StoriesVikram Nambiar
Vikram Nambiar
Vikram Nambiar
Senior SDE L6
Amazon · Chennai
Switching Jobs
Rovia user sinceJan 2026
Lots transferred18 lots
Years vested at Amazon4 years
BrokerMorgan Stanley

Left Amazon after 4 years. Needed my RSU records clean before day one at the startup.

QHave you ever sold RSUs?

Yes. I sold about 30% of my Amazon position before leaving — I was taking a significant salary cut to join a 40-person startup and needed the liquidity buffer. The rest I transferred to Rovia and kept holding. AMZN has done well enough that I don't regret keeping the bulk of it.

QHow were you managing your RSUs before using Rovia?

Morgan Stanley for the shares, a spreadsheet for the India compliance side. It worked well enough while I was at Amazon with a steady income and no reason to look at the position carefully. When I decided to leave, I realised I had 18 lots with varying cost bases and LTCG windows and no clean picture of any of it.

QWhat made you transfer your RSUs to Rovia?

Leaving Amazon focuses your mind. I had 90 days from my last day to move vested shares out of the corporate plan or they'd eventually be liquidated. I needed everything in one place, clearly documented, before I started the new job. Rovia was the cleanest solution — transfer in, full lot history tracked, Schedule FA ready for next year.

QWhat do you want to do with your RSUs?

Hold most of it for now. My startup comp is lower, so having the AMZN position as a backstop matters. Once I see how the startup trajectory looks in 12–18 months, I'll decide whether to sell some AMZN to invest in the startup or keep it as a separate long-term position.

QWhat do you think is your risk score as an investor? Why?

Aggressive. I took a 40% salary cut to join a 40-person company. I'm clearly comfortable with risk. But I also want the AMZN holding to be the boring, stable part of my portfolio while the startup bet plays out. Even aggressive investors need some ballast.