Unlocking QSBS at every exit
Founders selling their companies can save $2.38M to $3.7M per $10M of exit value through QSBS. If you’ve sold your company “too early” to qualify for QSBS, or made more than $10M from a sale, QSBS rollovers provide a way to capture millions in additional tax savings.
Trusted by founders backed by the world's leading investors and enterprises.
Trusted by founders backed by the world's leading investors and enterprises.
Startup Exits
QSBS for early acquisitions and billion dollar IPOs
Early exits
If your company is being acquired or goes public less than 5 years from the date your founder shares were issued, you could benefit from a QSBS rollover.
Windfalls and large acquisitions
Significant liquidity events (like an IPO), or major acquisitions where early shareholders are making $5M, $50M, or even $100M+, often require layers of strategic planning.
Maximize exit gains
Whether you’re selling a small startup or navigating a life-changing liquidity event, you can optimize for QSBS. Our team works with founders of companies valued at $10M-$5B+
Maximize exit gains
Whether you’re selling a small startup or navigating a life-changing liquidity event, you can optimize for QSBS. Our team works with founders of companies valued at $10M-$5B+
Maximize exit gains
Whether you’re selling a small startup or navigating a life-changing liquidity event, you can optimize for QSBS. Our team works with founders of companies valued at $10M-$5B+
ACQUISITION
Company acquisitions
When a company is acquired, some or all of the stock may be QSBS-eligible. Determining your personal eligibility for QSBS, and whether or not you can benefit from QSBS rollovers is one of the most important pre-planning steps before a sale.
ACQUISITION
Company acquisitions
When a company is acquired, some or all of the stock may be QSBS-eligible. Determining your personal eligibility for QSBS, and whether or not you can benefit from QSBS rollovers is one of the most important pre-planning steps before a sale.
- Founders and early investors typically own the bulk of QSBS in private companies. If you’ve held the stock for 5 years, you may qualify right away, if you sold before 5 years, a rollover may be advantageous.
- Companies with multiple founders could benefit from strategic QSBS planning as a group. This could mean funding a new company through a joint rollover or even exploring longer term investment vehicles that leverage QSBS after the sale.
- Connecting with our team 30 to 60 days before your liquidity event is final gives us the opportunity to review options to maximize and expand QSBS, even with no prior planning.
SOLO EXIT
Solo-founder exits
Solo-founders may own all of their startup’s stock. Most solo-founders can benefit from pre-exit planning that would significantly expand the tax efficiency of a sale, whether through strategic charitable giving, trust planning, or a strategic rollover that optimizes for control and flexibility.
SOLO EXIT
Solo-founder exits
Solo-founders may own all of their startup’s stock. Most solo-founders can benefit from pre-exit planning that would significantly expand the tax efficiency of a sale, whether through strategic charitable giving, trust planning, or a strategic rollover that optimizes for control and flexibility.
- If you hold enough stock to potentially exceed the $10M QSBS exclusion limit for QSBS, pre-exit planning, such as gifting shares to a trust, family members, or a Donor Advised Fund (DAF), could multiply the available exclusion, effectively allowing the founder to shelter far more than $10M from capital gains tax. Many of these strategies are ineffective, however, if you haven’t met the 5 year holding threshold.
- Rollovers are the only solution for continuing your QSBS holding period and reaching beyond 5 years to qualify for a tax exclusion.
- QSBS rollovers act as a “bridge” across the 5-year holding period, but they also function as a way to “expand” the amount that you can take tax free. Each rollover into a new eligible business counts for its own new QSBS benefit, meaning three rollovers grants you three new $10M exclusion limits on the money.
IPO
Initial Public Offerings
Going public with QSBS-eligible shares unlocks a powerful set of options for strategic tax planning. Founders can take advantage of QSBS in a number of different ways, but primarily through their original issue exclusion, and then through incremental sale/rollover exclusions.
IPO
Initial Public Offerings
Going public with QSBS-eligible shares unlocks a powerful set of options for strategic tax planning. Founders can take advantage of QSBS in a number of different ways, but primarily through their original issue exclusion, and then through incremental sale/rollover exclusions.
- Most of the IPOs that we see happen after the 5-year QSBS holding period, often meaning that founders and early investors have already unlocked the first $10M of their tax exclusion on any sale gains.
- Typically, a founder will have sold at least some stock in the business along the way through secondaries/tender offers. If this is the case, and all $10M of their QSBS exclusion has been used pre-IPO, the chance to take subsequent sales relies on additional planning steps.
- The great thing about holding QSBS-eligible public stock is that you can time the distributions of capital. For rollover transactions, public stock can be sold to line up with new investment opportunities, or to coincide with the founding of a new business. Both of these moves continue and expand the QSBS eligibility of the original stock and keep from triggering a taxable event.
Trusted by founders navigating startup exits
Built for the pace and stakes of exit planning
Exits move fast and the financial consequences are permanent. We bring deep QSBS expertise to every stage of the deal process, so founders can close with confidence.
Acquisition-Ready
We coordinate directly with your deal team to structure QSBS rollovers around closing timelines, purchase agreements, and escrow mechanics. Pre-sale planning is where the biggest savings are made.
IPO-Tested
Public markets open new doors for QSBS. We help founders with post-IPO rollover timing, incremental exclusions, and distribution strategies that extend QSBS benefits well beyond the initial offering.
Multi-Founder Coordination
When multiple founders hold QSBS-eligible stock, coordinated planning can unlock joint rollovers and shared investment vehicles. We manage the complexity so each founder maximizes their individual exclusion.
Adaptive Timelines
Deals shift. We engage as early as 30 days before close and adapt our process to your deal’s pace, whether that means accelerating documentation or pivoting strategy when terms change mid-negotiation.