They insisted on adding a clause to the partnership agreement — anyone read up on vesting?

i was on the founders side too vesting feels very scary at first. but later i understood: its just to prevent bad founders from leaving. if your business is going to succeed, youll stay too, and equity wont leak. tbh so accept the normal terms

I'm curious: did they give you shares for free at the start or did they give you X% of the shares? Because if your total stake is 50% and they put vesting on that 50% that's super harsh. But if it's 20%, it's lighter.

Vesting formula: 4 years, 1-year cliff. So nothing in year 1, linear vesting in years 2-5. If a partner leaves, the company buys back the unvested portion. This is standard. Exceptions: founder's illness, death, wrongful termination (these clauses must be in place).

Have a lawyer read the contract before signing. Especially: 1- What is the cliff, 2- What are the exceptions, 3- Who gets the remaining shares if the founder leaves, 4- What the investor does in hairy scenarios (sale, bankruptcy). If you prepare a cheat sheet with these questions, you'll understand the contract better before signing.

If you need the money, accept it, but keep it in writing, understand every clause and sign. Vesting isn't that scary; it protects the investor from bad founders (who leave 3 months after the money comes in). If you're a good founder, no problem.

My perspective changed after experiencing that. Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You're right, I've been down that road too. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Could you elaborate on that? The only thing separating friendship from partnership is a written contract.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Same here. When making a decision first look at what data you have on hand.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

this thread is archived.

The answer above hits the nail on the head. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

Im also curious if anyone does it differently.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I've been dealing with this for a long time. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

This is exactly what we experienced. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

If I were you I'd go this route.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. When listing put proof that the product actually works at the very top.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

Saved.

I agree with this. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

Proven by experience.

I feel the same way. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way. This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.