Tag-along rights, also called co-sale rights, let minority shareholders join in when a majority shareholder sells their stake, selling a proportional amount of their own shares on the same terms instead of being left behind under a new owner they didn't choose.
The concern this protects against: a founder or major investor sells their shares to a new owner on favorable terms, and everyone else is left holding shares in a company now controlled by someone they didn't choose, with no ability to exit alongside the person who did.
Tag-along rights are typically included as investor protections in the investor rights agreement, letting investors sell proportionally if a founder sells a meaningful stake outside of a normal acquisition. Common enough as a provision that its absence, more than its presence, is usually the thing worth asking about.
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