Agree Equity, Vesting and Who Decides With Your Co-Founder

The founding agreement is cheapest to write in the week you start, before either of you has a past to defend.

Most founding pairs agree on the idea and leave the rest unspoken: how the company is split, what happens if one of them leaves, and who decides when they disagree. Months later a founder drifts out still holding half, or the first real disagreement runs for weeks because nobody has the final call. When investors judge why startups succeed or fail, they weigh the team more heavily than the product or the market, and the team is the part of that risk you can reduce by talking.

This course takes you through each decision in the order it needs settling. You work out why a split close to equal usually beats a "fair" one and when it does not fit, how vesting and leaver terms protect the company, and why the paperwork and deadlines depend on the country you incorporate in. Then you put one name against each kind of decision, write down where each role stops, and answer ten questions apart before comparing.

You walk away with one page that states your split and its reason, your vesting or leaver terms, a decision table and your role edges, ready for a lawyer where you incorporate.

Who it's for

First-time co-founders: about to split equity and want a structure that still holds two years from now.

Solo founders recruiting a partner: need to settle vesting, roles and decision rights before the first promise is made.

Teams running on a handshake: want to write the deal down before a disagreement forces the issue.