Founder disagreements rarely start as legal problems — they start as unresolved assumptions. This issue looks at the one document that turns assumptions into terms everyone agreed to in advance.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs continues to push increased scrutiny on beneficial ownership disclosures (SBO filings) for private companies. If your cap table has changed in the last year and your SBO filings haven't been updated to match, this is worth checking before it's flagged in a future audit or fundraise diligence.
The Founder's Guide to Vesting Schedules: Why a One-Year Cliff Protects Everyone →
A four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff is now close to standard in Indian cap tables. This piece explains why it protects both sides — and four other founder-agreement terms worth locking in at the same time.
If you're pre-formalisation on a founders' agreement, don't wait for a term sheet to force the conversation. The best time to agree on vesting, reserved matters, and IP assignment is when everyone is aligned and nobody feels like anything is being negotiated against them.
Q: Our two co-founders already have equal equity with no vesting — is it too late to add it now?
It's unusual, but not impossible — this typically requires both founders to voluntarily agree to have their existing shares subject to a new vesting arrangement, sometimes with partial credit for time already served. It's a harder conversation after the fact than before, but considerably easier than having no mechanism at all if one founder later leaves.
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