Co-founders, team & legal

Find a co-founder, split equity, hire your first people, and set up cleanly.

What founders use for co-founders, team & legal, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. This is the checklist and the template in one, written for Indian Pvt Ltd reality, not a US Delaware copy-paste. It walks all... iPleaders Template · 25 min read Co-Founder Agreement for Indian Startups: Clauses and Template (2026) iPleaders In 7 answers
  2. The largest and most credible free co-founder matching platform in the world, with vetted founders and 100,000+ matches made.... ycombinator.com Tool · Free platform, ongoing Y Combinator Co-Founder Matching Y Combinator In 4 answers
  3. The canonical dynamic-equity framework for fairly splitting ownership based on real contributions before funding, when nobody... slicingpie.com Tool · Framework + software + handbook Slicing Pie: Dynamic Equity Split Model & Calculator Mike Moyer In 4 answers
  4. The official front door for the most common sector licence founders need, food, plus a reminder that regulated sectors each... Government of India (foscos.fssai.gov.in / rbi.org.in) Tool · portal FoSCoS, Apply for FSSAI Licence / Registration & Sector Regulators FSSAI (and RBI for fintech) In 4 answers
  5. This is the tool for the exact fight you are having: it scores each founder across Idea, Business Plan, Domain Expertise, and... Carnegie Mellon University Tool · 15 min read The Founders' Pie Calculator Frank Demmler In 4 answers
  6. The most popular guided path to a Delaware C-corp for global and first-time founders, with Cooley-drafted templates, EIN,... stripe.com/atlas Tool · Guided incorporation service Stripe Atlas: Incorporate your startup (Delaware C-corp) Stripe In 3 answers
  7. The single primary source for all Indian IP filing and search, patents, trademarks, designs, and links to copyright. Skip the... Government of India (ipindia.gov.in) Tool · portal IP India, Official Portal (Patents, Trademarks, Designs, Copyright) Office of the CGPDTM In 3 answers
  8. This is a ready-to-fill IP assignment and confidentiality agreement hosted on the government's own Startup India portal, so it... Startup India (startupindia.gov.in) Template · 6-page fillable template Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement Template (India) Startup India (Invest India) In 3 answers
  9. The attorney-favourite platform for clean, fundable startup paperwork, run by startup lawyers obsessed with avoiding... clerky.com Tool · Legal paperwork platform + founder handbooks Clerky: Startup Legal Paperwork & Delaware Incorporation Clerky In 2 answers
  10. The free, official first step before you commit to any brand name, logo, or domain. Ten minutes here can save you a rebrand, it... Government of India (tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in) Tool · tool IP India Public Trademark Search Trade Marks Registry, CGPDTM In 2 answers
  11. This is the canonical, industry-standard answer to 'how much equity for an advisor', a free, ready-to-sign template used by... Founder Institute (fi.co) Tool · short The FAST Agreement (Founder / Advisor Standard Template) Founder Institute In 2 answers
  12. This is the concrete clause mechanic your answer needs. Clerky spells out that vesting normally commences on the date shares... Clerky Template · 6 min read What are customary stock vesting terms for startup founders? Clerky
  13. This is the government's own sample SHA, published on the official Startup India (DPIIT) templates page alongside term sheets... Startup India Template · 13-page template Shareholder Agreement of Company (Sample SHA Template) Startup India (Invest India, DPIIT)
  14. For a contractor in another country, the two things that bite you are IP ownership and misclassification, and this free... Deel Template · template Independent Contractor Agreement Template (with country-specific IP guidance) Deel
  15. Written by the talent team at a VC that hires for its portfolio full-time, so it is a recruiter's actual playbook, not generic... SignalFire Template · 15 min read Startup Job Description Template Crystal Guerrero (Director of Talent Operations)
  16. This turns your 'written, specific milestones on day one' into an actual document you can hand a new hire, with a phased... Asana Template · 15 min read How to write a 30-60-90 day plan (with template and examples) Asana
  17. This is the single doc your first hire should walk into. It is built for a founder without an HR team, splits the first three... FirstHR Template · downloadable DOCX, 15 min to adapt Free 30-60-90 Day Plan Template for Small Business FirstHR
  18. This is the concrete, copy-paste artifact the other two essays lack: a real JD skeleton (summary, Who You Are, nine... vChief Template · 12 min read Chief of Staff Job Description, Duties & Interview Questions vChief
  19. This is the lean counterweight to GitLab: a real, Creative-Commons handbook you can fork today, written as short human sections... GitHub (basecamp/handbook) Template · 30 min read The 37signals (Basecamp) Employee Handbook 37signals
  20. Your answer says 'write the decision, the reasoning, and who owns it in one place', and this is the copy-paste template for... GitHub Template · 30 min read Decision Record: how to initiate and complete decisions for teams Joel Parker Henderson
  21. Most privacy policy generators are US-shaped (GDPR or CCPA) and bolt India on as an afterthought. PriView is built India-first... IDfy Tool · 15 min to generate PriView: Free Privacy Notice Generator (by DSCI and Privy/IDfy) DSCI and Privy by IDfy
  22. This is the template to start from instead of copy-pasting a big-company policy. It walks all 13 sections a DPDP-compliant... DPDPA.com Template · 25 min read How to Draft a DPDPA-Compliant Privacy Policy: Template and Section-by-Section Guide DPDPA.com editorial
  23. A second, lighter India-specific template if the DPDPA.com one feels heavy for a v1. It is a ready-to-adapt privacy policy... Arohana Legal Template · 15 min read Startup Privacy Policy: Elements and Template Arohana Legal
  24. This is the actual filing portal, not a summary of it. India joined the Madrid System in 2013, so from your existing Indian... WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Tool · 20 min read The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks WIPO

Show the next 24

The questions

Finding a co-founder 18

Pick a partner as carefully as a spouse.

Do I actually need a co-founder, or can I go solo? 3 → Where do I actually find a co-founder if I don't already know one? 2 → What should I look for in a co-founder, and what are red flags? 3 → Should I co-found with a friend or family member? 2 → How do I 'date' a potential co-founder before committing? 3 → All 18 questions in Finding a co-founder →
Co-founder agreements & equity 18

Split fairly, vest always, write it down.

How should co-founders split equity fairly? 3 → What is vesting and why do I need a vesting schedule? 3 → Should I use a dynamic equity split like Slicing Pie instead of fixed percentages? 3 → What must go into a co-founder / founders' agreement in India? 3 → How much equity should I set aside for an ESOP pool for employees? 3 → All 18 questions in Co-founder agreements & equity →
Hiring your first employees 18

Your first ten hires are your culture.

When should I make my first hire? 2 → How do I hire my first engineer when nobody's heard of my startup? 2 → What kind of people should my first ten hires be? 3 → Should I hire full-time employees, contractors, or an agency first? 2 → How do I compensate early employees with salary and equity in India? 3 → All 18 questions in Hiring your first employees →
Culture, remote & operations 18

Build how you work before it breaks.

How do I build company culture intentionally from day one? 3 → Should my startup be remote, hybrid, or in-office? 2 → How do I run a remote team without endless meetings and burnout? 3 → What operating cadence and rituals should an early team have? 3 → How do I avoid burning out my small team while still moving fast? 3 → All 18 questions in Culture, remote & operations →
Incorporation & legal setup 18

Set up the entity right (US & India).

When should I actually incorporate my startup? 3 → Should I incorporate as a Delaware C-corp or an Indian Pvt Ltd? 3 → How do I incorporate a Delaware C-corp as a non-US or first-time founder? 2 → How do I register a Private Limited Company in India? 2 → What is DPIIT / Startup India recognition and is it worth getting? 2 → All 18 questions in Incorporation & legal setup →
IP, licenses & regulatory 22

Protect your idea, stay legal to sell.

How do I protect my idea when I have to share it to get it built? 3 → Can I protect my idea with a patent or an NDA before I launch? 3 → When is an NDA actually worth it, and when is it just theatre? 2 → Trademark vs patent vs copyright, which one do I actually need? 3 → How do I check if my brand name is free, and how do I trademark it in India? 2 → All 22 questions in IP, licenses & regulatory →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →