Founder

We help founders make sense of life after the liquidity event—aligning strategy, tax, and legacy so they can protect what they’ve built without losing momentum.

How We
Can Help

At Atlas Meridian Capital, we work with startup founders navigating the shift from operator to owner—especially in the wake of a major liquidity event. Many arrive with fragmented advice: a CPA saying one thing, an estate lawyer another, and a wealth advisor selling something unrelated. We bring clarity to the table.

Whether they’ve recently exited or are preparing to, our founder clients often ask:

  1. How do I preserve optionality while minimizing tax exposure?
  2. How do I protect my family and future without giving up independence?
  3. What does a personal “family office” look like, and how do I get there?

Our role is to act as a strategic integrator—designing flexible wealth structures (QSUBs, SLATs, DAFs, GRATs), aligning private investments with personal cash flow needs, and helping clients evolve their mindset from founder to long-term steward of the value they've created.

Recommended articles

Estate

The Collector's Balance Sheet™: Estate Planning, Philanthropy & Intergenerational Transfer

For many families, collectibles represent both significant financial assets and deeply personal legacies. Members of the Atlas Meridian team have been obsessively collecting for decades so the topic of intelligent planning around legacy is near and dear. In this think piece, we explore how proper documentation and valuation of collectible assets can dramatically improve estate planning outcomes, reduce family conflicts, minimize tax exposure, and optimize philanthropic impact through the Collector's Intelligence Quotient (CIQ) approach.

Lessons in Leadership

Lessons in Leadership | American Compounding: Starbucks Corporation (NASD:SBUX)

We has the good fortune to get to know a dynamic executive whose vision would change the way America thinks about coffee. Howard Schultz had just begun to evolve a growth strategy that would take his young company from a dozen locations in Seattle and Chicago to over 40,000 stores globally. When we took Starbucks public in June 1992, the Company has only 157 stores and the market value in those early day was around $300 million. Through ups and downs - the stock experienced drawdowns exceeding 50% half a dozen times, Starbucks expanded, maintaining a commitment to quality.