GROWTH STAGE FOUNDER FINANCIAL PLANNING | KELOWNA, BC
The company is scaling.
Your personal finances are not.
You are building something valuable. But your cap table is not a retirement plan, your salary is below market, and your personal net worth is almost entirely trapped in illiquid equity. We tell you: don’t wait for the exit. Build the structure now.
MEET GEORGIA
Your first conversation
starts here.
Georgia is ProsperWise's AI Transition Specialist. She'll help you understand where you are, what your greatest risks are right now, and what your first move should be. No forms. No pressure. Just a calm conversation at your pace.
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Fully private
Nothing stored until you choose to take a next step.
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About 5 minutes
No appointment needed.. No commitement.
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Canadian data center
Data securely pinned to Montreal. Fully under Canadian privacy law.
You have spent years optimizing the business. Every dollar goes back in. Every decision is about growth. The operating system that makes a great founder is the one most likely to leave them personally exposed — to a term sheet they didn’t model, a liquidity event they weren’t ready for, or a tax bill that lands before the proceeds do.
THE PROBLEM NOBODY NAMES
The Founder Wealth Gap Is Real. It Has a Name.
For a growth stage founder, The Noise disguises itself as focus. Every advisor tells you to stay in your lane — build the business, everything else follows. But the personal financial decisions you defer during the growth stage are not neutral. They compound in the wrong direction, and by the time you are ready to deal with them, the windows have closed
The Iliquidity Trap
Your company may be worth millions on paper. But paper wealth does not pay a mortgage, fund a child’s education, or give you the optionality to walk away from a bad term sheet. Without a personal financial structure running parallel to the business, you are entirely dependent on a single liquidity event that may be years away — or may never arrive on the terms you expect.
The Holdco Opportunity
A holding company allows you to receive income from your operating company at corporate tax rates, compound it in a diversified investment portfolio, and deploy it personally on your own timeline. Most growth stage founders with sufficient income are not using one. The difference in after-tax wealth accumulation over a 10-year scaling period is material.
The LCGE Clock
The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — up to $1,250,000 in 2024 for qualifying small business corporation shares — requires your company to pass the business property test at the time of sale. A company that has accumulated passive assets (cash, investments, real estate) in the operating company may fail the test. Purification must be planned 24 months in advance. Not the day before the deal closes.
TWO DIFFERENT JOBS
Your Corporate Lawyer & Accountant Run the Business. We Build What Runs Beside It.
Your Corporate Lawyer & Accountant's Job
Cap table, corporate structure, and tax compliance
Your corporate lawyer manages your cap table, shareholder agreements, and term sheet negotiations. Your accountant handles corporate tax returns, SR&ED claims, and year-end compliance. Both are focused on the business. Neither is paid to think about what is happening to your personal balance sheet while the business scales.
Our Job
We build the personal financial structure that runs beside the company
We work in the gap. We build your holdco strategy, model the personal implications of your cap table and term sheet, prepare your LCGE qualification runway, and create a personal financial plan that gives you optionality — whether the exit comes in two years or ten. You built something valuable. We make sure you actually keep it.
The Sovereignty Operating System
STAGE 1:
The Foundation Period
Timeline:
Now, while you're scalling
We map your personal balance sheet alongside the business: holdco structuring, personal income strategy, LCGE qualification assessment, and a secondary liquidity plan if the opportunity arises. We do not wait for the exit.
STAGE 2:
The Pre-Exit Window
Timeline:
18-36 months before exit
The planning that cannot be done after the deal is announced. Purification Strategy, LCGE preservation, secondary sale structuring, shareholder agreement review with a personal lens, and the Holding Tank preparation for the proceeds.
STAGE 3:
True Sovereignty
Timeline:
Post-transaction
You close the deal and step into the Sovereignty OS. The Holding Tank, the Quiet Period, and the Sovereignty Charter — everything designed to ensure the exit produces lasting personal wealth, not a lump sum that erodes in the first 18 months.
ALIGNMENT
Why We Charge a Flat Fee.
And Why That Matters to You.
THE INDUSTRY MODEL
Traditional wealth managers charge a percentage of assets under management. That structure gives them no incentive to work with a founder whose net worth is trapped in illiquid equity — because there is nothing to manage yet. So they wait until the exit, then rush to deploy your proceeds into managed products before the dust has settled.
THE PROSPERWISE MODEL
We charge a flat fee for the Stabilisation Session ($249) and the Sovereignty Operating System ($3,999). We work with founders before the exit — building the structure that ensures the exit actually produces lasting wealth — not just at the close. We are paid to plan. That alignment is the entire point.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT EXITING
What Founders Ask Us
Before They Ask Anyone Else.
What financial planning does a growth stage founder actually need?
A growth stage founder typically needs help with four areas their accountant and lawyer are not focused on: personal financial planning that runs parallel to the business, secondary liquidity structuring if the opportunity arises, holdco and corporate account strategy to avoid personal tax drag, and exit preparation beginning 24 to 36 months before any anticipated transaction.
How do growth stage founders take money off the table in Canada?
The primary mechanism is a secondary sale — selling a portion of your personal equity to an incoming investor during a funding round. This is increasingly common in Canadian growth rounds. The tax treatment depends on how your shares are structured, how long they have been held, and whether your company qualifies for the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption. Structuring these sales correctly, and at the right time, is a material planning opportunity.
What is a holdco and should a founder use one?
A holding company allows a founder to receive dividends or management fees from their operating company into a separate corporate entity, deferring personal tax. Within the holdco, capital can compound at corporate tax rates — significantly lower than personal rates — and be invested in a diversified portfolio. Whether a holdco makes sense depends on your income level, time horizon, and exit plan. The setup cost is real. So is the benefit.
How does a term sheet affect my personal finances?
A term sheet directly affects your personal finances through its liquidation preference structure, anti-dilution provisions, and drag-along rights. Founders who accept unfavourable liquidation preferences during early growth rounds may find that a strong exit produces minimal personal proceeds. Understanding the personal financial implications of each term sheet — not just the corporate implications — is essential before signing.
When should a growth stage founder start exit planning?
Ideally 24 to 36 months before any anticipated transaction. This timeline allows for Purification Strategy planning to preserve LCGE eligibility, secondary liquidity planning, holdco structuring, and personal financial runway preparation. Founders who begin planning 12 months or less before a transaction routinely leave material capital on the table — not because the deal was bad, but because the personal structure was not ready to receive it.
“My accountant was brilliant at running the business. My lawyer was brilliant at protecting it. Nobody was looking at what was happening to my personal finances while I was scaling. Rolf built a structure that ran beside the company — so when the exit came, I was actually ready for it.”
GROWTH STAGE FOUNDER, KELOWNA, BC
Ready to build the structure?
A $249 working session — not a sales call. You leave with a personal financial map alongside your business, an Immediate Risk Scan covering your LCGE exposure and holdco opportunity, and a 30-Day Action Framework. Nothing is left unaddressed.