Carry

Shaan Puri grew up in Oman, where taxes didn't exist. When he first heard about the U.S. tax system at 21, he was shocked that people had to give away money they earned. This early naiveté would later become his superpower—he could see the tax code with fresh eyes. But the real spark came when he sold Teachable for over $250 million at age 31. Despite the enormous success, he faced a crushing tax bill and realized he'd paid far more than necessary. That pain point became his mission: "Make sure that no entrepreneur pays more taxes than they need to."

Shaan began obsessively studying the U.S. tax code and discovered it's intentionally rigged in favor of business owners and real estate investors. He learned about QSBS (Qualified Small Business Stock)—a provision that lets founders, employees, and investors pay zero taxes on up to $10 million in gains (or 10x their basis, whichever is greater). He realized that when he sold Teachable, he only paid taxes on gains above $10 million. Combined with QSBS stacking strategies using trusts for family members, he could have structured his wealth far more efficiently.

The first product he built was the solo 401k—a retirement account exclusively for business owners that allows contributions up to $69,000 per year (vs. $7,000 for a standard Roth IRA). Unlike employer 401ks, solo 401ks let you invest in anything: real estate, startups, alternative assets. He named the company Ocho, then rebranded to Carry.

Shaan's approach was methodical. He spent time understanding the landscape of tax advisory, realizing that most CPAs and tax professionals are reactionary—they solve problems after the year ends rather than building strategy upfront. He began educating people on tax alpha: using superior tax strategy to create measurable wealth gains. His thesis: better tax strategy can outperform market-beating stock picks for most people.

Shaan learned that tax strategy requires ongoing collaboration. He discovered that when he sold Teachable, he hadn't fully optimized his team's equity—he'd given options instead of shares, so team members couldn't start their five-year QSBS holding period early. This time around, he gave early employees actual shares, not options, so their clock started ticking immediately.

He also realized that solo 401ks, while powerful, require education. People don't know they can borrow $50,000 from their solo 401k for liquidity, or that they can depreciate real estate and vehicles (especially those over 6,000 pounds—the "G-Wagon tax") to offset business income.

Carry is building a tax strategy platform to help business owners optimize their tax setup proactively. Shaan is running his own finances as a case study, managing 12 entities and working with tax strategists separately from CPAs. He advocates for treating tax strategy like a business product—creating data rooms, quarterly reviews, and long-term planning partnerships. His personal philosophy: the point of money is freedom *from* money, not freedom *to* spend it. He deliberately lives in New York (the highest-tax place in America) because money should enable the life you want, not dictate it.