Problem: Denise and Rory dreamed of owning a home in France to be closer to family, but felt overwhelmed by the foreign market, legal hurdles, and logistics.

Solution: We built a financial plan to confirm what they could comfortably afford, then connected with French real estate and legal professionals to guide them through the expat buying process.

Outcome: After months of research and virtual tours, Denise and Rory closed on a stunning villa in Southern France, confident in both the numbers and the process.

Problem: John, a Google exec in his 50s, dreamed of more time for his passion, restoring planes, but felt trapped by stock concentration and job pressure.

Solution: We ran downside scenarios on his Google stock and mapped out how little income he’d need to maintain his goals, even if his $2M vanished.

Outcome: With renewed confidence, John diversified $500K, sold his Napa home, and moved closer to an airstrip in Utah, still working at Google, but ready to walk away on his terms.

Problem: Shelly, a long-time Apple employee, earned 70% of her income from RSUs, making it tough to qualify for a traditional mortgage, despite holding millions in Apple stock.

Solution: We ran a detailed tax analysis to selectively harvest gains and losses, then partnered with a lender offering flexible underwriting based on RSUs and concentrated stock.

Outcome: Shelly secured a competitive mortgage using her RSUs as income and her Apple stock as collateral, unlocking her dream home in the Castro at a great rate.

Problem: Kourosh wanted his first San Francisco home to double as a smart investment, but wasn’t sure if the numbers on a $3M duplex made sense.

Solution: We ran a detailed 7-year cash flow, ROI, and yield analysis, modeling multiple scenarios using different down payments, property types, and locations.

Outcome: Kourosh discovered the SF duplex required far more capital than expected. He pivoted, lowered his budget for a primary home and began exploring investment properties in stronger cash-flow markets.

Problem: Cormac had nearly all his $5M net worth tied up in highly appreciated Netflix stock, some up over 2,000%, leaving him exposed to concentration risk and a major future tax bill.

Solution: We implemented a sophisticated box spread strategy to generate liquidity, reinvested in a diversified portfolio, and hedged his exposure with targeted short positions.

Outcome: Cormac reduced his risk, harvested tax losses, funded a home purchase, and in year one, his new portfolio did better than just Netflix while protecting against future volatility.

Problem: As Roderick prepared to make the U.S. his permanent home, Australia hit him with a $60K capital gains tax bill, based on unrealized gains at the peak of the market.

Solution: We assembled a global tax team with Deloitte Australia and a U.S. tax attorney, crafting a plan that complied with both countries’ rules.

Outcome: By strategically transitioning his portfolio during a market dip, we reduced his Australian tax bill to just $2,300, saving him over $57,000.

Problem: After upgrading from TurboTax to a CPA, Saed and Kim wanted a second set of eyes to ensure nothing was missed, especially with the backdoor Roth conversion we helped them with.

Solution: We reviewed their draft return and spotted a key mistake: the CPA reported the Roth conversion as taxable income, not recognizing it was a non-taxable backdoor contribution.

Outcome: We corrected the error, removed $12,000 of unnecessary income, and saved them $4,000 in taxes, plus, their CPA now knows which forms to ask for next year.

Problem: After leaving Snowflake, Mariana discovered that her $500k in stock options were about to expire, during an IPO blackout that blocked her from selling to cover the cost.

Solution: We partnered with SecFi to secure a custom funding deal; the investor covered her exercise and taxes in exchange for post-blackout shares.

Outsome: Mariana locked in her share value before a dip, kept nearly the full $500k, and finally took the sabbatical she’d been dreaming about.

Problem: As a DoorDash employee, Alanah watched her equity grow, but with the IPO still far off, she needed a way to access cash without waiting years.

Solution: We tapped our network of private market makers, gathered multiple liquidity offers, and helped Alanah compare terms, strategies, and fees.

Outcome: Alanah sold 25% of her shares through EquityZen, unlocked meaningful liquidity, and used the proceeds for the down payment on her first home.

Problem: Jana landed her first start-up role and wanted to early exercise her stock options, but wasn’t sure how it worked, what risks it carried, or how to file the right paperwork.

Solution: We explained the rules, walked her through the 83(b) election, and confirmed there was no AMT risk due to zero spread at exercise.

Outcome: Jana exercised confidently, filed on time, and kept her risk in check, setting herself up for long-term upside while keeping her cash flow stable.