A founders agreement is a legal document signed by all the founders of a company. Such an agreement specifies the rights and duties of all the partners individually as well as collectively. It is an important document of a business and it must be drafted carefully and properly. For this purpose, using the ready made founders agreement templates can be very useful and effective.
A founders agreement template includes the detailed particulars of all the persons involved in the foundation or startup of a company. The basic purpose of a founders agreement is to specify the amount contributed by each founder in the formation of the company.
Having a founders agreement at place also indicates that all the founders of the company are at the same page while entering into such an agreement. A founder’s agreement is also known sometimes as a shareholders’ agreement. In this article, you can get some best quality founders agreement templates for free. These templates are provided for you below.
Practical Founders Agreement Templates
Sample Founders Agreement Template
Detailed Founders Agreement Template
Special Founders Agreement Template
Founders Colaboration Agreement Template
Brief Founders Agreement Template
Basic Founders Agreement Template
Entity’s Founders Agreement
Founders Agreement Form Template
Pre-Formation Agreement Template
Founders Agreement Blank Template
Useful Founders Agreement
Founders Agreement Blank Template
Basic Components of a Founders Agreement Template
A founders agreement template can be designed and drafted any way. Any important information or content can be included in it. However, a founders agreement must have the following basic components in it.
1. Names:
A founders agreement template should include the complete and correct names of all the founders of the company, irrespective of their number. It should also include the complete name of the company as well.
2. Company’s Business:
The purpose of the foundation or formation of the company and its business must be described properly and briefly.
3. Ownership:
In this section, the percentage of ownership of each founder of the company must be correctly determined and mentioned accordingly.
4. Contributions by each Founder:
The contribution means the amount with which a person becomes the founding member of the company. This contribution can be anything like, cash, property, an equipment, or any other type of asset or some other consideration.
As a founding member of a company, it is compulsory for a person to make valuable contributions for the company.
5. Roles and Duties:
It is very important that a founders agreement must include clear details of the roles and duties of all the founders of the company. This is to make sure that all the operations of the company are performed effectively and efficiently. There should be no confusion among the founders regarding their responsibilities.
6. Authority and the Power to make Decisions:
This section is the further extension of ‘roles and duties’ section. The founders agreement must clearly mention the authority of every founding member of the company.
In addition to this, it should also explain the decision making power of the founders of the company.
7. Compensations:
There are some businesses where the founders do not take compensations or salaries from the company. However, it completely depends upon them.
It is possible that some of them take compensations for their services and some may choose not to. Similarly, it is also possible that some or all of the founders may choose not to take compensations at earlier stages of the development of the company and its business. They may opt to take compensations at some later stage.
Whatever the case is, the amount of any such compensations or salaries given to the founders of the company, must be declared in a founders agreement.
8. Intellectual Property:
The intellectual property or IP is any specific thing that makes your company or your business unique from your competitors. It can be a specific design, logo, item or procedure that creates a distinctive identity of your business.
In a founders agreement, it must be specified that how such an intellectual property will be sold. It should also be mentioned that how such a decision will be made i.e, whether it will be decided by voting or one of the founders will have the power to make any such decision.
9. Resolving the Disputes:
In a founders agreement, it is important to describe how any of the issues or disputes, among the founders, will be resolved. For example, whether such a dispute will be resolved by an arbitrator or it will be presented in front of a dispute resolution committee.
10. Retirement or Removal of Founders:
It must be stated clearly that what will be the consequences or what actions will be taken if a founding member of the company goes bankrupt, dies, retires, is removed or fired from the company.
It must also be mentioned that how a founding member will be removed from the company, what will be his rights and liabilities. It is also very important to specify how the remaining share or interest will be split among the remaining co-founders of the company.
