Founder Document Studio for Startups
SAFEs, NDAs, customer contracts, offer letters and investor updates, drafted from your facts, with Y Combinator and Common Paper forms kept word for word.
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Sales & Partnerships
Common Paper
Common Paper's one-page non-binding term sheet for a business deal, such as a partnership or big sale, with a row per agreed topic and binding confidentiality.
Sales & Partnerships
Common Paper
Common Paper's non-binding letter of intent between a provider and a customer: the product, what it does, fees, launch date and five confidentiality options.
Sales & Partnerships
Customer discovery emails asking potential customers for a 20-minute problem interview: a cold email, a warm intro, a follow-up and an outreach log.
Sales & Partnerships
A 30-minute customer discovery interview script with timed sections on past events, workarounds and buying, plus hypotheses, a notes table and a summary.
Sales & Partnerships
Y Combinator
A customer's non-binding letter of intent to license your product: the number of users, the monthly fee per user, the delivery date and confidentiality terms.
Sales & Partnerships
A proposal for a paid design partnership with a large customer: scope, success criteria, timeline, fees, a credit on conversion and the path to a contract.
Sales & Partnerships
A security questionnaire answer bank for software startups selling to enterprises: certifications, hosting, encryption, access, incidents, vendors and gaps.
People & Exec Support
A startup offer letter for a full-time US employee, with salary, a stock option grant and vesting, benefits, invention assignment and at-will terms.
Founders & Small Business
A cofounder exit checklist covering the unvested share buyback, resignations, IP confirmation, account access, the separation agreement and who to tell.
Founders & Small Business
Two short emails for a warm investor introduction: the ask to someone who knows the investor, and a forwardable note with traction, team and the raise.
Founders & Small Business
A startup funding announcement kit with headline options, a press release with quotes and boilerplate, an email to customers and a three-week launch plan.
Founders & Small Business
A monthly investor update email that leads with key numbers, cash and runway, then specific asks, highlights, lowlights, thanks and next month's goals.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard AI addendum, version 1.0: cover page choices on training with customer data, output ownership, indemnity and AI acceptable use.
Legal
A unanimous board consent for a startup that approves a 409A valuation, option grants, a SAFE round, officers and a bank account without holding a meeting.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard Cloud Service Agreement, version 2.1: an order form per purchase, a cover page for liability caps and governing law, and standard terms.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's Cloud Service Agreement 2.1 with its Service Level Agreement 2.0: a SaaS contract plus uptime and support targets backed by bill credits.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard mutual NDA, version 1.0: a one-page cover page for the purpose, term and governing law, plus standard terms both sides keep as written.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's one-page amendment for changing a signed agreement: the agreement and parties, when the change takes effect, one row per change, and signatures.
Legal
An IP assignment for contractors that transfers past and future work to your company, with a prior inventions list, open source limits and confidentiality.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed Notes board consent: the directors' written approval of a convertible note round, its total amount and the attached form of note.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed Notes term sheet: amount, interest, maturity, conversion at the next financing, and what investors get if the company is sold first.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed Notes promissory note: a startup loan that converts into shares at the next qualified financing, with interest and maturity terms.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard data processing agreement, version 1.1: cover page terms for subprocessors, security, CCPA and EU or UK transfers, plus GDPR annexes.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard design partner agreement, version 1.3: a cover page for the product, partner commitments, term and fees, plus terms on feedback.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard HIPAA business associate agreement, version 1.0: cover page terms for breach reporting, subcontracting, offshoring and health data use.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's independent contractor agreement, version 1.0: a statement of work for services, schedule and rate, plus terms assigning the work to you.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed investor questionnaire, in which each investor certifies how they qualify as an accredited investor for a private round.
Legal
A short mutual NDA for two companies sharing confidential information while they explore a partnership, deal or acquisition, with term and court choices.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard one-way NDA: a cover page for the discloser, purpose, term and governing law, plus confidentiality terms only the recipient signs.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard pilot agreement, version 1.1, for a customer trying your product before buying, with an order form for the product, dates and fees.
Legal
Y Combinator
Y Combinator's post-money SAFE, version 1.2, with a valuation cap and no discount: how the SAFE converts in a priced round, a sale or a shutdown.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's professional services agreement, version 1.1, for consulting or custom work: a statement of work, key terms cover page and standard terms.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard partnership agreement, version 1.1, for referral, co-marketing and sponsorship deals, with a cover page for each side's duties and fees.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's order form for its Cloud Service Agreement, version 2.1: the product, start date, subscription period, fees and payment for one purchase.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's SaaS order form with its service level agreement: one purchase under a signed Cloud Service Agreement, plus uptime, response times and credits.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's click-through terms of service for SaaS customers who sign up online, built on its Cloud Service Agreement, version 2.1, with fields to fill in.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed board consent: directors' written approval of the restated certificate, the investment agreement and the sale of preferred stock.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed investment agreement: the sale of preferred stock, closings, company and investor representations, and the deal term exhibits.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed restated charter creating Series Seed preferred stock, with its liquidation preference, conversion, voting and protective provisions.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed stockholder consent: stockholders' written approval of the restated certificate of incorporation and other steps of the round.
Legal
Cooley
Cooley's Series Seed term sheet for a priced seed round: amount, pre-money valuation, option pool, 1x liquidation preference, board seats and investor rights.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's standard software license agreement, version 1.1, for software customers install on their own systems, with an order form and standard terms.
Legal
An advisor agreement for a US startup, with the advisor's scope and goals, an equity grant with monthly vesting, confidentiality and invention assignment.
Legal
Common Paper
Common Paper's statement of work for one project under a signed professional services agreement: services, deliverables, schedule, fees and acceptance.
How to choose and draft startup legal documents
Startup legal documents are the agreements and records that settle who owns the company and its work, what investors bought, and what you promise customers. Most US startups that plan to raise from investors need the same core set. It starts with a charter, bylaws and founder stock agreements with vesting, then adds IP assignments, board consents, SAFEs or seed round papers, NDAs and customer contracts. Start each from a published standard form where one exists, and change only the blanks.
One principle runs through all of them: use the form the other side already knows. Their lawyer then checks your blanks instead of reading, and arguing over, every line.
The legal documents each stage needs
You don't need every document on day one. Each arrives with an event: forming the company, a first hire, a first check, a first customer. Get it signed before that event, because a signature is hardest to collect after someone has been paid or has left.
Core startup legal documents by stage
| Stage | Documents | What they settle |
|---|---|---|
| Forming the company | Certificate of incorporation (the charter), bylaws, founder stock purchase agreements with vesting | Who owns what, and what a founder who leaves early keeps |
| Hiring | Offer letters, invention assignments, contractor and advisor agreements, a stock option plan | Pay and equity, and that the company owns what people build for it |
| Raising money | SAFEs or Series Seed documents, board consents, investor questionnaires | What investors bought, that each one qualifies to invest, and proof the board approved it |
| Selling | NDAs, a cloud service agreement or terms of service, order forms, a privacy policy, a data processing agreement | What you deliver and charge, how you handle personal data, and who carries which risks |
Settle the founders' split and vesting first, while everyone still agrees. The founder equity split template models what each split gives each founder and what a founder who leaves early keeps.
Start from a standard form
Most agreements a startup signs already have a public form that investors and customers recognize. Common Paper, which sells contract management software, publishes free standard agreements, from NDAs to cloud service contracts, created by a committee of dozens of attorneys1. For a priced seed round, the open-source Series Seed documents fill the same role.
A standard works because only the blanks change. Common Paper puts every negotiated term on a cover page and keeps the standard terms fixed. Buyers and vendors can then review them once and rely on them over and over1.
Y Combinator gives the same advice for its SAFE: keep the SAFE unmodified and give any agreed-upon rights in a separate side letter2. For US companies, YC's free Send a SAFE tool fills in the official form and emails it to your investor to sign.
Company: Example Robotics, Inc., a Delaware corporation
Investor: Sample Seed Fund I, L.P.
Purchase Amount: $250,000
Date: March 2, 2026
Post-Money Valuation Cap: $10,000,000
Governing law: Delaware
- Copy the legal name exactly. Use the name and state on your certificate of incorporation, not your brand.
- Know what you are selling. At these numbers, this SAFE sells 2.5% of the company.
- Change nothing else. Pro rata or information rights go in a side letter, never into the SAFE's text.
Add up every SAFE before you sign the next one. On a post-money SAFE, the ownership sold equals the investment divided by the valuation cap2. A second SAFE of $500,000 at an $8 million cap sells another 6.25%, for 8.75% in all. The SAFE and note conversion calculator shows what the founders keep after the priced round.
If a customer insists on its own contract, read it closely before you sign. A contract review sets out what you would commit to, dates every deadline and lists the changes to ask for.
Get the work assigned in writing
Paying for work doesn't make you its owner. The U.S. Copyright Office says commissioned work is made for hire only if it falls in one of nine categories and both parties sign a written agreement saying so3. Most software fits none of them, so code a contractor writes usually stays theirs until they assign it to you.
Employees are covered differently. Work they create as part of their regular duties is made for hire automatically, but that rule is about copyright, not inventions. Have every employee sign an invention assignment when they join, and every contractor sign an IP assignment before work starts.
Founders need one too. Code you wrote before the company existed is yours until you assign it, often as part of buying your founder shares. If you built any of it while working for someone else, check that employer's agreement as well.
Already have work done without paperwork? Ask for an assignment now, since one signed today can still cover it. The contractor IP assignment template has a register that lists everyone who never signed one, ranked by whether their work still ships.
Record approvals and meet the deadlines
Issuing stock, granting options and selling SAFEs all need the board's approval. Y Combinator puts it plainly: your startup's board of directors must approve issuing SAFEs2. In Delaware, unless the charter or bylaws say otherwise, directors can act without a meeting if all of them consent in writing or by electronic transmission4. Delaware also requires you to file the signed consents with the board's minutes.
Three US rules come with a clock or a price attached:
- 83(b) election: if your founder shares vest over time, file IRS Form 15620 or a signed statement no later than 30 days after the shares are transferred5. Miss it, and as the shares vest, any rise in their value since you bought them is generally taxed as ordinary income.
- Form D: in a Rule 506(b) round, where you can't advertise the raise, the SEC requires it within 15 days after the first sale of securities6. States can add their own notice filing and fee.
- Option grants: set the exercise price at fair market value or higher on the grant date. A lower price brings the option under Section 409A's rules on deferred pay. An independent appraisal dated no more than 12 months before the grant7 is presumed reasonable.
When to bring in a lawyer or accountant
Have a lawyer review any financing, equity grant or cofounder exit before anyone signs, and any contract with real money or liability at stake. Take the 83(b) and 409A questions to a tax adviser. Everything here describes US rules and is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Check it before anyone signs
Before anyone signs
- The company's legal name and state match its certificate of incorporation
- Every blank and bracket is filled in or removed
- Negotiated terms sit on the cover page or in a side letter
- The board has approved any stock, options or SAFEs
- Each signature block names the signer and their title
- The 83(b) and Form D dates are in your calendar
- The signed copy is saved where an investor's lawyer can find it
To get a first draft faster, describe the document in the tool at the top of this page. River starts from a matching ready-made form when one fits, fills in your facts and marks anything it still needs from you.
How it works
Describe the document you need and who will read it, or pick one of the 44 ready-made documents above. Attach what you have, such as the email that asked for it, your deck or an earlier agreement. River picks the right starting point, fills in your facts and marks anything missing for you to confirm.
Published forms from Y Combinator, Cooley and Common Paper keep every standard term word for word. Advice stays out of the document: River answers your questions in the chat, such as how to price a pilot, and says what a lawyer should review. It never sends anything for you.
Describe the document
Say what you need and who will read it, or pick a ready-made document. Attach the files behind it.
River picks the form
It starts from one of 44 ready-made documents when one fits, or writes a new one from your description.
Get your draft
Your facts filled in, standard terms left word for word, and every missing fact marked for you to confirm.
Review and send it
Edit anything, ask River for a cover email or questions for your lawyer, then send it yourself.
What you get
- A starting point chosen from 44 ready-made documents, or a new document written for your situation
- Y Combinator, Cooley and Common Paper forms kept word for word, with only their blanks filled in
- Your names, amounts, dates and terms, taken from your message and the files you attach
- Each missing fact marked in the document for you to confirm, never guessed or quietly invented
- A short answer in the chat to any question you asked, plus what a lawyer should review
- A formatted document in your River workspace, ready to edit, share or download as a Word file
Common questions
What legal documents does a startup need?
A US startup formed as a corporation usually starts with a certificate of incorporation, bylaws and founder stock agreements with vesting. It then adds IP assignments from everyone who builds the product, and board consents for any stock or options. Raising money adds SAFEs or seed round papers, and selling adds NDAs and customer contracts. Where a published standard form exists, start from it.
How do I draft a startup document with River?
Type what you need and who will read it in the box at the top of this page, or pick a ready-made document, then attach the files behind it. River chooses the starting point, fills in your facts and marks anything missing. The draft opens in your free River workspace, where you can edit it, share it or download it as a Word file.
Can it draft a SAFE?
Yes, from Y Combinator's own form. River starts from YC's post-money SAFE with a valuation cap and fills in only its blanks: company, state, investor, amount, date, cap and governing law. The form states that neither side has changed it beyond those blanks. Any extra rights belong in a side letter, and River tells you to take that to your lawyer.
Can it draft a customer contract?
Yes. River starts from the Common Paper agreement that fits the deal, such as the cloud service, pilot, design partner or data processing agreement. It fills in the cover page from your facts and leaves the standard terms untouched, so the customer's lawyer can see exactly what differs from the standard. Common Paper publishes these agreements free under a Creative Commons license.
Does it work for companies outside the United States?
Partly. The ready-made legal forms are written for US companies, most of them for Delaware corporations. If you choose another country, River says so in the chat and won't present a US form as ready to use there. Investor updates, proposals, emails and checklists work anywhere, but have a local lawyer prepare or review contracts and financing documents.
Is this legal advice?
No. River drafts from what you share and keeps published forms intact, but it doesn't give legal advice or tell you a document is enforceable or compliant. For a financing, an employment document or regulated work, it says what a lawyer should review. Have your own lawyer check anything that moves ownership, money or liability before anyone signs.
Is the Founder Document Studio free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your document opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it with your cofounders or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
Sources
Common Paper. “Standard Contracts.” commonpaper.com (opens in a new tab)
Y Combinator. “The SAFE — the open standard for startup fundraising.” ycombinator.com (opens in a new tab)
U.S. Copyright Office. “Circular 30 Works Made For Hire.” copyright.gov (opens in a new tab)
Delaware Code. “Delaware Code Title 8, Chapter 1, Subchapter 4.” delcode.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
IRS. “Form 15620 (Rev. 4-2025).” irs.gov (opens in a new tab)
SEC. “Private Placements — Rule 506(b).” sec.gov (opens in a new tab)
eCFR. “26 CFR 1.409A-1 — Definitions and covered plans.” ecfr.gov (opens in a new tab)
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.