Equity ownership
Record each founder share, the reasoning behind the split, and how future changes should be approved.
Create a professional cofounder agreement template for your startup. Define equity splits, roles, vesting schedules, and key terms to protect your partnership from day one.
Let's start with basic information about your company.
The jurisdiction where your company is or will be incorporated
If not yet incorporated, use your planned incorporation date
Complete the required fields to continue.
A founders agreement is not a sign of distrust. It is the operating manual for the moments when memory, optimism, and handshake terms are no longer enough. Use this generator to create a clear first draft, then review it with the right legal and tax advisors.
The generator walks through the clauses founders usually need before they split equity, assign IP, raise money, or start hiring.
Record each founder share, the reasoning behind the split, and how future changes should be approved.
Set a vesting period and cliff so ownership is earned over time instead of granted all at once.
Clarify who owns product, technology, sales, fundraising, operations, and company decisions.
Define which decisions need unanimous consent, majority approval, or a clear accountable owner.
Capture how startup IP, prior work, code, designs, domains, and inventions are assigned to the company.
Plan what happens if a founder leaves, stops contributing, wants to sell shares, or a deadlock appears.
Create the agreement before commitments become expensive to unwind. The right moment is usually before incorporation, before fundraising, before full-time commitments, or before either founder contributes meaningful intellectual property.
If you already started building, write it now. A late agreement is still better than discovering during a dispute that nobody remembers the same deal.
A 50/50 split can feel simple, but it becomes fragile if one founder later carries more risk, time, or responsibility.
Trust is not a substitute for protection. Vesting protects the company and the remaining founders if someone leaves early.
Founders usually agree when things are calm. The agreement matters when funding, hiring, pivots, or exits create pressure.
Use the generated document as a structured draft, then review it with a qualified professional in your jurisdiction.
Use the calculator to compare time commitment, capital, idea, expertise, responsibility, and risk before you finalize shares.
Work through conflict, motivation, work style, vision, and exit expectations before the document makes anything formal.
A signed agreement protects the terms. A compatibility assessment helps you understand whether the partnership can hold.
Not sure how to divide ownership? Try the free cofounder equity split calculator, work through the cofounder questions checklist, then validate the relationship with the cofounder compatibility assessment, download the static cofounder agreement template, and review how the score works in the methodology.
A cofounder agreement is a document that records how founders will own, operate, and protect the company. It usually covers equity, vesting, roles, decision rights, intellectual property, exits, and dispute resolution.
No. A cofounder agreement focuses on the early founder relationship and operating expectations. A shareholders agreement usually governs broader shareholder rights after incorporation and should be prepared with legal counsel.
If more than one founder is contributing to the company, a written agreement is strongly recommended before equity is finalized, IP is created, fundraising starts, or someone leaves a job to build full time.
Use it as a starting draft, not as final legal advice. Startup laws, tax treatment, employment rules, and enforceability vary by jurisdiction, so a qualified professional should review the agreement before signing.
This tool generates a template for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The generated agreement should be reviewed and customized by a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction before execution. Laws vary by location and your specific situation may require additional clauses or modifications.