Co-founders, team & legal

What must go into a co-founder / founders' agreement in India?

The short answer

Cover equity split, vesting and leaver clauses, roles and time commitment, IP assignment to the company, decision-making and deadlock resolution, and a clean exit mechanism. In India it must be properly stamped under the Indian Stamp Act to be enforceable, so don't just download a US template. Write it down before things are going well, not after they go wrong.

Go deeper, your way

3 hand-picked resources, 3 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Advanced

Why we picked it 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.

Co-Founder Agreements in India 2026: A Comprehensive Drafting Guide

From lawsikho.com by LawSikho Long read

  • Enforceable under the Indian Contract Act only if properly executed and stamped
  • Must-have clauses include vesting, leaver provisions, IP assignment, and deadlock resolution
  • Stamp duty varies by state, so localize the document
Open lawsikho.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it 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.

Co-Founder Agreement India 2026: Equity, Vesting & IP Guide

From vakilsearch.com by Vakilsearch Long read

  • Standard vesting is 4 years with a 1-year cliff, applied to every founder
  • Assign all IP to the company in writing from the start
  • Cover roles, decision-making, deadlock, and exit, not just percentages
Open vakilsearch.com →
📖 Book
✓ Link checked Paid Intermediate

Why we picked it The definitive, data-driven book on early founding-team decisions, drawing on quantitative research covering nearly 10,000 founders. It replaces gut-feel folklore about co-founders and equity with evidence.

The Founder's Dilemmas

From Princeton University Press by Noam Wasserman ~480 pages

  • Founding with friends and family is often less stable, not more
  • Rushed 'quick and equal' equity splits frequently cause later conflict
  • The relationship, role, and reward decisions you make early shape whether the startup survives
Open press.princeton.edu →

Terms in this answer

Intellectual Property Founders' Agreement IP Assignment Co-Founder Vesting

People also ask

How should co-founders split equity fairly? For most early teams, split close to equal, an even split signals you see each other as true partners, and long-term contribution rarely matches wh... Beginner 3 resources → What is vesting and why do I need a vesting schedule? Vesting means you earn your shares over time (the standard is 4 years with a 1-year cliff) instead of owning them all on day one. It's the single m... Intermediate 3 resources → Should I use a dynamic equity split like Slicing Pie instead of fixed percentages? Dynamic models like Slicing Pie allocate equity based on actual contributions over time, which is genuinely fairer at the pre-funding grunt stage w... Advanced 3 resources → How much equity should I set aside for an ESOP pool for employees? Carve out roughly 10-15% for an option pool before you raise, so early hires get real ownership without diluting you unexpectedly later. In India, ... Advanced 3 resources → 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. W... Intermediate 3 resources → Should co-founder equity be split before or after we have raised any money, and does it matter that one of us is putting in cash? Split before you raise, when the company is worth nothing and the conversation is cheap. Cash a founder puts in is a loan or priced convertible, no... Intermediate 3 resources →

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