Compare

Two terms, side by side

Pick any two terms to see definitions, context, pitfalls, and sources in parallel.

Investment & Finance

Liquidity Event

In one line

Any transaction that converts illiquid private-company equity into cash or freely tradable securities — typically IPO, M&A, or secondary tender.

Definition

A liquidity event is any transaction that converts illiquid private-company equity into cash or freely tradable public securities. The three primary forms in MedTech are: an IPO, an acquisition (M&A), or a secondary tender offer in which existing investors (or specialized secondary funds) buy shares from earlier holders. The term often appears in vesting acceleration provisions, board approval covenants, and 409A valuation refresh triggers.

Why it matters

MedTech median time to liquidity is significantly longer than software (commonly 8-12 years from founding) due to clinical-trial and regulatory timelines. Secondary transactions have become more common as a partial-liquidity option for long-tenured founders and employees.

Common pitfalls

•Assuming a secondary tender qualifies as the 'liquidity event' under double-trigger acceleration clauses — usually it does not.

Sources

NVCA Model Legal Documents · NVCA
IRS — Topic 427 Stock Options · IRS
Silicon Valley Bank - Healthcare Reports · SVB

Open full page

Select term B to compare.

Why compare MedTech terms side by side?

MedTech terminology is full of pairs that look interchangeable but carry very different regulatory, clinical, and commercial consequences. Picking the wrong framework, pathway, or standard early in a project can add months to a submission, invalidate clinical evidence, or trigger an audit finding. Side-by-side comparison is the fastest way to surface those differences before they become costly mistakes.

Each comparison on this page pulls from the same vendor-neutral, sourced definitions used throughout the MedTech Terms glossary. You see the one-line summary, the formal definition, why it matters in practice, common pitfalls, and the primary sources (FDA guidance, EU MDR/IVDR articles, ISO/IEC standards, MDCG documents, IMDRF principles) that back each entry. That makes the comparison defensible in regulatory strategy memos, design reviews, and submission narratives.

Common comparison patterns

Regulatory pathway choice - 510(k) vs PMA, 510(k) vs De Novo, Abbreviated vs Special 510(k).
Quality systems - QSR vs ISO 13485, QMSR vs QSR.
Software classification - SaMD vs SiMD, Locked vs adaptive AI.
EU frameworks - MDR vs IVDR, CE Mark vs UKCA.
Cybersecurity artifacts - SPDX vs CycloneDX SBOM, CVE vs CVSS.
Post-market actions - Recall vs field action, Removal vs correction.

How to use this tool

Pick term A and term B from the dropdowns, or click a preset above. The URL updates with both slugs so you can bookmark or share the exact comparison with a colleague, a notified body reviewer, or your regulatory consultant. Click Open full page on either side for the complete entry, including FAQs, related terms, and the full citation list. If you are not sure which term to start with, browse the Categories view or the A-Z index.

MedTech Terms is a vendor-neutral community resource sponsored by Blue Goat Cyber. Definitions are written for educational use and are not legal or regulatory advice.