately makes companies more resilient.

Why Venture Comet exists

A framework is only useful if it can be applied cleanly.

Venture Comet exists to make NIBL practical. To embed it into governance. To track the signals that matter. To administer events properly when they occur. To keep cap tables clean. To ensure the framework is applied consistently and fairly.

The goal is not to increase liquidity. It is to improve outcomes.

Structured liquidity supports endurance. Endurance supports value. And value is what creates meaningful exits.

The bigger shift

NIBL reflects a broader shift in how we think about private companies.

From binary outcomes to continuous stewardship
From informal exceptions to formal mechanisms
From hoping alignment lasts to designing for it

It does not replace exits. It does not accelerate them. It does not reduce ambition.

It simply recognises that value is created long before it is realised and that responsibly acknowledging that fact makes the system healthier for everyone involved.

A more mature model

NIBL is not a shortcut. It is not a workaround. It is not a financial trick.

It is a maturity upgrade.

It treats liquidity not as a taboo or a loophole but as a governed dimension of company building.

And that is why it matters.

Because the next generation of enduring companies will not just be built on capital and code. They will be built on alignment, trust, and sustainable incentives.

NIBL is one step toward that future.