A founders’ agreement is the prenup of a startup: who owns what, how shares vest, who does what, and what happens when a founder leaves. Settling this early — especially vesting — prevents the disputes that kill young companies.
What's inside
The company and shareholding
Roles and commitment
Vesting
Leaver provisions
Intellectual propertyDecides who owns what is created — the customer, the supplier, or each their own.In negotiation: Customers: insist deliverables transfer on payment for that work, not 'payment of all invoices ever'. Suppliers: carve out your pre-existing tools and know-how explicitly.
Decision-making
Confidentiality and non-competeObliges each side to keep the other’s non-public information secret and use it only for the deal.
Transfer of shares
Governing law and jurisdictionChooses which country’s law applies and which courts decide disputes.In negotiation: Pick a forum where you could actually afford to sue — a 'won' clause naming a court you'll never travel to is a loss.
How this template is reviewed
Drafted Template v1 · June 2026
Written in plain language and self-checked against comparable open standards where they exist. Independent review is pending. Every export is stamped with the template ID and version it came from. A status is never claimed until the work behind it has happened.
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