Who we serve
For founders and business owners
The exit is on the horizon. Aspirean helps founders and business owners prepare for a sale, recapitalization, or buyout, coordinate their investment management, and plan the taxes years before the paperwork is signed.
The moment
What an exit asks of you, in order
Most of a founder’s net worth sits in one company, and the decisions that matter most, how the sale is structured, what is held in trust, when to diversify, are cheapest to make before there is a price. Once a letter of intent is signed, most of the planning window has closed.
We work alongside your CPA, your attorney, and your deal team so the plan and the paperwork never drift apart, and we stay after the wire clears, when the skills that built the company are not the skills that preserve the proceeds.
Meet with usBefore the sale
Start before there is a price. The QSBS exclusion needs a three-to-five-year hold, pre-sale trusts take months for your attorney to set up, and most strategies switch off once a price is agreed. We map the timeline with your CPA and attorney and work backward from the closing you expect.
Concentration
Diversify enough that your family’s baseline (housing, education, retirement) is secure even if the business were worth nothing, and start while that base is still unsecured. You already own the upside; the plan decides who owns the downside.
After the sale
Set an honest spending rate and let it govern everything else. For the first six months, do less: park the proceeds, set aside the sale-year tax bill, and defer every decision that is not forced. The portfolio, the giving, and the estate strategy are built from the spending rate, not before it.
Questions we answer
The questions this moment asks.
Each one started as a question a client asked. The short answer is here; the full answer is a perspective of its own.
I’m planning to sell in the next few years. What can I do now to keep more of what I’ve built?
Start before there is a price. The QSBS exclusion needs a three-to-five-year hold, pre-sale trusts take months to set up, and most strategies switch off once a price is agreed.
Read the full answerMy business is most of my net worth. When should I start diversifying, and how much is enough?
Enough that your family’s baseline (housing, education, retirement) is secure even if the business were worth nothing. Start while that base is still unsecured. You already own the upside; the plan decides who owns the downside.
Read the full answerThe sale closed. How do I make this money last the rest of my life?
Set an honest spending rate and let it govern everything else. For the first six months, do less: park the proceeds, set aside the sale-year tax bill, and defer every decision that is not forced.
Read the full answerHow we work with you
The services this moment leans on.
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Tax Planning & Coordination
In-house tax planning, coordinated with the CPA who prepares your return, so April stops bringing surprises.
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Investment Management
Evidence-based portfolios built for your goals, not this quarter’s headlines.
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Charitable Planning
Donor-advised funds, appreciated stock, and qualified charitable distributions, so giving is planned with your taxes rather than after them.
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Estate & Legacy Planning
Your intentions, drafted by your attorney, carried into your accounts and across generations by one coordinated team.
The situation
A founder was heading into a business exit with a large capital gain ahead and a legal and CPA team that had never worked from one plan.
What we did together
We planned the Section 1202 qualified small business stock position proactively, years ahead of the transaction, and coordinated the attorneys and CPAs around it through the exit itself so the exclusion was protected at every step.
Where it landed
Over $12 million in capital gains taxes saved at closing.
Drawn from a real engagement, with details generalized to protect the client’s privacy. Every situation is different; outcomes depend on circumstances and timing.
Offices
Three offices, one team.
Marin County, CA
6 Knoll Lane, Suite BMill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 383-8404
Marin County, CA · Mill Valley, CA · San Francisco Bay Area, CA
St. Joseph, MI
505 Pleasant St, Suite 401St. Joseph, MI 49085
(844) 687-5342
St. Joseph, MI · Benton Harbor, MI · Southwest Michigan
Chesterton, IN
160 Rail Rd, Suite 4Chesterton, IN 46304
(844) 687-5342
Chesterton, IN · Valparaiso, IN · Northwest Indiana
Frequently asked questions
The things you’re probably wondering.
Do you have a minimum asset level?
Yes. We best serve individuals with at least $1 million in investable assets, including 401(k) plan assets, or more complex financial situations. Our minimum annual fee is $7,500 for clients below that threshold.
How are you compensated?
We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor and a fiduciary, paid via a percentage of the assets we manage.
When should we start talking?
Before there is a price. Several strategies depend on time you cannot buy back: the QSBS exclusion needs a multi-year holding period, pre-sale trusts take months for your attorney to set up, and most tax planning switches off once a price is agreed. Two to five years ahead is normal. Six months is still workable, with a shorter list.
Do you replace my CPA or attorney?
No. Your CPA prepares and files the returns and your attorney drafts the trusts and the deal documents. We plan the tax strategy and the estate strategy with them, hold the timeline, and manage the proceeds afterward, so nobody owns one piece of the plan in isolation and nothing expires because it was somebody else’s job.
The bank running my sale also wants to manage the proceeds. Is that a problem?
It can be. A bank that advises on the transaction and then manages the proceeds is paid on both sides of the same event, which is a conflict you should at least see written down. We are paid only by you and take no part in the transaction fee. We wrote down the questions to ask before you decide, whoever you choose.
Meet with us
Let’s talk.
We take on a limited number of new families each year, on purpose. If some version of this moment has arrived at your door, we’d like to hear from you.
Meet with us