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 single checklist that tells a first-time founder every recurring ROC and MCA filing a Pvt Ltd owes each year and in... ClearTax Article · 15 min read Annual Compliance Checklist for Startups ClearTax
  2. This is the money-and-clock reality check. It itemizes the cost (roughly USD 15,000 to 50,000, i.e. 12.5 to 42 lakh, plus USD... IncorpX Article · 18 min read Indian SaaS Flip Structure: Why Founders Move HQ to US and Tax Implications IncorpX (India cross-border compliance firm)
  3. This is the guide that tells you to decide before you raise, not after. Its core line, 'structure the decision around your... Treelife Article · 22 min read Delaware Entity Setup for Indian Businesses and Startups: Complete Guide Treelife (startup legal and finance advisory)
  4. This is the exact playbook for a Pvt Ltd founder: the eight sequential approvals in order, from checking your AoA permits... EquityList Article · 18 min read ESOP Scheme in India: Definition, Structure, and Filing Guide EquityList
  5. Founders always ask two questions: how big should the pool be, and how much does one hire get. This answers both with hard... Index Ventures Article · 15 min read Rewarding Talent: Option Grant Allocation Considerations and Benchmarks Index Ventures
  6. This is the honest side-by-side you want before spending a rupee on a Delaware C-corp: Atlas at $500 one-time (files your 83(b)... Rho Article · 12 min read Stripe Atlas vs. Clerky: 2026 Incorporation Guide for Startup Founders Rho editorial team
  7. The India-specific counterpart to the Delaware question, from Razorpay's own founder-incorporation arm. It confirms a Pvt Ltd... Razorpay Rize Article · 9 min read Do You Need a CA to Register a Company in India? Razorpay Rize
  8. Jose Ancer is a working startup lawyer, and this is his clear line between what a filing tool handles and what needs actual... Silicon Hills Lawyer Article · 15 min read Startup Founders Using ChatGPT and Gemini for Legal (and where a real lawyer is non-negotiable) Jose Ancer
  9. Founders conflate two very different things: non-competes while employed (usually enforceable) versus after you quit (usually... Anirudh Associates Article · 10 min read Section 27 and Post-Termination Non-Compete Clauses: How Far Can Employers Go? Anirudh Associates
  10. This is the canonical explainer on the exact mechanism that closes your ownership gap: founders assign pre-incorporation IP to... Stripe Atlas Article · 20 min read Equity for Founders Stripe Atlas
  11. This is the one checklist that names the exact triggers, not just the list of registrations. It spells out EPF at 20+... MPVD & Associates (Chartered Accountants) Article · 12 min read Compliance Checklist After Company Registration in India MPVD & Associates
  12. Most GST explainers stop at the 40 lakh / 20 lakh threshold. This one is written for founders who need to decide whether to... Treelife Article · 15 min read GST Compliance for Startups: ITC, IMS, Registration, Deadlines Treelife
  13. For the US side of a two-entity setup, this is the canonical founder-facing reference on the EIN (your federal tax ID), federal... Stripe Article · 20 min read Business taxes: A Stripe Atlas Guide Stripe Atlas
  14. This is the India-specific FEMA reality check almost every cross-border founder gets wrong. It is written by a practicing CA... CA Abhinav Gulechha Article · 18 min read Indian Resident Individual Planning to Incorporate in US? Ensure Compliance with Indian FEMA Law Abhinav Gulechha
  15. 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
  16. 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)
  17. This is real India data, not a US survey with an Indian byline: 46 percent of Indeed India postings disclosed salary in 2023,... Indeed India (Hiring Insights) Article · 10 min read The Importance of Pay Transparency in India Indeed Editorial Team
  18. Elaine Wherry posted a fake engineer profile, got hit by 382 recruiters, and dissected every message, so this is a real... First Round Review Article · 20 min read The Inside Story of How 382 Recruiters Pursued an Imaginary Engineer First Round Review
  19. Bartel built Gem (a recruiting tool) after running recruiting at Dropbox, so this is a founder-to-founder playbook for sourcing... First Round Review Podcast · 45 min The founder's guide to making your first few hires: Steven Bartel on recruiting at Gem and Dropbox First Round Review
  20. This is the single best playbook for the exact call you are dreading: the candidate has a bigger offer and you have to close... First Round Review Article · 18 min read Make Stronger Offers to Engineering Candidates and Boost Your Closes Adil Ajmal (CTO, LendingHome), via First Round Review
  21. This is the mechanics-and-speed piece: it makes the case that your unfair advantage against a big company is turnaround time,... Gem Article · 15 min read Startup Hiring 101: A Founder's Guide, Part 19, Selling and Closing Gem (recruiting team, drawing on Y Combinator talks)
  22. This is the operational manual, not a theory piece: it lists the exact paper trail Indian courts look for (appointment letter,... Corrida Legal Article · 18 min read Probation and Confirmation Policy for Indian Companies: A Practical Drafting Guide for Employers Corrida Legal
  23. 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
  24. A plain-language read on the legal footing itself: it explains that a probationer has no lien on the job, so termination during... IndiaFilings Article · 10 min read Understanding Probation Period in Employment Services IndiaFilings

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? 2 → What is vesting and why do I need a vesting schedule? 2 → Should I use a dynamic equity split like Slicing Pie instead of fixed percentages? 2 → What must go into a co-founder / founders' agreement in India? 2 → How much equity should I set aside for an ESOP pool for employees? 2 → 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 →