The terms that govern private companies. Defined the way they actually operate, not the way a textbook does.
These are the mechanisms behind ownership, authority, control, and founder equity. The definition matters. The operating failure matters more.
A governance term becomes real when pressure reaches the mechanism.
Deadlock Clause
A deadlock clause defines what happens when co-founders, shareholders, or directors are split and the company still needs a decision.
Read definition GlossaryConsent Rights
Consent rights give specific shareholders approval power over decisions the company cannot make alone.
Read definition GlossaryDrag-Along Rights
Drag-along rights let an approved majority require minority shareholders to participate in a company sale.
Read definition GlossaryDecision Rights
Decision rights define who has authority to make which decisions, at what threshold, and with whose input.
Read definition GlossaryThe Governance Gap
The governance gap is the distance between formal authority and the way decisions actually move inside the company.
Read definition GlossaryReverse Vesting
Reverse vesting lets a company reclaim unvested founder shares if a founder leaves before earning them through time or contribution.
Read definition GlossaryFounder Vesting
Founder vesting ties founder equity to continued contribution so ownership matches the work still being done.
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