Approximately 5 minutes
01
Verbal agreement may not survive growth
Founders may begin with aligned goals, but their contributions of time, work, funding and risk can diverge. A written agreement anticipates scenarios before they lead to deadlock or personal conflict.
02
Core clauses
The constitutional documents and shareholders' agreement should also be checked for consistency.
- Roles, authority and decision thresholds
- Transfer, pre-emption, tag-along and drag-along rights
- Vesting and leaver arrangements
- Ownership of software, brands and content
- Investment, funding and dispute resolution
03
The document is not enough on its own
Signature authority, management decisions, employment contracts and IP assignments should remain aligned with the founders' arrangement, otherwise a sound agreement may conflict with daily practice.
This article is for general information. Programme rules and legislation may change; current documents and individual circumstances should be reviewed before action.
