Advisors & tools

When a founder can manage money alone and when a fee-only planner or CA earns their fee, plus the India-first tools worth actually using.

What founders use for advisors & tools, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. The market regulator own free investor-education portal: unbiased basics on investing, mutual funds, and avoiding scams, with... SEBI Guide SEBI Investor Education portal SEBI In 7 answers
  2. A no-nonsense, ad-light India personal-finance site: plain math and free calculators for emergency funds, goals, and asset... Freefincal Tool Freefincal: goal-based planning and calculators M. Pattabiraman In 6 answers
  3. A trusted India-first place to compare funds and think about where cash goes once you have some to invest. Value Research Tool Value Research: fund research and planning Value Research In 6 answers
  4. The free, India-first grounding in what to do with cash once you have it: goals, allocation, SIPs, and not losing it to fees. Zerodha Varsity Course Personal Finance Zerodha Varsity In 5 answers
  5. The India-specific piece: perquisite tax at exercise, capital gains at sale, and the startup deferral, with worked examples in... ClearTax Article How ESOPs are taxed in India ClearTax In 3 answers
  6. The best reminder that avoiding ruin beats chasing returns, and that wealth is the money you don't spend. The whole founder... The Psychology of Money Book The Psychology of Money Morgan Housel In 2 answers
  7. A practical India-first reference for keeping personal and company finances (and their tax) cleanly separate. ClearTax Article ClearTax: personal and business tax guides ClearTax In 2 answers
  8. The most thorough plain-language reference on vesting, cliffs, strike prices, and exercise windows. Read it once and stop being... Holloway Guide The Holloway Guide to Equity Compensation Holloway
  9. A working glossary of the words on your cap table, from the company that stores most of them, so the jargon stops getting in... Carta Article Equity 101 for founders and employees Carta
  10. A calm explainer of what a secondary actually is, who has to approve it, and how the price gets set, before you raise it with... Carta Article How secondary sales work at private companies Carta
  11. The India reference on short vs long term capital gains, holding periods, and rates for equity, funds, and property, so you... ClearTax Article Capital gains tax in India ClearTax

The questions

DIY vs hiring help 7

When a founder can manage money alone, and when a CA or fee-only planner earns their fee.

Do I need a wealth manager, or can I do this myself? 3 → How do I find a good fee-only financial planner in India? 3 → How much should a fee-only financial planner in India cost, and how do I know it's worth it? 3 → What's the difference between a distributor, an RIA, and my bank relationship manager in India? 3 → Can my CA also handle my investing, or is that a separate job? 3 → All 7 questions in DIY vs hiring help →
Tools and platforms worth knowing 6

The India-first apps and services that make managing money less of a chore.

What tools should I use to track and manage my money in India? 2 → What's the easiest way to file my taxes in India when my income is messy (salary, ESOPs, freelance, gains)? 3 → Which platform should I use to buy mutual funds without paying commission? 2 → How do I see all my investments in one place instead of ten different apps? 2 → Are the free online goal-planning calculators any good, or should I pay for a tool? 2 → All 6 questions in Tools and platforms worth knowing →
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