Author: Charlie Corkery, CFP®
Charlie Corkery, CFP®
Charlie is a Wealth Advisor and founding member of PUREfi Wealth, where he provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management with a focus on equity compensation, concentrated positions, and pre- and post-liquidity planning for employees and owners of high-growth companies. Charlie is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with a degree in economics and finance from Bentley University. He has spent his career across three advisory models giving him a rare vantage point on why an independent fiduciary RIA serves clients’ interests. PUREfi Wealth, LLC ("PUREfi") is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any reference to the terms “registered investment adviser” or “registered” does not imply that PUREfi or any person associated with PUREfi has achieved a certain level of skill or training. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own advisors before engaging in any transaction. Certain information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources and has not been independently verified. The views expressed are subject to change based on market and other conditions. A copy of PUREfi's current written disclosure statement is available upon request.
It is no secret that companies are staying private longer. The trend has been well documented for years. But the numbers keep getting more extreme, and the financial implications for employees holding equity in these companies are becoming harder to ignore. In the mid-2000s, the median company went public roughly eight years after being founded. By 2018, that number had climbed to ten. In 2025, it was thirteen. Nearly half of today’s US unicorns (private companies valued at $1B or more) raised their first round of venture capital in 2016 or earlier. They have been around for a decade or…