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 operators who are thinking seriously about using the capital and experience they've already earned to start or buy a business on their own terms.

Nexus 401(k) is our first product to unlock ownership by using retirement capital, but the company we're building is broader than that. Our goal is to make capital decisions clearer for founders, then help turn that clarity into funding and action.

About us

Who we are

We're walking the same path as the founders we serve. Our aim is to leverage our career experience and lessons from launching Talcott Forge to help founders deploy and compound the capital in the business they own.

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 wish they had more ownership or control of their firms. Happy to connect on how to do this or navigating 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.

Wes Tang-Wymer

Co-founder

I've been privileged to work with founders as an investor and/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 finding 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.

The archetype

Ownership as the way forward

Like us, you may find resonance in the generational transition underway toward sovereign ownership: capable operators using the capital, savings, and judgment they have built to fund the transition themselves. Some are starting AI-native companies and others are buying durable businesses to improve, but the shared aim is full ownership of what they build and the freedom to build it on their own terms.

Already earned the right to move

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

Clear-eyed about control

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

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, 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 products and services work. Existing solutions tend to address one piece at a time, instead of helping the founder reason through the whole move.

Capital is fragmented

Retirement assets, cash reserves, debt capacity, outside capital, and personal runway are usually 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 the full capital picture.

Founder tools

We built tools to help you map your move

A planning workspace for founder capital, equity liquidity, runway, and the questions worth reviewing before a structural move.

Explore the tools

01

Run the Index

Start with stage, direction, and context.

02

Model capital

Separate runway, reserves, and founder capacity.

03

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) is a legal mechanism to use existing retirement savings (IRA, prior 401(k), or other qualified plans) as tax-free startup capital. No early withdrawal penalties. No income taxes. No debt. 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

01

Eligibility check

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

02

C-Corp formation

A new C-Corp with formation filing, first-year registered agent, state filing fee, and EIN letter included. A 401(k) can only own qualifying employer stock.

03

New 401(k) plan

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

04

Retirement fund rollover

A direct trustee-to-trustee rollover from your existing 401(k), IRA, or 403(b), structured to avoid a taxable distribution.

05

Business funded

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

Read the ROBS primer Visit Nexus 401(k)

A conversation, not a funnel

If you're exploring a build, buy, or ownership transition, we'd be glad to compare notes.

This work should start with context, not a funnel. If this is relevant to where you are, drop us a note.