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I was laid off, so I built a NerdWallet for startup equity liquidity

I was laid off, so I built a NerdWallet for startup equity liquidity

by rafaelvalle03·Mar 16, 2026·9 points·3 comments

AI Analysis

●●SolidSolve My ProblemNiche Gem

Aggregates employee demand to pressure liquidity funds—nobody's done this angle before.

Strengths
  • Demand aggregation as leverage is a genuinely novel approach to a broken market.
  • Provider directory and compare tool address real information asymmetry in secondary markets.
  • Built by someone who lived the problem—understands the 90-day exercise window panic.
Weaknesses
  • Core Equity Scenario Modeler still in beta—most value is educational content right now.
  • Waitlist-based approach means actual liquidity matching isn't available yet.
Category
Target Audience

Startup employees facing equity decisions, especially post-layoff or during 90-day exercise windows

Similar To

Carta · EquityZen · Forge Global

Post Description

I was a software engineer at a late stage startup and was caught in a layoff this January. When I looked into exercising my options or getting liquidity, I realized the secondary market is a total black box. Liquidity funds spend a fortune on Google Ads just to find people like us. Those high marketing costs eventually come out of our pockets in the form of higher fees and worse terms. I built StrikeRates to change that.

The site is meant to be a central resource for anyone navigating this. I included a Liquidity 101 section that explains the different financial vehicles because that information is hard to find in one place. I also built a Liquidity Provider Directory and a Compare Tool so people can see their options side by side.

The Equity Scenario Modeler is currently in beta. I would love feedback on the logic and the math from this community.

The real point of the site is the Waitlist. My goal is to aggregate enough demand to signal that we are a group worth competing for. If we can prove volume, we can force these funds to stop spending so much on ads and move them toward a flat monthly fee instead. This should lower the cost of liquidity for everyone.

I am happy to answer any questions about how the modeler works or the mission to commoditize these providers.

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