Free tools & guides

Start here: What every founder & employee should know about their startup equity — the plain-English field guide to what you hold, what it's worth, and the deadlines that cost money.

No jargon walls, no hype. Just clear answers to the questions founders and early employees actually ask when they're thinking about turning some private equity into cash.

Free to read · no sign-up · written from the real mechanics of the process.

Free tools

Startup Equity NavigatorNot sure where to start? Answer four questions and get the exact guides and tools for your situation, country and goal.Start here → Interactive estimators — no sign-up.

Stock-option exercise & AMT calculator (US)Estimate the real cash to exercise your ISOs/NSOs — strike cost plus the AMT or ordinary tax you'd owe.Open the tool → RSU tax-withholding gap calculator (US)Your RSUs are withheld at a flat 22%, but your real rate may be higher. See the gap you could owe at filing — before April.Open the tool → ESPP calculator — is it worth it?What your discount and lookback are really worth: your immediate gain, the price you pay, and your downside cushion.Open the tool → Single-stock concentration calculatorHow much of your investable wealth rides on one company’s stock (RSUs + ESPP + options) — with a plain-English risk read.Open the tool → 83(b) election decision helper (US)What filing an 83(b) could save by converting vesting gains to capital gains — and the hard 30-day deadline.Open the tool → QSBS tax-saving calculator (US)See how much federal tax you could exclude when you sell Qualified Small Business Stock (Section 1202).Open the tool → Startup dilution calculatorHow a new funding round changes your ownership percentage and the value of your stake.Open the tool → Employee exit waterfall calculatorWhat you'd actually receive at different exit values, after investors' liquidation preferences. Why your 1% isn't 1% of the sale.Open the tool → What's my stake worth?A quick discount-based estimate of a private sale, anchored to your last round.Open the tool →

Start here

New to the idea that you can sell before an exit? Begin with these.

How to get liquidity from startup equity in EuropeThe overview — your realistic options for turning private shares into cash before an IPO or sale.Read → The full guide: selling shares or vested optionsA plain-English walk-through of the whole process, from first question to a closed transfer.Read → Forge vs EquityZen vs Hiive vs Nasdaq Private MarketAn independent comparison of the big private-share platforms for sellers — fees, minimums, and who can actually use each.Read →

How equity works & is taxed

The plain-English cornerstones — how it works, and how it's taxed.

How do employee stock options work?Grant → vest → exercise → sell, plus ISO vs NSO and leaving — the whole journey.Read → How are RSUs taxed?The two taxable moments, the withholding gap, and the double-tax myth.Read → How is an ESPP taxed?Qualifying vs disqualifying, and the discount-now-vs-tax-later call.Read →

Equity A–Z glossary

Every term you'll meet when you hold or sell private shares — 200+, each in plain English with a simple example.

The startup-equity glossary (200+ terms)One line, plain English, and an example a child could follow — US & Europe, fully cross-linked.Read →

Understand your documents

The paperwork you actually hold — what each clause and number means, in plain English.

Read your stock option agreementThe ten clauses that decide what your options are worth and what you can do with them.Read → Read your RSU agreementSingle vs double-trigger, settlement, and the tax clock hiding in the terms.Read → Read a 409A valuation reportHow it sets your strike, why it's below the last round — and what it doesn't tell you.Read → Read a startup cap tableFind your real slice, and why dilution and preferences change what it's worth.Read → Equity document checklistEverything to gather and keep — before a decision forces you to find it fast.Read → Documents to request before sellingWhat to line up so a transfer doesn't stall on paperwork or approvals.Read →

Deciding what to do

The decision hub → — all the big calls in one place.

Neutral frameworks for the big calls — no product we're nudging you toward.

Should I sell my pre-IPO shares?The real pros, cons, tax and risk — a clear framework.Read → Exercise my options now or wait?Cash, AMT, risk and the tax clocks, weighed up.Read → Sell or hold my RSUs?Why 'sell at vest' usually wins — and when it doesn't.Read → My company's running a tender — should I sell?How much to take, and why a tender is often your best window.Read → Sell now or wait for the IPO?Certain-but-discounted versus potential-but-uncertain.Read → Sell some or all of my equity?How to size a partial sale to your risk and goals.Read → Leaving — what happens to my options?The exercise window and the fast, costly decision it forces.Read → I can't afford to exercise — what now?Sell-to-cover, financing, partial exercise or walking away.Read → My startup might fail — should I sell?De-risking while a buyer and a fair price still exist.Read → Should I sell my VSOP or BSPCE?Can you even sell European equity? It depends on what you hold.Read → Laid off with stock options?The 90-day clock, what happens to each kind of equity, and what to do first.Read →

Compare your options

The 'X vs Y' questions, answered side by side.

Tender offer vs secondary saleWho runs it, the price, approvals — and which suits you.Read → ISO vs NSOThe tax, AMT and holding-period differences that matter.Read → RSUs vs stock optionsCost, risk, tax — and what each means at a private company.Read → Common vs preferred stockWhy your shares are worth less than the headline valuation.Read → SAFE vs convertible noteThe two early-stage instruments, and how they dilute you.Read → 409A vs last round priceThe two numbers people use to value shares — and which is right.Read →

Platform & financing alternatives

Weighing up a specific platform? Here's the independent view of its alternatives — we're not one of them.

Ways to sell pre-IPO shares (the hub)Every route compared — company tender, marketplaces, approved private sale — from an independent source.Read → Forge Global alternativesEquityZen, Hiive, Nasdaq Private Market or a company tender — how to choose a route to sell.Read → EquityZen alternativesDirect secondaries, a live order book or a tender — the options beyond the SPV model.Read → Secfi alternativesOther ways to fund and plan an option exercise — financing, sell-to-cover or self-funding.Read → EquityBee alternativesWays to cover an option exercise and keep more of the upside.Read →

European employee equity

The instruments that confuse everyone — VSOP, BSPCE, STAK, EMI — explained.

European employee equity (the hub)BSPCE, VSOP, EMI, STAK — the cross-border guide to instruments, tax and liquidity.Read → How liquidity works in EuropeThe patchwork of schemes by country, and your realistic routes to cash.Read → VSOP explained (Germany)Virtual shares, tax, §19a — and why you usually can't sell.Read → BSPCE explained (France)France's flagship options: how they work, tax, and selling.Read → EMI options explained (UK)The UK's most tax-efficient scheme, and how to sell the shares.Read → STAK explained (Netherlands)Depositary receipts — value without votes, and how to sell them.Read →

What are my shares worth?

Put a defensible number on your stake before you talk to any buyer.

How much are my startup shares worth?How to reason about a private valuation using your last round, share count and dilution.Read → What are my stock options actually worth?The six-step method for options specifically — strike cost, illiquidity discount, the preference stack and tax.Read → What discount is fair when you sell?Why secondaries change hands below the last round — and what range is reasonable to accept.Read →

Exercising your options

The cost, the deadlines and the decisions when you hold options, not shares.

The real cost of exercising your optionsStrike price plus the AMT or ordinary tax exercising can trigger — and three ways to cover it.Read → Options during your exercise windowWhat happens if you leave — or the company is acquired — before you've exercised your vested options.Read → Non-recourse financing to exerciseHow exercise financing works, what it really costs, and when selling a slice is the cheaper route.Read → Underwater options after a layoffWhen your strike is above the current value — why exercising usually isn't worth it.Read →

Can I even sell?

The eligibility questions almost every first-time seller asks.

Can I sell my shares before an exit?Right of first refusal, board approval, and how a sale actually clears in practice.Read → Can I still sell if I've left the company?Vested options, exercise windows and what changes once you're a former employee.Read → Stuck with shares you can't sell?A calm, four-step playbook for when there's no obvious buyer in sight.Read →

Buyers, process & tools

Who's on the other side of the table — and how to work it sensibly.

Who actually buys private startup shares?The four buyer types — and how each one thinks about price and timing.Read → Selling a small stake in Europe: your real optionsWhy the big US marketplaces are built for someone else — with a neutral, sourced comparison.Read → Using AI to sell your shares — safelyWhere AI genuinely helps, and how to use it without leaking anything confidential.Read →

Selling by country

The rules differ by country — what you hold, how it transfers, and the tax.

Selling startup shares in GermanyReal GmbH shares vs virtual shares (VSOP), the notary requirement, and the tax on a sale.Read → Selling startup shares in the UKExercising EMI options into shares, pre-emption rights, and Capital Gains Tax (with the 10% relief).Read → Selling startup shares in the NetherlandsSTAK certificaten, the 2023 stock-option tax reform, and Box 2 substantial-interest tax.Read → Selling startup shares in SpainSL participaciones and the notary, the Startup Law option reform, and the savings-base tax.Read → Selling startup shares in ItalySrl quote and the notarial transfer, the innovative-startup regime, and the 26% capital-gains tax.Read → Selling startup shares in FranceBSPCE and other instruments, agrément and pre-emption in an SAS, and the 30% flat tax.Read → Selling startup shares in PolandUdziały in a sp. z o.o., the notarised-signature transfer, plus 19% PIT on your gain and the buyer’s 1% PCC.Read →

Thinking about selling?

Before you act, it helps to understand what you hold, what it might be worth, the transfer restrictions that apply and the tax to plan for. The free guides and calculators are the place to start.

Get the equity toolkit →

Want to do it properly, on your own terms?

The Equity Toolkit collects the templates, the valuation walk-through and the negotiation playbook in one place — a Europe and a US edition.

See the toolkit →

General information only — not financial, tax or legal advice. Every situation is different; check your own share and option agreements and take professional advice before selling. PrivateTechShares is an education and tools service: it is not a broker or marketplace, does not introduce buyers and sellers, does not hold funds, and does not execute or advise on transactions.