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SHAREHOLDERS AGREEMENT<br />
Your shareholders agreement is your startup’s most<br />
important document as it sets out the relationship between<br />
shareholders and directors. It will cover matters such as:<br />
• issuing new shares<br />
• sale of existing shares<br />
• directors duties<br />
• conduct of board and shareholder meetings, and<br />
• dispute resolution.<br />
You can have your shareholders agreement drafted before<br />
looking for external investment or when raising a round,<br />
based on your term sheet.<br />
SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT<br />
A subscription agreement formalises the terms of the<br />
investment with a specific investor. It's typically based on<br />
the final term sheet and specifies:<br />
• how many shares the startup is issuing;<br />
• the subscription price for those shares;<br />
• when the startup will issue the shares; and<br />
• company (and sometimes founder) warranties.<br />
IP ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT<br />
Your IP is critical to your startup's value. Startup founders<br />
may have owned their IP personally in the early stages.<br />
It is important to ensure you have assigned your IP to<br />
the same company your investor is investing in. To do so,<br />
you will need an IP assignment agreement to transfer the<br />
ownership of the IP to the company. You may also need an IP<br />
assignment agreement if you use external developers without<br />
a development agreement, or incorporate a holding company<br />
to hold the assets of your operating company.<br />
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS<br />
Some startups will raise a round without the founders having<br />
signed employment contracts, but this is rare. Investors want<br />
to make sure the startup has employed its founders.<br />
Company warranties are statements which an investor can<br />
rely on saying everything has been done above board.<br />
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