Cofounder agreement
What this page covers
Cofounder agreement
A cofounder agreement helps founders set clear expectations on ownership, roles, decision-making, vesting, and what happens if someone leaves the company.
It is usually most useful when reviewed together with the company’s formation papers, equity records, cap table, IP assignments, and other founder-related documents already in place.
In brief
- This page is for people looking for a cofounder agreement or legal support with founder-level company documents.
- A practical first step is to gather the company’s formation, equity, and founder records, including emails and prior drafts if they reflect the founders’ discussions.
- If there is a question about ownership, control, or responsibilities, the answer often depends on the full document set, not just one agreement.
What to do
A cofounder agreement typically covers the points founders need to align on early: equity split, vesting, roles, voting or management authority, IP ownership, confidentiality, dispute handling, and exit scenarios. The right terms depend on how the company is structured and how the founders plan to work together.
Reviewing or preparing this agreement usually works best in the context of the broader startup document set. Formation documents, stock or membership records, SAFE notes, financing papers, board or member approvals, and founder communications may all affect how the agreement should be written or interpreted.
That broader review matters because founder issues rarely sit in isolation. Questions about control, dilution, authority, or prior commitments often connect across several records, so a careful document-based review helps keep the analysis practical and grounded.
What to keep in mind
There is no single cofounder agreement that fits every startup. The right structure depends on the company’s entity, stage, financing history, founder roles, and the documents already signed.
In some cases, the main issue is not drafting a new agreement from scratch but checking whether existing founder, equity, IP, and financing documents already address part of the problem. Different records may overlap, and inconsistencies can matter.
This page is a starting point for understanding the topic. If the founders are trying to clarify ownership, responsibilities, or decision-making, the most useful next step is usually a focused review of the company’s actual founder and corporate documents.