Know the vehicles.
Understand the tradeoffs.
Plain-language guides to every equity vehicle that affects private-market employees: how each one works, how it's taxed, and what decisions it forces.
Stock Options
2 guidesThe right to buy shares at a fixed price and the tax decisions that follow.
Equity Awards
2 guidesEquity granted outright, no purchase required, with its own tax complexity.
Liquidity Path
3 guidesWays to turn illiquid shares into cash before an IPO or acquisition.
Secondary Sales
Sell vested shares to a third-party buyer before an IPO or acquisition.
Tender Offers
Structured buyback events where the company or a fund buys shares at a defined price.
IPO Lock-Up Periods
Your company goes public, but your shares stay frozen for 180 days.
Exercise Financing
3 guidesHow to fund the cost of exercising options when you don't have the cash.
Self-Funding
Pay the full exercise cost and taxes from your own savings. Retain 100% of the upside.
Recourse Financing
Borrow to exercise. Lower cost than non-recourse, but full personal liability if the company fails.
Non-Recourse Financing
CalculatorSpecialty funds cover your exercise cost. Zero personal liability if the company fails.
Advanced Structures
3 guidesDerivative instruments for deferred liquidity, tax optimization, and concentrated positions.
Variable Prepaid Forward (VPFC)
CalculatorReceive 70–85% of your share value today with full tax deferral, by pledging shares into a collar contract.
Participating Forward
Downside protection and upfront cash, with uncapped but fractionally shared upside.
RSU Liquidity Advance
A non-recourse cash advance against the future settlement value of double-trigger RSUs you don't yet own.
Strategy
1 guideDecisions that change your long-term tax outcome if made at the right time.
Tax & Compliance
3 guidesThe tax code and regulatory rules that govern every equity decision you make.
Alternative Minimum Tax & Stock Options
CalculatorThe parallel tax system that punishes ISO holders who exercise and hold.
Qualified Small Business Stock (IRC Section 1202)
The most powerful tax exclusion in the code, if you qualify and hold long enough.
Blackout Periods & Trading Windows
The invisible calendar that decides when you can actually touch your equity.
Foundation
4 guidesThe infrastructure and compliance layer that underpins all private equity compensation.
Fair Market Value & 409A Valuations
CalculatorThe independent appraisal that sets your strike price and determines how much you pay to exercise.
The 90-Day Post-Termination Exercise Period
CalculatorLeave your job and the clock starts. Miss the deadline and your vested options expire worthless.
Cap Table Basics for Employees
Your equity is worth whatever the cap table says it's worth. Learn how to read one.
Preferred Share Price & Liquidation Preferences
The headline valuation number that makes your equity look worth more than it is.
Understanding the vehicles is the first step. The native app is where you model your specific situation: multiple grants, exercise timing, tax scenarios, and liquidity paths, all in one place.