4 resources from Stripe Atlas we point founders to, and the questions each answers.
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Why we picked it
This is the canonical explainer on the exact mechanism that closes your ownership gap: founders assign pre-incorporation IP to the new company through the stock purchase agreement, while a CIIAA captures everything created afterward. It shows why code, designs, and prototypes built before the company existed stay personally owned until you explicitly assign them, which is a classic diligence killer.
Two documents split the job: the common stock purchase agreement assigns IP you created before incorporation, and the CIIAA covers IP created after.
Without a signed assignment, the company does not own founder-created IP even though the founder is running it, which surfaces as a red flag in funding or acquisition diligence.
Every founder should sign an IP assignment at incorporation and be able to easily show they did it, so the chain of title is unbroken.
Why we picked it
Steli Efti built Close by doing founder sales the hard way, and here he answers the blunt questions founders actually ask about early selling and pricing. His central point matters for your first ten: charge more than feels comfortable, because underpricing hides whether people really want it. Short, practical, and free of jargon.
Why we picked it
A calm, practical guide to founder-led selling from zero, built around the idea that you close early deals through warm introductions and by making the ask yourself. It is honest that your first contract will be messy and the customer will want something different, which frees you to stop polishing and start asking. Good starting point if selling feels foreign and you want a clear sequence.
Why we picked it
Atlas built this guide with Orrick, and its blunt advice is to get signed IP assignments from everyone who touches the company, including a freelancer brought in for a single day. It explains the real risk: a contractor later claiming you infringe their IP and forcing you to pay or shut down. Read the IP and contractor sections closely.
