Wealth

The reading on founder money.

For the situation only founders are in: most of your net worth locked in one company, income that arrives in lumps, and ESOPs, secondaries and exits no personal-finance guide covers. The resources behind 154 answered questions, each with a note on why it is here.

Curated reading that points you to the sources, not personalised investment advice.

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. 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 29 answers
  2. 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 23 answers
  3. 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 In 23 answers
  4. 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 20 answers
  5. 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 In 16 answers
  6. 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 14 answers
  7. The mutual fund industry body investor corner: fund basics, NAVs, and how SIPs work, straight from the source. AMFI Guide AMFI: mutual fund investor resources AMFI In 12 answers
  8. The clearest, calmest case ever written for low cost index investing and leaving it alone. Global, but the mindset travels... jlcollinsnh.com Essay The Stock Series JL Collins In 11 answers
  9. A plain-language India primer on what an ESOP actually is, how vesting and exercise work, and how it is taxed. ClearTax Article What is an ESOP? Meaning, taxation, and how it works ClearTax In 11 answers
  10. 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 In 10 answers
  11. The tax detail on REIT and InvIT payouts and gains, so you know what you actually keep before you invest. ClearTax Article How REITs and InvITs are taxed in India ClearTax In 10 answers
  12. The clearest short piece on how to think about giving up and holding equity, and why a smaller slice of a bigger outcome is the... paulgraham.com Essay The Equity Equation Paul Graham In 9 answers
  13. 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 In 8 answers
  14. The canonical, no-hype reference on building a simple index portfolio and why costs and discipline beat cleverness. Bogleheads Guide Bogleheads: getting started Bogleheads In 7 answers
  15. What debt funds are, the types, the risks, and their recently changed tax treatment in India, before you park money in one. ClearTax Article Debt mutual funds, explained ClearTax In 7 answers
  16. The India tax angle on a home loan: the deductions on principal and interest, and what actually qualifies for them. ClearTax Article Home loan tax benefits ClearTax In 6 answers
  17. The India view on holding gold: physical, digital, ETFs, and Sovereign Gold Bonds, and how each is taxed, so a small allocation... ClearTax Article Gold as an investment in India ClearTax In 6 answers
  18. The India-specific angel tax rules that touch both founders raising and individuals angel investing, worth understanding before... ClearTax Article Angel tax, explained ClearTax In 6 answers
  19. The government-backed way to hold gold that pays interest and skips storage, if you want a small gold allocation without the... ClearTax Article Sovereign Gold Bonds ClearTax In 5 answers
  20. What a REIT is, how it works in India, and why it gives property exposure with far more liquidity than a flat. ClearTax Article REITs: real estate investing without buying property ClearTax In 5 answers
  21. The India-specific detail on how PPF and NPS work: lock ins, returns, and the tax treatment, so you know what you are... ClearTax Article PPF and NPS explained ClearTax In 3 answers
  22. What a health policy actually covers and how to read one, so a founder can hold cover independent of the company rather than... ClearTax Article Health insurance in India, explained ClearTax In 3 answers
  23. The full menu of section 80C tax-saving options (PPF, ELSS, insurance, and more) under the old regime, in one place. ClearTax Article Section 80C deductions ClearTax In 3 answers
  24. How ELSS gives you an 80C tax deduction while keeping the money in equity, with the shortest lock in of the 80C options. ClearTax Article ELSS tax-saving funds ClearTax In 2 answers

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Run the numbers

Quick, private wealth calculators: what a funding round does to your stake, what an SIP could grow to, and the real cash cost of exercising your ESOPs. Everything runs in your browser.

The people behind the resources

Voices worth learning from: the educators, authors, and publications whose public work on founder money runs through this hub.

The India edge

Wealth for a founder building from India

23 of our resources are tagged for India: how ESOPs are actually taxed here, what a secondary looks like under Indian rules, and where a founder parks money.

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