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Co-founders, team & legal

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

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

3 resources, 3 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Advanced

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

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

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? 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 → How much equity should I set aside for an ESOP pool for employees? 3 → What happens to equity if a co-founder leaves early? 3 → 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? 3 →

Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Get legal & compliant, our D2C track.

Do I actually need product liability insurance as a small D2C brand, or am I overthinking it? 3 → I'm just starting out, should I register as a proprietorship, LLP, or private limited company? 4 →

Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Legal & Contracts.

Why review contracts with AI before paying a lawyer? 19 → How do founders handle NDAs, ESOPs, term sheets, and compliance questions with AI? 19 →

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Build the team, our GTM track.

When do I stop selling myself and hire my first salesperson? 5 → I have been handed a comp plan. How do I work out what I will actually earn? 5 →
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