07 / 07 · Practice Area
Startup & Venture
Formation through exit, at venture-grade pace.
Formation through exit, at venture-grade pace. Fixed-fee, partner-led counsel for funded startups and the investors backing them - without the enterprise overhead or the hourly surprise.
Who this is for
Who we built this practice for
This practice is built for founders and investors who want partner-led counsel at venture pace, without paying for the enterprise overhead they do not need. Funded startups from Seed through Series B and beyond come to us when the next round, the next hire and the next customer contract all need legal coverage in the same week, and the answer cannot be a six-week associate ramp-up. Founders and co-founders working through formation, founder agreements, vesting and early commercial contracts use us to set foundations that do not have to be re-papered at Series A.
Angel investors and early-stage funds rely on us for term sheet review, definitive documentation and portfolio support that protects investment economics without picking unnecessary fights with founders. Portfolio companies scaling toward an institutional round or a strategic acquisition use us to clean up the legacy paper that early-stage life always leaves behind. And growth-stage founders managing ESOP design, secondaries and exit conversations get a partner who has run those processes for diligence rather than just for the closing dinner. We work fluently with both sides of the cap table, with conflicts cleanly managed.
Scope
What this practice covers
From formation through exit, we run startup work as one continuous engagement rather than as a series of one-off matters. At formation, we incorporate the entity, draft founders' agreements with vesting and IP assignment, set up the cap table cleanly, and put in place the policy stack (employment, confidentiality, IP, ESOP-eligibility) that diligence will read two years from now. ESOP design covers pool sizing, scheme drafting (SAR, RSU, ESOP), grant administration, vesting and acceleration mechanics, and the regulatory and tax considerations attached to each variant.
On financing, we handle convertible instruments and SAFEs at the early stage, priced Seed and Series A through C rounds, and the negotiation of term sheets, shareholders' agreements, share subscription agreements and the side letters that quietly do most of the work. We push back on the small concessions that look harmless at signing and become discounts at the next round, and we draft for the diligence the documents will face, not just the round closing in front of us.
Commercial contracting covers MSAs, DPAs, vendor and customer agreements, channel and partnership deals, and the customer paper that protects revenue and survives enterprise procurement. IP protection covers founder and employee IP assignment, open-source compliance, trademark and copyright filings, and the assignment chains that diligence will trace. Exit work spans secondary transactions, ESOP exercise and liquidity events, and primary M&A on the sell side, with the data room and disclosures built off the same record we have been maintaining all along.
Our Process
How the work moves
Step 01
Formation
We incorporate the entity, set up the cap table, paper the founders' arrangements with proper vesting and IP assignment, and put the early policy and contract stack in place. The decisions made here determine whether the company is clean at Series A or carrying invisible debt into it.
Step 02
Financing
We run convertible and priced rounds end to end: term sheet review, definitive documents, conditions precedent, closing mechanics and post-closing filings. The drafting is built for the next round's diligence, not just for this round's wire.
Step 03
Scaling
We handle commercial contracts, customer paper, IP protection, employment scaling and the regulatory questions that arrive with product-market fit. Ongoing legal becomes part of the operating cadence, not a quarterly emergency.
Step 04
Exit readiness
We keep the cap table clean, the IP chain documented and the contracts diligence-ready throughout the life of the company, so an acquisition, secondary or IPO process opens with materials that are already in order rather than with a six-week scramble.
What you get
Outcomes you can plan against
Clean cap table and contract foundations that survive diligence at the next round, the next strategic investor and the eventual exit, without a frantic clean-up sprint. Fixed fees that do not blow out, because each round is scoped, priced and delivered as a defined engagement. Partner-led work, not associate handoffs on the questions that actually shape the company. And when exit comes, your diligence materials are clean because we built for it from day one, not because we reverse-engineered it in the closing window.
By the numbers
Key facts
- Cap table errors discovered in diligence cost founders 2-5% equity in rework.
- Fixed-fee rounds: typical cost ₹50K-₹2L per round (Seed to Series A).
- 4-year ESOP vesting reduces founder disputes by ~85%.
- Most founder disputes are preventable with a properly drafted founder agreement.
- Clean cap table + IP ownership reduces exit deal friction by 70%.
Frequently Asked
Common questions
Do you offer fixed fees for fundraising rounds?
Yes. Each round has fixed pricing based on dilution and complexity. No surprises.
Can you negotiate our term sheet?
Yes. We review term sheets, flag unfavorable terms, and negotiate key points with investor counsel.
Do you set up ESOPs?
Yes. We design ESOP pools, draft stock option plans, and manage grant documentation.
Will diligence find problems in our paper?
Not if you work with us from formation. We build for diligence from day one.
How fast can you turn a round?
2-4 weeks from signed term sheet to closing, assuming straightforward cap table.
Do you work with our investors' counsel?
Yes. Most investors have counsel; we coordinate documentation and don't conflict.
What does IP protection cover?
Founder IP assignments, employee agreements with IP clauses, confidentiality, open-source compliance, trademark filing.
How do you price exit transactions?
Fixed or phased, based on complexity. Exit deals are typically faster (4-8 weeks).
Next Step
Discuss a startup or venture matter.
A confidential conversation with our managing partner to scope the right approach.
Book a Consultation