@slimboss, private placements are offered to a select section of clientel who meet a basic criteria. An example is the recent CIC private placement to saccos and their members. Another one was by Family Bank (in 2006 I think) to account holders. These are good examples with a high probability of having an IPO in the near future. Coop bank followed a similar route and those who were in b4 the ipo are now 20 times(excluding dividends) richer. Once you are in, OTC trading among shareholders is possible.
The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it's conformity.