The governance know-how for a good journey.
In plain language, from day one.
How equity, ownership and decision-making really work, written by a startup lawyer. Clear foundations you can build the whole adventure on.
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Case Studies
Real founder stories, and what each one teaches about building on strong foundations.
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How to Bring On a New Cofounder
Adding a cofounder after the start is normal and risky in equal measure. A startup disputes lawyer on equity for late cofounders, vesting, IP, and why the existing agreement must be amended, not ignored.
Should Founder Vesting Start Before Incorporation?
Your startup existed before your company did. A startup disputes lawyer explains why founder vesting should recognize pre-incorporation work, and how to set the start date without creating a dispute.
Template, Lawyer, or Platform?
A startup disputes lawyer compares the three ways founding teams get their founder agreement: the free template, the law firm, and the platform. An honest answer about when each one is right.
Do Cofounders Need an NDA With Each Other?
Cofounders rarely need an NDA with each other: between people building together it is close to unenforceable and covers almost nothing that matters. What actually protects a founding team is a founder agreement with confidentiality, IP and departure terms.
Who Should Own the Domain, the GitHub Org and the Cloud Accounts?
In the first years of a startup, ownership is mostly a set of logins. The domain, the GitHub org and the cloud accounts should be held for the company, with more than one owner. A founder agreement records where they belong and where they go at incorporation.
You're Building a Startup While Employed. Who Owns the Code?
Build a startup while employed, and your old contract may already claim the code. Whether it does turns on whose time, whose tools, and whose field. A founder agreement is how you protect the startup's IP before it becomes a dispute.
Can You Remove a Cofounder Before Incorporation?
Before the company exists, there are no shares to take back and no board to vote anyone out. What exists is a web of promises and contributions, and it can be dissolved cleanly or messily. Here is the honest map, from a lawyer who litigated the messy version.
What Is a Deadlock Clause?
A deadlock clause is the mechanism that lets a company move when its founders cannot agree. Here are the main designs, from domain-based final say to escalation ladders and buy-sell clauses, and how to choose one before you need it.
Why Do Cofounders Fall Out? The 5 Triggers I See Again and Again
After years of litigating cofounder disputes, the same five triggers appear in almost every file: asymmetric commitment, the unexamined split, silent drift, the first real money, and deadlock. Here is each pattern, and the clause that defuses it.
Coming next
- What Belongs in a Founder Agreement, and What Does NotFounder Agreement
- Your Cofounder Wants to Go Part-Time. Now What?Founder Equity
- The 50/50 Split: Fair, Popular, and Sometimes a TrapFounder Equity
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