Reference
How CrossWork works
The mechanics of a CrossWork vehicle, for institutional and family office investors doing diligence: structure, lifecycle, reporting and the questions we are asked most.
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Structure
One vehicle. Between investors and the companies it holds.
Investors hold an interest in the vehicle; the vehicle holds the shares.
Terms, including fees, are in the offering documents.
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Lifecycle of a position
From diligence to distribution. Five stages.
Each stage follows the company's path to an IPO, a tender or a sale.
Diligence
Former operators sit in diligence on the businesses they know best.
Position
The vehicle holds shares in the company, under its own documents.
Holding period
Until each company exits. As a late-stage fund we aim to reach exits sooner than many private equity and venture capital funds.
Exit
The company lists, is acquired or makes a distribution.
Distribution
When a holding is realized, cash or shares go to investors after fees and expenses.
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What we look for
Late-stage discipline. Three tests before conviction.
We look for companies valued at $1B+ with $100M+ in revenue and a visible path to liquidity: an IPO, a tender or a strategic sale.
$1B+
Valuation
Companies already valued at a billion dollars or more.
$100M+
Revenue
Real revenue and real customers, not pre-revenue stories.
Path
To liquidity
A visible route to an IPO, a tender or a strategic sale.
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What you receive
Documents and access. What each investor sees.
Each investment is made through a vehicle with its own documents.
Memorandum
The memorandum, sent on request.
Vehicle documents
Rights, management fees and carried interest, set out before anything is signed.
Portal access
Positions and documents in the CrossWork portal.
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Questions
Asked most. Five questions, answered briefly.
Grouped by ownership, cost and time, and risk.
Ownership
What does the investor own?
An interest in a CrossWork vehicle, which holds the shares in each company; the vehicle's documents set out your rights.
How is capital returned?
When a company lists, is acquired or makes a distribution, the vehicle receives cash or shares and distributes them to investors after fees and expenses.
Cost and time
What is the holding period?
Similar to most private equity funds, distributions are made upon successful exits. As a late-stage fund we aim to make distributions faster than many private equity and venture capital funds.
What does it cost?
Management fees and carried interest, set out in the vehicle's documents. Nothing is charged before the documents are signed.
Risk
How is risk managed?
Each position is a company with substantial revenue, tested by former operators in diligence and bought at a large discount to the last round. The full risk factors are in the memorandum.
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Glossary
Terms. The words used across this site.
Short definitions, drawn from the answers above.
- Vehicle
- The entity that holds shares in private companies; investors hold an interest in it.
- Delaware limited partnership
- The legal form of a CrossWork vehicle, with CrossWork, LLC as general partner.
- Late stage
- Companies with products, customers and revenue, not pre-product bets.
- Exit
- An IPO, a tender or a strategic sale: the event that turns a holding into cash or listed shares.
- Tender
- A company-run sale of shares by employees and existing holders, arranged by the company.
- Distribution
- Cash or shares paid out by the vehicle after fees and expenses.
- Carried interest
- Charged alongside management fees, as set out in the vehicle's documents.
- Memorandum
- The document that describes a vehicle; shared on request.