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SPAC vs. IPO: Valuation, Lockup Period, and Employee Equity

As a founder or an employee at a company undergoing a SPAC, you should start planning as soon as you're aware the event is on the horizon. The financial impact of this event will not just be an easy windfall -- you'll have to consider the potential costs of exercising options, timing of selling shares, and the resulting tax bill before you can start thinking about how to invest your net proceeds.

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Building a High-Value Marketplace: How Harness Wealth Helps Clients Find Advisory Services

A few years ago, in the ideation phase of Harness Wealth, we knew we wanted to create a next generation financial platform for the next generation of builders: founders, early employees, business owners, and investors. I was able to transfer some learnings from the early and late stage developments at Compass to this new context. 

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Cross-state Residency Tax Considerations in 2020: The Impact of COVID-19 Work From Home

COVID-19 created many unexpected adjustments to working and moving this year. Could these changes result in additional state tax exposure and withholding obligations for individual taxpayers and business owners?

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Harness Wealth Firm Consultations: What to Expect and Prepare

This guide was created to help Harness Wealth clients understand the consultation process with their recommended firms. As part of your evaluation process, and you should plan ahead for the number of meetings and documents you'll need to prepare for each type of firm consultation, and the factors you'll want to consider in deciding which firm(s) you'd like to move forward with.

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Tax Benefits of a Donor-Advised Fund

A donor-advised fund is a great way to manage your charitable giving and save on taxes. You can take a tax deduction immediately when you provide the donation. Then, the donated funds can be invested and grow tax free. Think of it as creating a sort of personal "savings account" from which you can make donations to causes you care about for years to come.

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Diversify Your Portfolio: How Startup Employees Over-invest in Tech

Tech as an industry has had major growth in the last few years, and continues to hold strong, even in 2020. However, recent history shows that many tech employees run the very real risk of being too invested in the technology sector. We outline the most common components that make up this overall risk below, and offer some guidance how best to balance your unique risks and opportunities. 

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startup employees negotiating equity grant

Advice on Startup Liquidity Mistakes: IPO Experiences with AJ Wealth

Our CEO, David Snider, sat down with Justyn Volesko, J.D., LL.M., Managing Partner at AJ Wealth, to learn more about his business, particularly for clients going through liquidity events, such as IPOs. AJ Wealth is a Wealth Management Firm on the Harness Wealth platform.

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Investment Strategies for a Large Windfall or Inheritance

Receiving a large lump sum of money from an inheritance or other windfall can change your life -- especially if you make smart financial choices upfront about what to do with your newfound wealth.  

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Tax Planning for a Large Windfall or Inheritance

When you receive a large sum of money, your life can change in many profound ways. However, a financial windfall is not without consequences. One of the most immediate of those consequences is your tax liability.

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Graduating from TurboTax: Do You Need a Tax Advisor (CPA)?

Online tax tools make it easy for the average person to file their annual tax returns, but there are many scenarios where more sophisticated tax strategies can save a significant amount of money, making the ROI on personal tax advising very worthwhile for high earners with complex financial situations and those with sudden windfalls.

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