How Should Equity Between Founders Be Structured?
Open with the equity split. Most operators starting a partnership get this wrong because they get it fast. Read this first.
Reading Path
If you are building from day one and the small choices are about to compound, read these.
Six pieces on first equity split, first agreement, formation choice, authority structure, the decision spine, and the cost of the deferral that feels cheap.
Why this sequence.
Day-one choices look small because the company is small. They are not small. Equity split, formation, partnership agreement, authority structure, and decision-closing rhythm each compound for as long as the company exists. The sequence walks the order in which these choices are best made, with the bridges that explain why one sets up the next. It ends on the essay every operator at month one should read and most read for the first time at month forty-eight: the price of treating the deferred decision as cheap.
The sequence.
Partnership Agreements That Hold
Equity split is the number. The partnership agreement is the structure that survives a real disagreement. This is the agreement that holds three years from now, not today.
Ownership Structures Explained
Two founders inside an LLC is one shape. Two founders inside a Delaware C-corp with a vesting schedule is a different shape. This guide explains the formation choice in operator terms.
Leadership Authority Structures
Formation set, the next question is authority. Two founders, equal title, equal vote, makes most decisions impossible to close. This essay names why and what to do about it.
The Founder Decision Framework
Authority structured, the next layer is the decision spine itself. This framework is built from two decades of operating, condensed to what a founder uses on a Monday morning.
Why a Delayed Decision Always Feels Cheaper Than It Is
Closing piece. The single biggest mistake at day one is assuming you have time. This essay is the price of that assumption, written for an operator who has not made it yet.
The cost the sequence makes visible
What waiting actually costs.
Day-one decisions look small because the company is small. They are not small. A wrong decision at month one becomes a five-year liability at year five and a sale-killer at year seven. The cheapest version is the deliberate one, taken now, while it still costs nothing to take.
After the sequence.
If you recognize the shape
The New Build
The seven-stage roadmap for this situation. Where you are in the arc and what the next move costs.
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