Collection of model legal documents for typical startup setup and fundraising needs.
The problem, as Brad Feld points out, is that nobody has done the work to get all the various players in the room and standardize on one form. . . I guess it's like open source software in that there are many flavors of it out there. One project might choose MongoDB for their project. Another might choose Cassandra. A third might choose Hadoop. All will get the job done and all are open source. But each one has its strengths and weaknesses and there is no standard. That's ok with me as long as everyone understands it.
- Fred Wilson, AVC "Standardized Venture Funding Docs"
Listed resources should include (as available):
- Source
- Brief explanation
- / / Template(s) for fast deployment, e.g., .md, .doc, .pdf, OpenLaw Template
- Extended description for further reference.
Tailored sets of agreements for common startup needs 🚀 deployed via OpenLaw.io:
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💪Get serious 📋 Founder Accord: This form consists of a short and simple founders' agreement that lays out the most basic structure for collaborating on a new idea or project that may develop into a company.
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🤞Get square 📋 NVCA Code of Conduct Policy / / open-source project alt: 📋 Contributor Covenant
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🧥Get form 📋 LLC Package (New York): This LLC Formation package includes simple forms for: (i) Articles of Organization, and (ii) Operating Agreement.
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💡Get advice 📋 Founder Advisor Standard Template (FAST) / / general alt: 📋 Advisor Agreement
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🤐 Get confidential 📋 Mutual Non-Dislosure Agreement (NDA): This form consists of a simple NDA to structure a confidential relationship between two parties (often used to protect trade secrets or other proprietary information).
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🌱Get seed capital: 📋 Shared Earnings Agreement / / equity alt: 📋 'Series Seed' Term Sheet (Equity) / 📋 Y Combinator Series AA Term Sheet / 📋 Y Combinator SAFE
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🏗️Get incorporated 📋 Corp. Package (Delaware): This Corp. Package includes simple forms for: (i) Action by Written Consent of Sole Incorporator, (ii) Certificate of Incorporation, (iii) Action by Unanimous Written Consent, (iv) Bylaws, and (v) Certificate of Secretary.
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💻Get online 📋 Website Package: This Website Package includes simple forms for: (i) Terms of Use, and (ii) Privacy Policy.
Ongoing sourcing of model forms for comparison and combination into "Starters" sets 👆:
- Founder Accord / / .md / / .doc / / OpenLaw Template
A simple, plain English, short document that lays out the most basic structure for collaborating on a new idea or project that may develop into a company.
For additional details, see Extended Founder Accord Description.
A Certificate of Incorporation is a document submitted by a business within the state it wishes to be headquartered. For example, a Delaware company only exists after the Secretary of State has received a company’s certificate of incorporation. Usually, this document is short because there are only a few requirements for it to provide enough information to the state.
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Techstars - Series AA Restated Articles of Incorporation / / .doc
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Y Combinator - Series AA Certificate of Incorporation / / .doc
Series Seed: a standardized set of legal documents that can be quickly and easily deployed for a seed investment round. Startup Starter Pack utilizes Cooley LLP's "Series Seed Fork" from the original Series Seed repo, as this set reflects more recent updates.
Techstars: a set of model documents for an angel or seed financing in the $250k-$2M range (represents “light” preferred equity financing and has very simple terms that are generally “balanced” but if anything lean toward the entrepreneurs and represents a great deal of trust in them).
Y Combinator: a set of Series AA Equity Financing Documents originally created for YC-funded startups to use when raising equity rounds with angels, with the goal of making these financings easier and more streamlined for both sides.
National Venture Capital Association (NVCA): a "template" set of model legal documents for venture capital investments put together by a group of leading venture capital attorneys.
See also, CooleyGO, "WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “FRIENDS AND FAMILY”, SEED AND SERIES A FINANCINGS?"
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Series Seed - Term Sheet (Equity) / / .md / / .doc / / OpenLaw Template
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Y Combinator - Series AA Term Sheet / / .doc / / .pdf / / OpenLaw Template
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Shared Earnings Agreement / / EC Google Doc / / .md / / OpenLaw Template
see: SEAL Calculator
For additional details, see Extended SEA Description.
Y-Combinator forms:
- SAFE: Valuation Cap, no Discount / / .doc
- SAFE: Discount, no Valuation Cap / / .doc
- SAFE: Valuation Cap and Discount / / .doc
- SAFE: MFN, no Valuation Cap, no Discount / / .doc
optional: Pro Rata Side Letter / / .doc
For additional details, see YC Extended SAFE Description.
Developed by the Founder Institute to encourage collaboration between entrepreneurs and other domain experts to build meaningful and enduring technology companies. FAST allows any mentor, any advisor or any domain expert to quickly engage with and assist a fast growing technology company at any stage using fair terms for preset equity compensation.
[WIP]
The IPA is a new way to do patent assignment that keeps control in the hands of engineers and designers. It is a commitment from Twitter to our employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. We will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission. What’s more, this control flows with the patents, so if we sold them to others, they could only use them as the inventor intended.
A Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) essentially creates a confidential relationship between two parties and is often used to protect trade secrets or other proprietary information.
NVCA Sample Code of Conduct Policy for a Company/Firm to Adopt; per NVCA, reflects "the work product of a coalition of venture capital firms, H.R. professionals, and legal/employment professionals."
- Contributor Covenant / / .md / / OpenLaw Template
A common form of 'Code of Conduct' for open-source collaboration.
Generalized ToU adapted from OpenLaw.io website.
Generalized Privacy Policy adapted from OpenLaw.io website.
In 2015, Y Combinator open sourced its sales template for the benefit of all startups. The sales template here is specially tailored for software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups – i.e. companies who charge for cloud software on a subscription basis.
[WIP]
If you are an attorney, software developer, or both, your comments would be welcome. You can propose changes through GitHub or can contact me through other channels - see the CONTRIBUTING.md file for details.
NO ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP OR LEGAL ADVICE: Communication of information by, in, to or through this project and your receipt or use of it (1) is not provided in the course of and does not create or constitute an attorney-client relationship, (2) is not intended as a solicitation, (3) is not intended to convey or constitute legal advice, and (4) is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.
This project is licensed under MIT - see the LICENSE.md file for details.