A buyback is one of the few times startup equity turns into real money, so it deserves a serious look rather than a reflex yes or no. Ask what price is on offer versus the last round, what fraction of your vested options you can sell, and whether this is a one time window or likely to recur. Taking some off the table can be smart when nearly all your net worth sits in one illiquid company, since it de risks your personal finances without you having to leave. Selling everything, though, gives up future upside and can read as a signal. There is no single right answer; it turns on your own cash needs and conviction. In India the proceeds are taxed, often as a perquisite or capital gains depending on structure, and those rules change, so confirm the treatment of your specific buyback with a CA first.
A curated summary to orient you, not advice. The resources below are the real value.
3 hand-picked resources, 2 India-specific, 2 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it The India-specific piece: perquisite tax at exercise, capital gains at sale, and the startup deferral, with worked examples in rupees.
From ClearTax by ClearTax
Open cleartax.in →Why we picked it A plain-language India primer on what an ESOP actually is, how vesting and exercise work, and how it is taxed.
From ClearTax by ClearTax
Open cleartax.in →Why we picked it 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 your board.
From Carta by Carta
Open carta.com →The same ground, over in Raise money, our Starting Up track.
