Situation
You got a tender offer
An employer-led liquidity event — typically a one-time chance to sell some or all of your vested equity at a specific price. The window is usually two to four weeks. The decisions you make in that window can change your long-term outcome more than years of vesting.
The Reading List
Articles, in order.
Work through them sequentially, or jump to the one most relevant to your situation.
- 01Reference— LIQUIDITY EVENTS
Tender Offer
What a tender offer is, the company's motivations for facilitating one, the key decisions for employees, and the tax classifications to watch.
6 MIN6 MIN - 02Reference— FAQS
What’s the Difference Between a Compensatory vs Non-Compensatory Tender Offer?
Compensatory vs. non-compensatory tender: the classification can shift gains from long-term capital to ordinary income.
2 MIN2 MIN - 03How-to— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
Navigating Tender Offers for Pre-IPO Companies
Tender offer 101 plus a framework for the two key decisions: CAN you participate (eligibility), and SHOULD you (financial + tax + risk).
3 MIN3 MIN - 04Reference— LIQUIDITY EVENTS
Secondary Market Sale
What a secondary-market sale is, how it differs from a tender, and the eligibility and approval flow if your company allows them.
6 MIN6 MIN - 05Reference— STEP-BY-STEP
Pre-IPO: Selling, Financing, or Exchanging Stock
How option-exercise financing, RSU loans, private-market exchanges, and pre-IPO exchange funds work — when each makes sense for a tech worker with trapped private-company wealth.
8 MIN8 MIN - 06How-to— TAX STRATEGIES
Multi-Year AMT Spread Riding
Exercise some ISOs each year up to your AMT free window, sell prior-year shares to widen next year's window — a multi-year plan to monetize ISOs as qualifying dispositions with minimal AMT.
5 MIN5 MIN - 07How-to— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
How to Pay NO Tax on the SpaceX Tender (And Prep for a $1.5 Trillion 2026 IPO)
SpaceX-specific tax playbook for the 2026 tender and IPO: which shares to sell, the ISO tainting rule, AMT planning, and long/short tax deferral.
17 MIN17 MIN - 08How-to— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
Create A “No Regrets” Selling Plan For Your Stock Comp
A 'no-regrets' selling-plan framework: bucket your concentrated holdings into immediate sales, long-term hold, and structured sales over time.
8 MIN8 MIN
Talk to a 30/40 Advisor
Want this applied to your situation?
A 30-minute consult tells you whether the frameworks in this reading list cleanly apply to your equity package — and if so, what the first three moves are. No pitch.
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