You may exit your investment by selling your stake – if the startup is acquired or goes public. Or if there is another Accredited Investor willing to buy your stock, per SEC Rule 144, you may also exit your investment by selling your stock privately, as long as you have held your stock for at least a year and are not an “affiliate” of the company (i.e., you are neither an officer of the company nor a shareholder with a greater than 10% stake in the company). The price at which you can sell your stock in such a private transaction may be less than the price you originally paid.  Please keep in mind that Investments in startups are highly illiquid and those investors who cannot hold an investment for the long term (at least 5-7 years) should not invest. There is no guarantee that an exit event will happen. Some investments fail and you can lose the total amount invested.