In the old days, an investor hoping to get in on the ground floor of the next Google or Facebook had a couple of options: have a friend or relative on the inside, or sign on with a big brokerage firm handling the startup company’s private placement—a sale of stock that hasn’t yet gone public.
Not anymore. Ordinary investors now can buy shares in startups that are just getting off the ground, sometimes for just a few dollars. If, that is, they are willing to take on a whole lot of risk.
