Co-founder splits that don't blow up at Series A
The cap-table conversation founders avoid in month two is the one that detonates at the term-sheet stage 18 months later. The fix is boring, written, and takes one afternoon — but most founders skip it.
Equal splits aren't the problem. Unvested equal splits are. Standard UK vesting — 4 years with a 1-year cliff — applies to every founder including you. If a co-founder leaves in month 9, the company keeps the equity.
Write down who has the final call on product, hiring, and fundraise. Not who has a "say" — who decides when you disagree. The conversation is awkward in month 2 and impossible in month 14.
Pre-agree the buyout formula. What happens if a co-founder is asked to leave? What happens if they choose to leave? At what valuation? Paid over what period? Documented now costs nothing; documented later costs the round.
Lead investors at Series A will diligence your cap table back to incorporation. Every shortcut you took in year one will surface in week two of legal DD.
“The co-founder conversation you don't want to have in month two is the term sheet you don't get in month twenty.”
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