Drip of the Week: Introducing Spark — Liquidity after the S-1

Welcome to the Drip of the Week — your quick hit on companies we like, what’s changing across the Unicorn economy, and how those changes impact employees and founders shaping the future.

Spotlight: Spark — Drip 1. Higher Advance Rate

We’re excited to announce the launch of Spark, a new Liquid Stock solution built specifically for employees and companies that have publicly filed (or confidentially filed) an S-1.

This week kicks off a 4-part Drip series highlighting why Spark is a step-change for late-stage employees:

• Drip 1: Higher Advance Rate
• Drip 2: Lower Cost of Capital
• Drip 3: Tax Optimization
• Drip 4: Liquidity & Diversification

Higher Advance Rate

A higher advance rate can be a game-changer, and it became a major focus for us as we built Spark.

With Spark, we can now advance up to 50% of the value* of your shares.

To put that in perspective: If you’re a California resident and sell 100% of your shares, the after-tax cash you receive is often roughly equivalent to what Spark can advance today, on a non-dilutive, tax-efficient basis.

In other words: You can access similar liquidity without selling, and still retain 80–90% of your upside**.

Why This Matters for Shareholders

• Start tax-planning earlier (more on this in Drip 3, coming soon)
• Hedge exposure to public-market volatility
• Diversify without giving up ownership
• Unlock liquidity without forcing a sale

Why This Matters for Option Holders

Spark allows you to exercise ISOs, NSOs, and single-trigger RSUs/PSUs based on today’s 409A, not an inflated IPO price.

That means:

• Avoiding punitive net exercises
• Preserving more shares
• Converting future gains from ordinary income → capital gains

If you want to see how this plays out for your specific grant, we’re happy to walk you through the math.

Company of the Week: Discord

Discord recently confidentially filed for an IPO, putting it on Spark’s radar for when it eventually publicly files.

Why Discord stands out:

• ~200M+ monthly active users
• Core infrastructure for gaming, AI communities, and developer ecosystems
• Strong monetization tailwinds (Nitro, ads, enterprise use cases)
• Long-tenured employee base with meaningful option exposure

For Discord employees, this is a pivotal window:

• Liquidity options are opening
• Tax planning decisions matter more than ever
• Early action can materially change after-tax outcomes

If you work with or know Discord employees, now is the time to engage. Spark is uniquely designed for this moment, and we can model exactly how it compares to waiting for the IPO or selling post-lockup.