stock options

TFP #057: Navigating Your E-Trade Account: A Guide For Procore Employees

I get a lot of questions about trying to understand your equity at E-Trade, which is fair. It’s very confusing. Words like potential value, current value, total value - it’s not super clear. And some views are helpful, and some aren’t.

So candidly, I don’t use the website until it’s time to sell or exercise. When I work with clients, I have them send me this CSV (you can get it by logging in to E-Trade, then select your Stock plan, go to "holdings", then "view by status", "download", "download expanded".)

Today I want to walk you through what I look for and the flow I go through. At a high level, this report tells me 3 really important things about your equity.

  1. What you have already

  2. What you are able to exercise

  3. What is unvested

TFP #054: When Should You Hire A Financial Planner?

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 54th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

When should you hire a financial planner?

This was the title of a recent Ben Carlson blog.

It’s a question I get asked a fair amount, especially since we work with a predominantly younger group of clients (at least compared to the wealth management industry at large). 

Ben lists 7 of the biggest (but certainly not only) reasons you should hire a financial advisor.

I really liked his list so I decided to put a spin on it with 5 reasons people have hired us (and again, certainly not the only reasons).

Here they are.

TFP #051: Should You Participate In Your Company’s Tender Offer?

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 51st edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

When you work at a private company, the big dream for most is that your company goes IPO one day.

And while IPOs often grab headlines, it’s not the only way that you can turn your private company stock into cash.

The past few months we’ve helped several clients at two different private companies evaluate tender offers.

Tender offers are “a structured liquidity event that typically allows multiple sellers (including employees and early investors) to sell their shares either to another investor, a group of investors, or back to the company at a predetermined price. 

In other words, it’s a potential way for employees to sell their shares for cash while the company is still private”

TFP #046: Thinking In Bets

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 46th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

I recently started the book Thinking In Bets by former pro poker player Annie Duke.

It’s not a book about poker, but about “how to get comfortable with uncertainty and make better decisions as a result.”

I love the sub title too - “Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All The Facts.”

Doesn’t that get down to the heart of financial planning?

We are trying to make good financial decisions today based on an unknown, uncertain future.

TFP #043: How Is Financial Planning Different For Tech Employees?

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Welcome to the 43rd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

What on earth is financial planning, and how is it unique for people in tech?

Or put more simply, what is it that we actually do with clients?

In this newsletter we’ll break down what financial planning is, both broadly and for our clients, and some ways we’ve helped clients this year.

TFP #031: A Framework For Your Equity Comp

Welcome to the 31st edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you Google “what to do with my equity compensation” you get 823 million results!

How the heck are you supposed to make a good, wise, financial decision?

Particularly if you are new to equity comp or have more complex situations? 

In this newsletter we’ll break down a framework for making decisions for your equity comp and review 3 specific scenarios with some real life examples.

TFP #029: 6 Financial Planning Mistakes Tech Professionals Make

Read Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to the 29th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

Over the past 3 years I’ve met with hundreds of tech professionals, and I’ve seen 6 common financial planning mistakes.

These can cost thousands or even millions of dollars.

In this newsletter, we will explore 6 common financial planning mistakes tech professionals make and some possible ways to avoid them.

TFP #022: Avoiding The "Double Tax" On Your Equity Comp

Read time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 22nd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

As we enter tax season, there’s an easy mistake that can cost tech professionals big time.

The dreaded double tax on their stock compensation.

In this newsletter we’ll break down what the double tax is, how it happens, and how to avoid it.

TFP #013: A Tale Of Two Strategies

Welcome to the 13th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

If you joined Procore in ~2016, received 100k stock options, and exercised them all, you would take home $3.77M after taxes if you sold everything today.

But if you waited until Procore was public to exercise and sell (for argument’s sake, let's also say today) you’d take home $2.87M – a difference of $896,680.

Let’s break it down.

In this newsletter we will break down why you might consider exercising your options before an exit, the potential tax savings, and the risks

TFP #005: The #1 Mistake With Stock Options

I see it too often, and you can avoid it.

The number one mistake I’m seeing people make with their stock options is

Exercising all at once

In this newsletter we will cover the consequences of exercising all at once, how to avoid it, and some tips on better managing your stock options.

Procore Benefits Guide

My Experience Working With Procore Employees

Before I became a financial advisor and helped start Coastal Capital Advisors, I actually worked at Procore for 4 years (employee #450!). I saw the company go from a single product, primarily Carp-only company to the juggernaut it is today.

Through my own experience and working with many current and former Procorians, we have a wealth of experience in working with clients at Procore. We’ve helped Procore employees make decisions around their Procore equity, maximize their 401k, and optimize their cash flow. And we've designed financial plans that are tailor made for Procore employees to achieve their dreams.

Our Role In Your Financial Life

Think of us as a guide. Or sherpa. That’s more fun.

A big part of our job is helping you understand the wide-ranging benefits Procore offers. More importantly, how each benefit connects to the rest of your financial life.

We recognize each of our clients (an you) has their own priorities and agenda. For some, that may be owning real estate. For others, that may be retiring in Costa Rica in 10 years.

Based on your dreams, we want to make sure you make the most of your benefits so you can get there.

A Quick Note

This isn’t going to cover every in and out of your Procore equity, every strategy, etc. That would be a full length novel, and it still wouldn’t cover everything.

This is intended to be an overview. A starting point if you will. A guide to many of the different benefits Procore offers.

But also to illustrate how we’ve helped clients navigate through the many benefits Procore offers.

My goal is that this helps you avoid some common pitfalls, sparks a few questions, and gives you more insight and clarity.

If you are the DIY type, I hope this inspires you to do some more research and guides more productive planning.

If this all seems overwhelming and you feel like you need some help, I’d love to chat!

An overview of the Procore Benefits, and how can we help Procore employees?

We will break this out into 3 sections

  1. Making sense of your Procore Equity

  2. Understanding your 401(k) plan at Procore

  3. Maximizing other benefits

Let’s get started!