Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Can a wealthy investor invest in or make a deal with a company before it goes public / IPO?
Yes, it is common for investors to make equity investments in technology companies pre-IPO.  There are technology incubators like Y Combinator that exist to make "angel" investments, which are early-stage equity investments in private technology companies (these investments are sometimes in notes that are convertible to equity, but are very similar to a stock investment).  Wealthy individuals can also make angel investments (e.g. Peter Thiel made a $500K investment in Facebook in 2004 for 10.2% of the company).  Additionally, venture capital firms exist to make equity investments in private companies.  In the US, you need to be an Accredited Investor to make private equity investments (income greater than $200K or net worth greater than $1 million), but you probably need a lot more money than the minimum and connections to get in on these deals in reality.