Guides
Written for the executive reading at 11pm the week a deal is announced. Every one answers a single question completely. No gate, no form, no email required.
Start with the question you actually have. Each guide opens with a short direct answer, then goes as deep as the subject requires, and ends with the questions we hear most often. If you would rather look up a term, the glossary defines 33 of them.
Equity compensation
What Happens to My RSUs When My Company Is Acquired?
The three outcomes for unvested equity, how double-trigger vesting actually works, and the withholding gap almost nobody sees coming.
Read the guide →Incentive stock options and the AMT trap: what to know before you exercise
Why exercising incentive stock options can create a large tax bill in a year when no cash changed hands.
Read the guide →The 83(b) election: the 30-day window, and what happens if you miss it
Thirty days, no extensions, no relief for missing it. When the election makes sense and what happens if the window closes.
Read the guide →How much of my net worth should be in my employer's stock?
There is no universal percentage. There is a way to work out yours — and it starts with what your required spending depends on.
Read the guide →Liquidity events
Section 280G Golden Parachute Payments: What They Are and How They Affect You
Why a change of control can trigger a 20% excise tax on top of everything else — and why the threshold is a cliff, not a ramp.
Read the guide →QSBS: Does My Stock Qualify, and What Does It Mean for My Exit?
Whether your stock qualifies, what the five-year clock really means, and how it changes the arithmetic of an exit.
Read the guide →Retirement and tax
Rolling over a 401(k): the decision most people make too fast
Four options, one of them irreversible — plus net unrealized appreciation, which almost nobody with employer stock is told about.
Read the guide →Roth conversions: when they make sense, and when the window is open
The window between retirement and required minimum distributions is often the lowest-bracket stretch of a lifetime. What to do with it.
Read the guide →Backdoor and mega-backdoor Roth contributions, explained
The mechanics behind both strategies, the pro-rata rule that catches people, and what your plan actually has to allow.
Read the guide →Start with a conversation.
Thirty minutes. We'll talk through what's happening, what's already decided, and what's still open. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
- It's a conversation, not a pitch
- No preparation required
- No obligation of any kind
Not ready to talk? Download the Discovery Workbook — the questions we'd ask you, so you can work through them on your own time.