What happens to equity if a co-founder leaves early?
With vesting done right, they keep only what they've earned and the unvested portion returns to the company, which is exactly why vesting exists. Without it, a departing co-founder can hold a huge dead-weight stake that scares off investors and future hires. This one clause is the difference between a survivable breakup and a company-killing one.
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3 resources, 3 link-checked.
📄 Article
✓ Link checkedIndiaFreeIntermediate
A practical India-specific walkthrough of equity split, vesting, and IP clauses in a co-founder agreement, from a mainstream Indian legal services provider. It covers what a US template will miss.
The canonical dynamic-equity framework for fairly splitting ownership based on real contributions before funding, when nobody yet knows who'll do what. A strong mental model even if you convert to fixed equity later.
A detailed, clause-by-clause drafting guide with Indian legal context, including enforceability and state-wise stamp duty, that goes deeper than a generic template. Written for Indian founders specifically.
