This document’s purpose is to create a written framework for starting a business with one or more friends.

Contrary to common wisdom, I believe that starting a company with a friend can be one of the most rewarding experiences of one’s life. It can also be the most fraught. I created this template after one such failure and it’s core learning: The best way to optimize for continued friendship and a successful business is to start here, by agreeing to core terms around money, time, and personal commitments to a new venture. Good luck and happy entrepreneuring!

— Beto Juarez III

Disclaimer: Beto is not a lawyer. Please hire a good one.

Friends and Founders’ Agreement for a New Venture

The purpose of this document is to outline the basic agreement between [Founder 1] and [Founder 2], etc. , founders, regarding the establishment of a new [type of] company to be located in [City, State, Country] - and likely to be called “[Name of Co.]” .

While this document is not legally-binding, it is meant to serve as the framework for a continued investment strategy to be created and should be reviewed by legal counsel at the time of company formation.

Corporate Structure

The Venture will operate under [existing legal entity/corporation]. The reason for this arrangement is [ ].

As soon as the Venture achieves ~$[00]K in sales, the founders should aim to spin out a new company specifically for this Venture. At that time, the founders should aim to negotiate equity amongst themselves.

Roles and Commitments

In order to be successful, the founders must commit to providing high quality service in their respective roles including:

  1. A [ ] role will be needed to do the initial inspection + quoting. [Founder 1]. This role will be responsible for:
    1. Provide a real-time quote for the work required
    2. Manage all client communication after the inspection
    3. Scheduling work
    4. Manage work
    5. Final work report to the client
  2. A [ ] role will be needed to manage the business’s marketing and sales funnel + scheduling. [Founder 2] will take this role. This role will be responsible for:
    1. Managing marketing campaigns
    2. Managing incoming leads
    3. Scheduling with the team

Anticipated Startup and Operating Costs

The founders agree to first fund the following required capital expenditures before any commissions are paid out to the founders. The anticipated startup costs are: