Inspired by research at the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Nikkl invented a better way to access investment opportunities in "unicorn" companies. Nikkl's fully-compliant approach provides risk-adjusted returns for investors, liquidity for employees and cash on unicorn balance sheets.Unicorns are attractive investments, but access is difficultAcross all funding rounds, unicorn investors have consistently achieved an internal rate of return of more than 20%. In addition, when you factor in today's lower company valuations relative to 2021, the unicorn segment is an especially attractive opportunity for investors. Late-stage unicorn investors have often achieved higher returns than early-stage investors.However, because of their high IRRs, unicorn companies are highly sought after by the top institutional investors. And as a result, only 10 investors (Tiger Global, SoftBank, etc.) have been able to consistently make direct investments in unicorn companies, effectively blocking access for other investors. In addition, unicorn companies are not publicly traded, making it difficult for most investors to gain access to this asset class. Nikkl engineered a new way to indirectly invest in unicornsThere is an overlooked and growing part of the unicorn cap table: vested but unexercised stock options. This new opportunity is a direct result of current market circumstances where companies are staying private longer, leaving employees without liquidity for their options.How it worksNikkl provides capital to unicorn employees so that they may exercise their vested stock options to purchase unicorn common shares. In exchange, investors receive a portion of any returns generated by the unicorn shares.Why invest through Nikkl- Access - High returns- Downside protection- Fully compliant