Founders’ Agreement Format India: What a Real One Contains

Search for a founders agreement format and you will find dozens of free templates. Most are American documents with the currency changed, and the clauses that matter in India are exactly the ones they get wrong.

What the format must contain

• Equity and vesting schedule. Who holds what, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff, and what happens to unvested shares when someone leaves.
• IP assignment. Everything built before incorporation moves into the company. Free formats routinely omit pre-incorporation IP, which is where disputes start.
• Good leaver and bad leaver terms. Indian courts read restraints narrowly, so the leaver clauses must be drafted for enforceability here, not Delaware.
• Decision rights and deadlock. Which calls need unanimity, and a mechanism for a 50-50 split that does not freeze the company.
• Dispute resolution. Arbitration seat and governing law chosen deliberately.

Stamp paper and signing

A founders agreement is a general agreement: Rs 100 to Rs 200 non-judicial stamp in most states. Check exact values with the stamp duty calculator.

Template or drafted?

A template records what you already agreed. A drafted agreement surfaces the questions you have not discussed yet, and those are the ones that end companies. A lawyer-drafted founders agreement on DraftingBase costs a fixed ₹4,999, delivered in 48 hours with unlimited revisions for 7 days.