309: Women in Tech: A Once-in-a-Decade Wealth Moment

Hilary Hendershott:

Hi, I’m Hilary Hendershott. I’m the founder of Hendershott Wealth Management. If you’re a woman working in tech right now, you already know something big is happening.

You can feel it. Your compensation statements look a little different than they did a few years ago, don’t they? Your equity grants are larger.

The conversations at the water cooler at work are louder, and there’s a quiet question in the back of your mind that sounds like, can this actually change my life? And the answer is yes. On this channel, I publish content to help you strengthen your financial life, grow your net worth, and feel supported through the moments that matter.

If that seems like something that might feel good for you, now take a moment to like this video and subscribe to my channel.

See, what most people don’t see yet is how fast this wealth is being created, how compressed these cycles have become, and what that means for you when it finally becomes liquid.

Because what’s coming in 2026 is not just another wave of wealth, it’s a tsunami. Let me explain. Despite starting with the.com crash, the 21st century has brought us the next generation of technology giants.

People once questioned whether Amazon could compete with Barnes and Noble. Today many of us depend on Amazon for everyday life, and along the way, Amazon grew from a $4 billion company to roughly two and a half trillion.

minting, thousands of employee millionaires. Google went from being a search engine to offering to solve all of our information needs. Oh, and an autonomous car service.

It went from being a private startup to today being worth around $4 trillion. Again, tens of thousands of millionaires.

The iPod evolved into the iPhone, which went from novelty to necessity, and Apple grew from a $190 billion company to $4 Trillion. The iPhone became a rite of passage, and Apple stock became a generational wealth creator.

Today, today’s both the same and different.

AI and commercial space exploration are not just new industries. They’re accelerants. They’re compressing what used to take 10 or 15 years into five or three, or sometimes less. The news, the stock market, and probably all of our futures, are now dominated by Nvidia, SpaceX and OpenAI.

The point is the numbers are much bigger, the timelines are much shorter, and the wealth is both mushrooming and concentrating faster than ever. If you’re a senior woman at Nvidia, Amazon, Google, OpenAI, SpaceX, or a company like them, there’s a very real chance that a meaningful portion of your net worth has been or is about to be created in a very short window of time.

That’s the exciting part. Here’s the part almost no one is talking to you about, clearly. When this wave crests, when the RSUs vest, when the options are exercised, when the liquidity arrives, the IRS and state tax authorities will be standing right there with their hands out.

In California, that can mean north of 50% of your upside disappearing before it ever reaches your checking account.

This is where I see incredibly smart, capable women freeze, not because they don’t understand technology, and

not because they aren’t sophisticated, but because no one ever taught them how to think about concentrated equity, timing, taxes, and building long-term wealth together. Most advice you’ll hear falls into one of two buckets. One, never sell. Avoid the tax forever. After all, what could go wrong with your company stock?

Or number two, some complicated. illiquid, risky strategy that no one ever explains. And neither of those responses should be good enough for you. You deserve guidance that helps you understand the opportunity and the risk, someone who can help you ride the wave and protect what you’ve built. That’s what I do.

I work with women in tech who are standing on the edge of significant liquidity events.

Trying to make smart decisions without blowing up their future with unnecessary taxes or poorly timed moves. If this resonates, if you feel that mix of excitement, uncertainty, and I should probably be thinking about this a little more intentionally, you’re exactly who this channel is for.

On this channel, I talk about how to think clearly about equity, compensation, how to plan for liquidity before it happens.

How to avoid letting taxes quietly erode generational wealth and how to turn sudden opportunity into long-term freedom. If you want guidance that’s calm, evidence-based, and designed for women who are actually inside this moment, subscribe here.

The wave is already forming, and the best time to prepare is before it hits.

If you’re thinking about your next financial chapter and want a partner who looks at the full picture, not just your investments, we’d love to connect. We’re a fee-only fiduciary team focused on after-tax outcomes and long-term planning, helping our clients keep more of what they earn so their money can support the life they’re building.

If that sounds like the kind of guidance you are looking for, you can schedule a complimentary conversation with one of my lead advisors by visiting hendershottwealth.com/contact to see if our approach is the right fit for you.