A note from Wes and Jon

We're glad you're here!

Hi there - we're Wes and Jon, co-founders of Talcott Forge. We're building for people who are thinking about using the capital and experience they've already earned to start or buy a business on their own terms. Our goal is to make their capital decisions clearer, helping them move to funding and action.

Our first product - Nexus 401(k) - unlocks ownership for founders using their retirement capital to fund a business without taking a taxable distribution. We built the product that we wish existed when we did this to fund Talcott Forge.

About us

Who we are

We're walking the same path as the founders we serve. We are using our career experiences and lessons from launching Talcott Forge to help founders deploy and compound the capital in the business they own.

Wes Tang-Wymer

Co-founder

I've been privileged to work with founders as an investor or board member from pre-idea to $10B+ valuation scale. As co-founder of an investment firm, I also got to set up shop and build a team from the ground up. Love hearing new business ideas, exploring new markets, and discussing creative capital structures.

Career highlights

Co-founder of Room40, a multi-stage investment firm with a focus on fintech, crypto, and applied AI.
Founding team at SoftBank leading fintech (SoFi, Lemonade, Kabbage) and logistics (Uber, Grab, Didi).
Public markets investor at Point72 and excel monkey at Morgan Stanley.

Jonathan Roberts

Co-founder

Over 15 years and 50+ transactions as an M&A advisor, I've helped founders do everything from rebuild financial statements to structure/negotiate sale terms. The founders I advised often wished they had more ownership or control of their businesses. Happy to connect on this or how to navigate acquisitions.

Career highlights

Co-founder of Menalto Advisors, a leading sell-side M&A advisor across the US and Europe.
Technology Investment Banking at Pagemill Partners/Duff & Phelps.
Consultant at Deloitte working with public and private clients in Industrials, Healthcare, and Travel/Leisure.

The archetype

Ownership as the way forward

Like us, you may be drawn to the transition underway towards sovereign ownership: capable people using their own capital, experience, and judgment to fund their businesses. Some are starting AI-native companies and others are buying durable businesses to improve. The goal is the same: retain ownership in what you build with the freedom to build it on your terms.

Already earned the right to move

You have built judgment, savings, credibility, and operating experience before stepping onto the founder path.

Clear-eyed about control

You are not allergic to help, but you want the capital path to preserve your agency, timing, and ownership.

Building on your own terms

You may be starting, buying, or evaluating a transition, but the goal is the same: own more of what you build.

Capital problem

Your balance sheet is complex. Legacy products won't work.

Sovereign founders often have a strong capital base - savings, public/private stock, real estate, alt assets - that they could use to fund their ownership path. However, there are liquidity, tax, and life considerations that don't fit cleanly into how legacy systems work. Existing solutions tend to address one piece at a time, instead of helping the founder understand the whole move.

Capital is fragmented

Retirement assets, cash reserves, debt capacity, outside capital, and personal runway are treated as separate decisions.

Default options distort the tradeoff

Traditional funding paths can solve one constraint while creating another: dilution, debt pressure, timing risk, or loss of control.

Legacy providers arrive too narrow

Most solutions sell a product or process before helping the founder understand their full capital picture.

Founder tools

Our tools help you map your move

A planning workspace for you to assess your capital, liquidity, runway, and key questions before you make your move.

Explore the tools (coming soon)

Run the Index

Start with stage, direction, and context.

Model capital

Separate runway, reserves, and founder capacity.

Review the memo

Turn assumptions into focused review questions.

Nexus

Unlock ownership through retirement capital

Use your IRA or 401(k) to start or buy a business without taking a taxable distribution. Nexus enables this through a Rollover as Business Startup (ROBS) 401(k).

How ROBS 401(k)s Work

ROBS (Rollover for Business Startups) helps founders use existing retirement savings (IRA, prior 401(k), or other qualified plans) to fund their own business. No early withdrawal penalties. No taxable distribution. No equity dilution.

The Nexus 401(k) Process

Eligibility Check

C-Corp Formation

New 401(k) Plan

Retirement Fund Rollover

Business Funded

Setup process

What happens at each step

Eligibility check

$100K+ in qualifying retirement funds plus an active role in the business. Roth and inherited IRAs don't qualify.

C-Corp formation

Form a new C-Corp with formation filing, first-year registered agent, state filing fee, and EIN letter included.

New 401(k) plan

The C-Corp adopts a new plan and trust, and Nexus files for the plan trust EIN.

Retirement fund rollover

A direct trustee-to-trustee rollover from your existing 401(k), IRA, or 403(b), structured as a tax-deferred rollover.

Business funded

The plan buys newly issued stock in the C-Corp. Nexus also includes the first-year ERISA fidelity bond.

Visit Nexus 401(k)

Connect with us

If you're considering building or buying, we're here to help.

We hope Talcott Forge can be a useful place for you to learn, ask questions, and think through what ownership might look like. We know every founder's path looks different, and we'd love to connect and be a resource.