Non-Qualified Stock Options

You spent years helping build the most valuable AI company in the world. The IPO is filed, the clock is running, and the decisions you make in the next few months will determine how much of that wealth you actually keep. This is the plain-English conversation your calendar keeps postponing.

You've maxed your 401(k), the Roth IRA door is slammed shut (thanks, income limits), and the IRS seems very pleased with itself. But the mega backdoor Roth IRA offers a surprisingly powerful workaround – one that can unlock tens of thousands of dollars in additional tax-free retirement savings each year, if your employer's plan allows it.

The S-1 is in. The banks are circling. October is closer than you think. If you're an Anthropic employee sitting on equity, this isn't a drill – and this is the guide your financial future deserves (no billable hours required).

When the all-hands invite arrives with no subject line and the entire company is on it, your mind goes straight to one place: your equity. This complete guide breaks down exactly what happens to stock options when a company is acquired – cash payouts, equity conversion, acceleration clauses, and what the IRS is circling on your calendar.

You're leaving. Congrats! But before you delete Slack and order the celebratory tacos, we need to have a very important conversation about your stock options – because a 90-day clock just started, and it doesn't care how busy you are.

You can see your wealth. You just can't reach it. A 10b5-1 trading plan changes that – here's how corporate insiders use pre-arranged trading plans to sell company stock legally, automatically, and on their own terms.

If you're a tech employee or founder in New York City sitting on stock options or RSUs and feeling uncertain about the right moves – you're not alone. Equity compensation is genuinely complicated, and the stakes are high. Fortrove Partners exists to give you the clarity and guidance you deserve.

OpenAI and Anthropic have each confidentially filed their S-1s, but the equity math isn't the same at both companies. Here's what employees need to know about valuations, lockup periods, governance risk, and IPO timing before the windows open.

Equity gets the same treatment. It's equitable after all.

Taxes on NSOs are tricky.