Corbin Cowan and Founders First Advisory Bridge Tax Planning and Clean Energy Investment for Founders

New time-sensitive strategy makes congressionally mandated incentives accessible to high-net-worth individuals

As the Inflation Reduction Act continues to reshape U.S. energy markets, Corbin Cowan is positioning Founders First Advisory at the intersection of tax strategy, infrastructure policy, and private investment. The firm’s latest initiative, announced March 23, 2026, enables qualified founders, business owners, and high-income earners to redirect tax liability into equity-backed clean energy projects—in a high-profile partnership with WattUp USA.

Cowan, with 25 years in corporate finance and business advisory, founded the firm in 2025 to deliver advanced financial guidance and tax management strategies. Unlike traditional advisors, Founders First starts by focusing on how money flows out of the business to the owner, often generating 30% or more in after-tax profitability without operational changes.

The current program leverages the IRA’s transferable clean energy tax credits to make incentives—historically available mainly to large corporations—accessible to individuals. Participants can offset current-year liabilities, gain equity in revenue-generating assets like EV charging networks, and align tax planning with long-term growth opportunities.

“This is one of the few moments where tax planning, infrastructure policy, and private investment are fully aligned,” Cowan said. “But it requires precise timing and the right structure.”

The collaboration with WattUp USA supports the deployment of 200 ultra-fast EV charging stations, converting policy into scalable, revenue-generating infrastructure. Cowan’s performance-first model ensures fees align with client success, while the firm coordinates with tax strategists, infrastructure operators, and financial partners.

Targeted at founders, high-income earners, and those evaluating Roth conversions or tax repositioning, the opportunity is capacity-limited and time-sensitive for the 2026 tax cycle.

Q&A with Corbin Cowan, Chairman and CEO of Founders First Advisory

Q: Corbin, can you explain how the clean energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act work for individual founders and high-net-worth investors, and how your firm makes them accessible?

A: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 transformed clean energy incentives by providing 10-year certainty and expanding eligibility to manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy security projects. Most importantly, it introduced transferability, allowing companies to sell these credits for cash—turning them into a tradable asset.

Historically, these credits were mainly available to large corporations. What we’ve done at Founders First Advisory is structure access so that qualified founders, business owners, and select high-income earners can participate directly. Through our partnership with WattUp, for example, participants can align their tax strategy with equity-backed investments in ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure, effectively redirecting a portion of their tax liability into revenue-generating assets rather than treating taxes as a sunk cost.

Q: How is this strategy helping companies like WattUp USA scale more quickly?

A: WattUp fundraise is a great example of this strategy at work. We helped facilitate their $130 million raise to deploy 200 cutting-edge, retail-focused EV charging stations across the U.S. By connecting the company with high-net-worth individuals who can utilize or monetize the clean energy tax credits, we mobilize private capital that accelerates deployment without relying solely on traditional venture or institutional funding.

This approach shortens the capital raise timeline, supports faster infrastructure rollout, and allows developers to focus on execution. It’s a win for the company, for investors seeking both tax efficiency and long-term returns, and for broader U.S. energy goals.

Q: Who is this opportunity best suited for, and what does participation typically look like?

A: It’s designed for founders and business owners, high-income W-2 earners, pre-retirees with significant tax exposure, and individuals exploring Roth conversions or broader tax repositioning.

Participation involves structuring investments into qualifying clean energy infrastructure—such as WattUp USA’s EV charging network—so that clients can potentially offset or reduce current-year tax liabilities while gaining equity in tangible, revenue-producing assets. We also incorporate private lending options that help broaden approval rates. Our “performance-first” model means our fees align with delivered results, and we act like a virtual family office, coordinating tax strategists, infrastructure operators, and financial partners.

Q: Why is now the right time for this, and what deadlines or timing considerations should entrepreneurs be aware of?

A: We’re seeing clean energy tax credits quietly evolve into one of the largest capital reallocation mechanisms in the U.S. economy. With increasing demand and capacity constraints in projects like WattUp USA’s rollout, the window for 2026 tax positioning is both time-sensitive and limited.

While 2025 filing deadlines are behind us, the opportunity to participate in current infrastructure deployments remains open—but it requires precise timing and the right structure before year-end advantages reset. This alignment of tax planning, infrastructure policy, and private investment doesn’t happen often, so acting thoughtfully now can deliver meaningful financial and strategic benefits. It typically takes just 5 minutes of interaction with our website submittal form to determine if this approach is a personal fit.

Q: Finally, how does Founders First Advisory differentiate itself from traditional advisory firms?

A: We start where most advisors don’t, by focusing first on how money comes out of the business to the owner. This often allows us to generate 30% or more in after-tax profitability improvements without changing operations.

While the current tax strategy with WattUp is time sensitive, Founders First is focused on many investment opportunities in addition to the current tax credits. In all, we blend the best strategy for each client with available deal structure as well as a private lending network. Our ability to make outcomes such as a $652K acquisition, for example, achievable for the vast majority of successful business owners with little or no long-term cash out of pocket is a huge advantage for the clients we serve.

We blend advanced tax strategy, capital structure optimization, and access to vetted infrastructure opportunities. Unlike firms that focus only on the business itself, we deliver institutional-grade strategies in a coordinated, performance-first way that’s accessible to successful founders and entrepreneurs. Beyond the financial achievement from founder’s business or a high-earning career, our emphasis is on creation and implementation of the ideal strategy for converting the earnings success into lasting and sustainable wealth.