Employees with complex vesting schedules, age-based contributions, and layered benefits feel trapped ('golden handcuffs') but lack the math to determine the actual breakeven point for leaving.
Users input their vesting schedule, ARC/pension contribution rates, years of service, and age. The tool calculates the exact dollar amount they'd forfeit by leaving at any given date, shows the 'cost to leave' on a timeline, and identifies optimal departure windows (e.g., right after a vesting cliff or annual contribution).
One-time purchase $19.99 or bundled into a career planning SaaS at $7.99/month
The pain is real but episodic — it hits hard during active job-search consideration (maybe 2-4 times in a career). The Reddit signals are genuine: people agonize over this. However, it's not a daily pain; it's a high-stakes, infrequent decision. The emotional weight (feeling 'trapped') amplifies urgency when it does hit. Deducting points because many people just rough-estimate or ask HR rather than seeking a tool.
TAM is narrower than it first appears. Target is employees at large companies with complex, multi-year vesting AND who are actively considering leaving. In the US, maybe 15-20M people have meaningful vesting schedules (tech, finance, pharma, federal/state government, large corps). Of those, perhaps 3-5M are actively considering a move in any given year. At $20 one-time, that's a theoretical $60-100M TAM — but realistic capture is a tiny fraction. This is a niche calculator, not a platform play without expansion.
Mixed signals. People considering leaving a $200K+ job would rationally pay $20 for clarity — the ROI is obvious. But calculator tools have a brutal 'should be free' expectation online. Competing against free spreadsheets and ChatGPT ('just ask AI to model it'). The $7.99/mo subscription is hard to justify since most users need this once. WTP improves significantly if bundled with personalized advice, tax modeling, or career coaching — but that changes the product scope.
Very buildable. Core is financial math (NPV calculations, vesting schedule modeling, timeline visualization). A solo dev could ship an MVP in 2-3 weeks. No external APIs required for V1. The complexity is in covering edge cases (pension formulas vary wildly, tax implications differ by state/country) but an MVP can start with RSU/stock vesting and common pension types. D3.js or similar for the timeline visualization.
This is the strongest dimension. Nobody owns the 'cost to leave' framing. Existing tools answer adjacent questions (what am I worth, how to negotiate, retirement projections) but NONE provide a clear 'you will forfeit $47,382 if you leave on March 15 vs. $12,100 if you wait until June 1.' The departure-optimization angle is genuinely unserved. The gap exists because financial planners handle this in $300/hr consultations, not in self-serve tools.
This is the biggest weakness. The core use case is a one-time or infrequent calculation. Hard to justify monthly subscription for a tool you use 2-3 times then leave. The $7.99/mo model would churn brutally — users calculate, get their answer, cancel. To make recurring work, you'd need to pivot to a broader 'career financial planning' platform (comp tracking, offer comparison, tax planning, ongoing portfolio monitoring) which is a much bigger build and competes with Empower/Fidelity.
- +Genuine unserved gap — no tool frames the 'cost to leave' decision this clearly
- +Extremely cheap to build and test (2-3 week MVP, near-zero infrastructure cost)
- +High-intent audience — people searching for this are at a decision point with real money on the line
- +Strong SEO/content marketing potential: 'golden handcuffs calculator' has low competition and high emotional resonance
- +Natural virality in professional communities (Reddit, Blind, LinkedIn) where comp discussions thrive
- !One-time purchase = no recurring revenue without significant product expansion; lifetime value per customer is low
- !ChatGPT/Claude can increasingly do this calculation conversationally, eroding willingness to pay for a dedicated tool
- !Pension and benefit formulas vary enormously by employer — achieving accuracy across companies requires extensive data entry or partnerships
- !Market may be too niche for venture-scale but fine for a profitable indie product
- !Legal/liability risk if users make career decisions based on incorrect calculations — need strong disclaimers
Compares total compensation packages across tech companies including RSUs, bonuses, and base salary with vesting schedules visualized over time.
Platforms that help employees finance or exercise stock options, with built-in calculators for option exercise costs and tax implications.
Full financial planning platforms that track investments, retirement accounts, and employer benefits including vesting schedules.
Candor helps negotiate offers and model total comp with RSU refreshers. Blind has salary-sharing and informal 'golden handcuffs' discussions.
Custom Google Sheets and Excel models shared on r/personalfinance, r/financialindependence, Bogleheads forums for modeling vesting and departure costs.
Single-page web app. User inputs: base salary, vesting schedule (RSUs or options with cliff/monthly/annual), unvested amount, employer 401k match schedule, and any pension/deferred comp with forfeiture rules. Output: interactive timeline showing 'cost to leave' at each month for the next 3 years, with cliff dates highlighted and optimal departure windows marked in green. Start with tech RSU vesting only (largest, most vocal audience), add pension/ARC in V2. No login required for free tier (limited to 1 scenario), $19.99 one-time for unlimited scenarios + PDF export + tax impact estimates.
Free single-scenario calculator (lead gen + SEO traffic) -> $19.99 one-time for power features (multiple scenarios, PDF export, tax estimates, side-by-side offer comparison) -> $49.99 'Career Move Report' with personalized analysis -> B2B pivot: license to career coaches, financial advisors, and outplacement firms ($99-299/seat/year) who use this with clients daily. The B2B angle is where recurring revenue lives — advisors need this repeatedly, individuals don't.
4-6 weeks to first dollar. Week 1-2: build MVP (RSU vesting focus). Week 3: launch on r/personalfinance, r/cscareerquestions, Hacker News, Blind. Week 4-6: iterate based on feedback, add payment for premium features. First revenue likely from direct one-time purchases driven by organic community traffic. Meaningful revenue ($1K+/mo) probably 3-6 months out, requiring consistent content marketing and SEO.
- “it takes maybe 3 or 4 years to be fully vested”
- “I might feel semi-trapped as I wouldn't want to lose that increasing extra contribution”
- “it's going to be hard to leave because of all the extra money she gets on the side”