Startup contracts London

Founder agreements that don't crack under pressure. 01

Don't let a handshake deal wreck your cap table. We draft founder equity agreements, shareholder agreements, and IP protection documents that investors can read without flinching. Clear terms. Hard deadlines. No vague clauses hiding in the margins.

Need vesting, bad leaver provisions, or a clean split for unequal contributions? We build the paper trail fast, so your startup looks investable before the first serious conversation starts.

Get Your Founder Pack See the documents
£25/page Fixed-fee startup drafting
3 days Typical founder agreement turnaround
VC-ready Cap table and IP risk checked
Two startup founders reviewing equity papers beside a glass wall in a modern London office
Equity without drift. Vesting schedules, IP assignment, and leaver clauses shaped for the real world. Why gamble on a casual agreement?

Essential startup legal docs, arranged properly.

Founders need speed, but not sloppiness. Which documents do you actually need on day one, and which ones prevent the expensive argument later? Start here.

Founder Equity Agreement

Weighted vesting, IP assignment, cliffs, and bad leaver terms.

This is the document that stops a casual split from becoming a permanent problem. We map each founder's contribution, protect the company’s IP, and make sure the equity story still makes sense when investors inspect it.

Pages 6–8
Typical delivery 3 days
Best for Co-founders

Shareholder Agreement

Control rights, transfer restrictions, reserved matters, and deadlock handling. Why leave governance to chance?

Term Sheet Review

We check dilution, option pool pressure, and investor terms before the wrong signature lands on the page.

IP Assignment Deed

All product code and brand assets belong where they should: inside the company.

Option Pool Pack

Simple documentation for team incentives, with no cap table surprises hiding underneath.

Policy Drafting

Founder-facing policies that support compliance without slowing the team down.

From handshake to investment-ready.

Good paperwork doesn't feel dramatic. It feels calm. It removes uncertainty at the exact moment your company starts moving quickly, doesn't it?

1

Founder alignment

We capture the real deal, not the optimistic version. Who built what? Who owns the code? Who needs control rights and who needs protection?

2

Document draft

Equity, IP, director duties, vesting, transfer restrictions, and sign-off mechanics are drafted together so the clauses actually support each other.

3

Review and negotiation

Need us to liaise with investors or another solicitor? We can handle the friction and keep the paper moving without losing the commercial point.

4

Execute and protect

Final documents are delivered, stored securely, and ready to be pulled out when diligence starts. Simple. Traceable. Defensible.

Case study
FinTech co-founder dispute avoided

Two founders had unequal contributions and a messy split on day one. We drafted a weighted vesting schedule and a practical founder agreement that reflected the real balance of work, not just the loudest opinion in the room.

The result? A clean term sheet accepted by VCs, no dilution shock, and a cap table that could survive due diligence without awkward explanations.

Stratton & Scott Drafting made our cap table investable.
Solicitor reviewing a startup cap table with two founders in a bright meeting room

Startup-friendly fixed fees. No fog.

You should know what you're paying before the work begins. Why make legal costs mysterious when the whole point is to remove risk?

£150–£200

Founder Equity Agreement

A focused 6–8 page draft covering vesting, cliffs, IP assignment, and bad leaver language.

£250–£375

Shareholder Agreement

Governance, transfers, reserved matters, and dispute handling for growing teams.

£100

Term Sheet & Cap Table Review

A fast check for dilution traps, option pool issues, and investor terms that need tightening.

Rush at no extra cost

Fast delivery

Under 10 pages? We keep the pace up. Because launch windows don't wait.

What founders say after the panic disappears.

Fast drafting is useful. So is making the documents investor-friendly and easy to explain. That combination changes everything, doesn't it?

Founder agreement FAQs.

Clear answers save time. And if the answer isn't clear, the document isn't ready yet.

A founder agreement sets the internal rules between founders, especially around equity, roles, vesting, and IP. A shareholders' agreement goes wider, covering control, transfers, and governance once outside shareholders are involved.

Yes. We draft vesting schedules that fit the commercial reality, including cliffs and leaver outcomes, so nobody is left guessing when circumstances change.

We include assignment language for code, brand assets, product concepts, and related work product, so the company owns what the founders create.

Usually within 3 days, and rush delivery is available for smaller packs at no extra cost. If the clock is tight, we'll say so plainly.
Secure your founder agreement

Protect your equity, start today.

Tell us what stage you're at, and we'll reply with a direct path forward. No waffle. Just the next step.

Free initial call
Fixed-fee drafting
Trusted by Techstars and Seedcamp alumni.

Ready to make the cap table boring?

Call +44 7457 424970, email [email protected], or send us the headline terms. We'll turn them into startup legal documentation that actually holds up.

Book a free consultation
Fixed fees. Fast drafting. Founder agreements that investors respect.
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