Everybody talks about the milestones a young entrepreneur has to go through when starting a company. I’m not even talking about the pre pre pre milestones we all know and have learned to adapt to - college degree, working in an enterprise company for 5 years to “see from the inside”, then working in a startup to “understand how to build”, and so on and so forth. Come onnnnn man!

Starting a company isn’t easy. Stress, pushing things, doing some, neglecting some. One thing you should not neglect is your founders’ agreement.

It’s a known thing that when everyone is happy, it’s all smiles and laughs. The issues come when everyone is mad. At that time, the only friend you have left is your signature on a piece of paper. The founders’ agreement is there for you.

Really? Is it that important?

Yes, it is. It’s something you never want to do, but always must do. The issue, as I said, is that no one wants to talk about divorce when they’re not even getting married.

Bottom line:

  1. Just do it.
  2. Take time where you don’t do anything but this.
  3. Stay in a room until the document is agreed on and signed. The process from start to end can take a week, and it can take a year.
  4. Think carefully about who you bring into your founders’ agreement. This is a big deal.
  5. Start a company as fast as possible. Every delay, even when the potential is not clear on the horizon, pushes it even further away, because you are not even a real company yet.
  6. Start the company only when you have the core team. Others will be able to just tag along. No need to “wait for them”. They will just join when they can.