Roles and authority
Define each founder’s operating domain, reserved decisions, voting process, banking authority, reporting expectations, and the method for resolving a deadlock.
Co-founder agreement guide
Plan a co-founder agreement before conflict tests it
A practical discussion framework for Indian founding teams preparing to work with qualified legal, tax, and company-secretarial professionals.
Updated
Build the right context
A co-founder agreement turns assumptions into explicit decisions
The value of the agreement is not the document alone. The drafting process forces founders to discuss ownership, authority, contribution, confidentiality, intellectual property, compensation, fundraising, and what happens when circumstances change.
Indian companies can involve company law, securities, tax, employment, intellectual-property, and regulatory considerations. Use this page to prepare questions and records, then engage professionals for advice tailored to your entity, founders, and transaction.
Ownership and vesting
Record the agreed capital structure, vesting conditions, treatment of prior work, future grants, dilution expectations, and consequences if a founder leaves.
IP and confidentiality
Identify existing intellectual property, assign company work appropriately, document licences, protect confidential information, and address third-party obligations.
Search focus
Topics to put in writing
- Founder roles and time commitment
- Equity allocation and vesting
- Salary and expense policy
- Decision rights and reserved matters
Team coverage
Questions to resolve together
- Intellectual-property ownership
- Confidentiality and data duties
- Founder departure and share treatment
- Deadlock and dispute process
A repeatable framework
Prepare the agreement in four conversations
Use evidence from shared work to make the partnership decision. Profiles and interviews begin the process; they should not replace it.
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01
Exchange complete disclosures
Share prior IP, employment restrictions, side projects, financial constraints, existing promises, and anything that could affect the venture.
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02
Agree on commercial principles
Write a plain-language term sheet covering roles, ownership, vesting, compensation, authority, fundraising, and departure scenarios.
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03
Engage the right professionals
Provide the term sheet and supporting records to qualified advisers who can structure documents for the company and applicable law.
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04
Maintain the documents
Update agreements, approvals, cap tables, IP records, and statutory filings when roles, grants, financing, or the entity changes.
Due diligence
Use this founder conversation checklist
Write down important answers and revisit them after a trial project. The purpose is to identify assumptions, not to force agreement where meaningful differences exist.
Try the co-founder compatibility test- Founder roles and time commitment
- Equity allocation and vesting
- Salary and expense policy
- Decision rights and reserved matters
- Intellectual-property ownership
- Confidentiality and data duties
- Founder departure and share treatment
- Deadlock and dispute process
Before the formal agreement
Write a one-page founder operating agreement
This is not a substitute for legal documents. It is a practical record of how you intend to work while the relationship is still being tested and the company structure is being prepared.
Decision domains
Name the decisions each founder can make independently, decisions requiring consultation, and decisions requiring unanimous approval.
Working cadence
Agree on weekly hours, core meetings, written updates, customer contact, location, response expectations, and how absences are communicated.
Money and expenses
Record current contributions, expense approval, salary expectations, financial runway, fundraising appetite, and when commitments will be reviewed.
Conflict and escalation
Define how disagreement is documented, when an external adviser is involved, and which behaviours are unacceptable even under pressure.
Confidentiality and work
Clarify confidential information, pre-existing work, ownership of trial outputs, third-party obligations, and records that must be maintained.
Pause or departure
Discuss what happens if commitment changes, a trial is stopped, someone accepts another role, or the founders decide not to continue.
After you decide to continue
The first 90 days as a founding team
Move from relationship testing to company evidence without losing the habits that made the trial useful. Keep responsibilities explicit and review the partnership alongside customer and product progress.
- Days 1-30
Align the foundation
Define the customer, riskiest assumptions, founder domains, meeting cadence, cash position, legal work, and one measurable milestone.
- Days 31-60
Create market evidence
Run customer, product, technical, or distribution experiments. Track decisions and distinguish strong behaviour from encouraging opinions.
- Days 61-90
Review the company and team
Assess evidence, pace, quality, finances, ownership balance, unresolved conflict, and whether the next quarter deserves greater commitment.
Common questions
Make the next decision with more context
Is a co-founder agreement legally required in India?
The exact documents required depend on the entity and arrangements. Even where a document with that title is not mandatory, founders should properly document ownership, rights, obligations, IP, approvals, and company records with professional advice.
Can we use a free co-founder agreement template?
A template can help identify topics, but it may not fit your entity, cap table, tax position, IP, investment plans, or applicable law. Do not treat a generic template as personalised legal advice.
Should founder shares vest?
Vesting can protect the company and continuing founders when someone leaves early. The schedule, legal mechanism, tax impact, and treatment of vested and unvested shares require tailored advice.
When should founders sign documents?
Begin the discussion before major work or ownership promises accumulate. Final documents should be coordinated with incorporation, share issuance, IP transfer, employment, and investment steps.
Start with a clear founder profile
Meet people who can evaluate the opportunity with you.
Share your strengths, startup context, and the ownership gap you want a co-founder to fill.
Create your profile