Founder Vesting in a Shareholders’ Agreement

In this very brief article, let’s understand a very important clause that is a part of almost all Shareholders Agreements (“SHA”), which is the vesting clause. 

To understand this in detail let us first understand what an SHA is.

An SHA is an arrangement among a company's shareholders that describes how the company should be operated and outlines the shareholders' rights and obligations. The SHA is intended to make sure that shareholders are treated fairly and that their rights are protected. 

There are a multitude of reasons why an SHA becomes one of the most important legal agreements that any startup enters into, as it covers several important issues, such as: 

1. regulation of the management of the company;
2. control over the transfer of shares;
3. prevent disputes between shareholders and the company (and manage the process in the case it occurs);
4. prevent shareholder uncertainty by providing clarity as to the rights and obligations of the shareholders to the company and each other;
5. assist in raising finance from investor and banks by showing a clear demonstration of the affairs of the company; and
6. demonstrate the stability of the business to potential investors and partners.

Some of the other prime things that are incorporated in an SHA are how shares are transferred in a scenario where the investor comes along and a shareholder refuses to sell or dilute their shares. It also specifies the case where a shareholder wanting to sell their shares has to offer his shares to the investors before they offer them to anyone else.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what an SHA is and why it forms an essential agreement for a startup, let’s move on to understand what promoter vesting means and why it’s important to be included in an SHA.

What is Founder Vesting?

Founder vesting is the process by which a founder ‘earns’ his shares in the company over a period of time. The terms of such vesting are determined in accordance with the specific clauses inserted into the SHA, but the vesting usually takes place either over a period of years or when a specific milestone is hit. The purpose of having such a provision in the SHA is to prevent the founders from selling their stake in the company so long as the investors hold any shares in the company.

To understand how founder vesting works, let’s take a small example:

Say in the SHA there is a four year vesting period for the promoter’s shares and 25% of the shares to vest every year. The founder will not receive the right to sell his 100% of his equity upon signing the SHA. Instead, he will receive 25% equity for four consecutive years, totaling 100% of his shareholding over the four year vesting period.

A ‘cliff’ on the other hand means the time period between the signing of the SHA and the first vesting date, within which the founder shall not have any access to his shares. So taking the same example as above, let’s add a one year cliff to the four year vesting period. In this case, during the first year from the date of signing the SHA, the founder will not be able to sell any of his equity. After the first year, the founder’s vesting period will begin. In years 2-5, the founder will earn 25% equity each year, totaling 100% equity after five years with the company. 

Let us also understand why it is important to have such a vesting clause in the SHA.

1. Facilitates long-term commitment from founders:

Startups have limited capital and rely majorly on the founders’ efforts to work and stabilize the company and by vesting their shares over several years, a startup can motivate founders to stay and continue their efforts to grow the business.

2. Investors’ Protection:

It is a market practice for professional investors like venture capital firms or angel investors to demand vesting of founders’ shares before committing to their investment. It is a practical way to ensure the commitment of people involved in the company, and also to protect them from departing.

Conclusion

Thus, as we can see from the above, inserting a founder vesting clause in an SHA is of utmost importance as it protects the interests of both the investors as well as the founders. It enables the investors to safeguard their investment in the company by ensuring that the founders stay committed to their goals for the startup. On the other hand, it acts as a motivator for the founders to put in the work necessary to increase the valuation of the company.

Ultimately, it safeguards the best interests of the startup by acting as an insurance policy against a founder who ultimately isn’t a good fit for the company. Without share vesting, a founder could walk away (or even be terminated) from their service commitment but remain a partial owner of the company. To provide for such cases, the vesting clauses in SHAs often deal with provisions related to exit of the founders during the vesting period, which provide for how the founders’ unvested shares are going to be dealt with.

---

^Disclaimer:

^{The content of this article is for information purpose only and does not constitute advice or a legal opinion and are personal views of the author. It is based upon relevant law and/or facts available at that point of time and prepared with due accuracy & reliability. Readers are requested to check and refer to relevant provisions of statute, latest judicial pronouncements, circulars, clarifications etc before acting on the basis of the above write up. The possibility of other views on the subject matter cannot be ruled out. By the use of the said information, you agree that the Author / Treelife Consulting is not responsible or liable in any manner for the authenticity, accuracy, completeness, errors or any kind of omissions in this piece of information for any action taken thereof.}