How are people officially engaging with co-founders they decide to work with?
Once people find a co-founder they want to work with, how do they "officially" start collaborating and building?
Are you going to lawyers or finding templates online?
Curious to know what the go-to is.
3 answers:
No matter the route, make sure equity is on a vesting schedule with a 1-year cliff. That way if someone bails after 3 months, they don’t walk with half the company.
Anyway, Most people start informally: test the partnership with small projects, weekly check-ins, and shared goals.
When things get serious, they either: Use a template (like YC’s or Clerky) Or hire a startup lawyer (especially if raising funds)
Simple Co-Founder Agreement Template This Co-Founder Agreement is made between:
Founder 1: [Your Full Name]
Founder 2: [Co-Founder's Full Name]
Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
Purpose The founders agree to collaborate on building and launching a business named [Startup Name], focused on [brief description of the business idea].
Equity Split Equity will be split as follows:
Founder 1: [X]%
Founder 2: [X]%
- Vesting Schedule Equity for each founder will vest over 4 years with a 1-year cliff, starting from the Effective Date of this agreement.
If a founder leaves before 12 months, they earn 0% equity.
After 12 months, equity vests monthly over the next 36 months.
This ensures ongoing contribution and alignment.
- Roles & Responsibilities Each founder agrees to contribute meaningfully to the business and take ownership of agreed-upon roles. Initial roles:
Founder 1: [e.g., Operations, Sales, Product]
Founder 2: [e.g., Tech, Marketing, Finance]
IP & Confidentiality All intellectual property, work, and data created for the business belongs to [Startup Name], not any individual founder. Both parties agree to keep company info confidential.
Dispute Resolution Any disagreements will first be handled by internal discussion. If unresolved, a neutral third-party advisor or mediator will be used before legal action.
Signed,
[Founder 1 Name & Signature] Date: _____________
[Founder 2 Name & Signature] Date: _____________
Establishing clear agreements from the start is crucial when engaging with a co-founder. One key aspect is defining technical co founder equity to ensure fairness and alignment as the startup grows. For a detailed look at how to approach this, check out: technical co founder equity
Much depends on each person's role in the project. If one person is responsible for the product, and another is, for example, an application developer, then it's worth drawing up an agreement right away regarding shares, responsibilities, and intellectual property. This will prevent misunderstandings as the project begins to grow.