A ready-to-use, fully customizable agreement for startup founders and investors to formalize their partnership.
Introduction:
Are you a startup founder seeking investment, or an investor ready to support emerging ventures? This professionally drafted Startup Investment Partnership Agreement Template provides a comprehensive legal framework to set out the roles, responsibilities, and rights of both parties — so you can begin your collaboration with clarity and confidence.
What’s included:
- A clear purpose statement setting out the investment objective and scope of partnership.
- Capital contribution terms: how much, when, and how funds will be used.
- Ownership & equity provisions: specifying the investor’s stake, issuance of equity, and dilution protection.
- Management and decision-making clauses: who runs the business, what major decisions require consent.
- Profit and loss sharing: how returns will be allocated.
- Representations and warranties: legal assurances from both sides.
- Confidentiality clause: protecting sensitive startup and investor information.
- Exit strategy: outlining possible paths such as buy-back, sale, IPO, or other.
- Term, termination & dispute resolution: how the agreement ends and how conflicts are handled.
- Governing law and miscellaneous legal boilerplate.
- Optional exhibits: business plan summary, financial projections, capitalization table.
Why you need it:
- Clarity from day one: Avoid misunderstandings by setting out expectations upfront.
- Professional appearance: A well-structured document that reflects your seriousness.
- Risk mitigation: Cover key legal elements such as equity issuance, use of funds, exit strategy, and governance.
- Customizable: Download in Word (DOCX) and/or PDF format so you can edit to your jurisdiction and business specifics.
- Time-saving: Ready to use, so you don’t need to start from scratch or pay heavy legal drafting fees (although you should still seek legal advice for your specific situation).
Who is it for?
- Startup founders who are about to accept or negotiate investment and want to formalize the arrangement.
- Investors (angels, seed funds) who want a standardized, reliable agreement to use in their portfolio companies.
- Advisors, incubators, or accelerators who support early-stage ventures and want to provide their founders with a legally sound tool.
Usage tips:
- Fill in all the placeholders: names, amounts, dates, jurisdiction, and business specifics.
- Review key financial and equity sections carefully (e.g., percentages, dilution clause, exit mechanism).
- Adapt governing law & dispute resolution to your country or state.
- Have both parties sign and keep copies of the executed agreement (electronic or paper).
- Store the agreement securely and review periodically as your business and investment evolve.
Important Legal Notice:
This template is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for legal advice. You should have the completed agreement reviewed by a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction before execution to ensure compliance with local laws and the specific circumstances of your business.
