Partnership Foundations for founding teams
Before you build the company, build the partnership
Why this exists
A contract is only as strong as the alignment behind it. Many founders sign agreements they don't fully understand, or worse, they avoid the 'hard questions' to keep the momentum going.
Co-founder conflict isn't a fringe risk — it may be the single biggest reason founding teams don't make it. Harvard Business School professor Noam Wasserman's research found that 65% of high-potential startups fail because of conflict between co-founders, not the market or the product.
UK-specific research backs this up: a survey of over 3,000 UK business owners by Fuel Ventures found that 43% had been forced to buy out a co-founder because of rifts and power struggles. The reasons are rarely about the legal terms themselves. Among the UK founders in that survey who'd split from a co-founder, 71% pointed to differences of opinion on the company's direction, and 18% said the departing co-founder simply didn't share the business's values.
We bridge the gap between coaching and law. We believe that a shareholders' agreement should be a living tool for governance, rooted in shared values and clear expectations. We don't just draft clauses; we help you build a foundation that scales.
Most co-founder breakups don't happen because of poor legal drafting. They happen because of unspoken assumptions about roles, equity, and long-term vision. By the time a dispute reaches a lawyer, the trust is often already gone.
The Partnership Foundations package is designed to secure both your legal structure and your working relationship. We facilitate the critical conversations you need to have now, so your business is built on a real understanding and alignment, and your shareholders' agreement reflects a true partnership.
What's included
Coaching sessions
One shareholders agreement
Deep-dive conversations facilitated by a coaching expert to surface expectations, values, define roles, and agree on a shared vision before anything is put on paper.
The Partnership Foundations package includes a minimum of two sessions to have all the conversations we need to make sure that common values and goals are agreed on and any friction area is identified and resolved.
The coaching sessions can be done in person or online, and include individual and joint exercises as well as role play elements to put you in situation. Together, we'll work on each founder's motivation, strengths and weaknesses, decision-making preferences, values, risk profile, contribution and limitations.
This will then form the basis for identifying synergies and complementarities and to come up with the right foundations for your working relationship.
The agreement itself will cover the essentials you'd expect — equity split, decision-making, deadlock resolution, exit scenarios — but every clause is shaped by what actually came out of your coaching sessions, not a generic template with your names swapped in.
It documents your roles, your foundations, and the values and vision you've defined together, so the agreement is something you can hold each other accountable to, not just a document in a drawer.
Who this is for
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Founding teams wanting a solid, professional start to a new venture
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Partners formalizing their commitment after a pivot
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Existing co-founders seeking deeper alignment and wanting to formalize the vision and goals they've built between them
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Startups ready for their first formal investment round
How it works
Values and contribution
We meet with your founding team to talk through what each of you is bringing, what your strengths, weaknesses and core values are, and what you want the future to look like. This is often the first time founders say some of this out loud.
Limitations and positioning
We pressure-test the relationship in role play exercises and against situations that break founding teams — someone wants to leave, someone stops contributing, one of you disagrees with a major decision. Better to work through these on paper before they're real.
Agreement Drafting
We translate what we've heard into your shareholders agreement: equity split, decision-making rights, vesting, leaver provisions, dispute resolution — all reflecting the specific agreement your team reached, not a generic default.
Review together
We walk through the draft with you, section by section, so every founder understands exactly what they're signing and why.
Why coaching before drafting matters
Agreements are only as strong as the alignment behind them. Coaching ensures that the agreement we write is a true reflection of the partnership. It turns the legal process from a bureaucratic hurdle into a team-building milestone.
This proactive approach saves significant time and legal cost later by addressing complexity upfront through conversation, not just clauses.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to set up a shareholders’ agreement?
The core of the work should happen before you start building the company or before you bring on significant investment. It’s much easier to have hard conversations about roles, exit strategies, and equity when things are going well.
Why do we need coaching if we’re already friends?
Friendship is built on shared interests and history; partnerships are built on shared values and complementary expectations. Coaching helps you transition from 'friends' to 'business partners' by creating a space to discuss things that friends usually don't—like what happens if one of you wants to leave or isn't performing.
Is this a legal service?
We provide contract drafting and legal advice as well as coaching. While Marie-Amandine is a senior commercial lawyer, Simply Terms is a consultancy. We provide robust commercial frameworks and agreements. For localized tax advice or specific regulatory filings, we recommend consulting with your accountant or local regulatory counsel.
How long does the whole process take?
Typically, the package is completed over 2-3 weeks. This allows time for the coaching sessions, reflections in between, the drafting phase, and a final review session to ensure everyone is fully aligned before signing.