Starting a business · Czechia and Slovakia
Legal package for startups
Every startup eventually reaches the point where an investor's due diligence exposes the legal backlog from year one: unclear ownership, a friend's code without a contract, promised percentages without paperwork. Our startup package addresses the foundations together: incorporation, a founders' agreement with vesting, product rights and contracts with the first team members. So at your first funding round you present a data room rather than explain gaps.
- Lawyer registered with the Czech and Slovak Bar Associations
- From incorporation to funding-round preparation
- Package scope agreed in advance
What we'll do for you
We assemble the package from proven components according to the startup's stage. We skip what you already have and fill what is missing. Scope and price are agreed in advance.
Select an item to see the details.
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Company formation
An s.r.o. or simple joint-stock company according to your investor and option plans, including a comparison of which form supports your growth.
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Founders' agreement
Ownership, vesting with a cliff, roles and exits — a document addressing the most common cause of startup failure: founders separating without rules.
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Product rights
Contracts with contractors and employees so code, design and content belong to the company, including regularising work created before incorporation.
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Brand protection and confidentiality
NDAs for negotiations, basic protection of the name and logo, and trade mark recommendations when the time is right.
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Investor preparation
Organising documents in a data room and checking due diligence readiness, addressing in advance the list of items the investor will want to see.
Deliverablea legally established startup: company, founders' agreement, product rights and documents ready for investor due diligence
How it works
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- Consultationday 0
Stage, team, product and plans — we assemble the package and confirm the price.
- Incorporation and agreements
The company, founders' agreement and first contracts, in a sensible sequence.
- Product rights
We settle rights to what has already been created and put contracts in place for future work.
- Readiness checkbefore the first round
We review the data room through an investor's eyes and add anything missing for due diligence.
Startups do not fail because of bad ideas as often as they fail because founders part without rules or nobody has settled the rights to the product. Both can be addressed at the outset for a fraction of the later cost.
Our startup package provides the legal essentials for year one: incorporate correctly, agree terms in writing and own your product — ready for the day an investor examines everything.
No-obligation enquiry
Ready to start?
Send us an enquiry. We usually reply within 24 hours with a price confirmation and next steps. The first 30-minute consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
- 1Send your enquiry via this form
- 2Usually within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
- 3We start work only after your approval
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Or email us about this matter.
What clients ask
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Why a package rather than individual services?
Startup documents must fit together: the founders' agreement with the company form, contractor contracts with product rights, and everything with future investment documentation. The package ensures consistency and the right sequence; handling the same matters separately costs more and leaves gaps.
S.r.o. or j.s.a. — which is better for a startup?
The j.s.a. was designed for startups, with shares carrying special rights, easier options and investor entry. The trade-off is more formal incorporation, including share registration with the central securities depository. An s.r.o. is cheaper and simpler, but accommodates options and investors less easily. The choice depends on growth plans; comparison is part of the consultation.
A friend builds our product and invoices us. Is that a problem?
Not yet, until you fall out or an investor arrives. For a computer program created to order, the rules on employee works apply and the client exercises the economic rights (Section 91(4) of the Slovak Copyright Act); without a written agreement, however, it is hard to prove what exactly your friend created and whether it was a work made to order at all. For the other outputs, such as design, copy or content, the client receives, absent a specific arrangement, consent only for the purpose arising from the agreement (Section 91(1)). This is a frequent early-stage due diligence finding and becomes harder to resolve over time. We address it immediately within the package.
When is the right time for this package?
Ideally before incorporation; the next best time is now. A sound foundation costs a fraction of remediation before a funding round under time pressure, when the investor has deadlines and your negotiating position is weak.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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Three of us are forming an s. r. o. How do we set up vesting so that a co-founder who leaves after a few months does not walk away with a full interest?
In a Slovak s. r. o., vesting is set up contractually, in a written members' agreement under Section 66c of the Commercial Code. The founders receive their interests at once and undertake that anyone leaving early will transfer the unvested part of their interest to the others at a price fixed in advance. For the undertaking to be enforceable, the memorandum of association must also accommodate it (transfer and division of an interest), and the form of the transfer must be kept in mind: since 17 August 2026 it requires a notarial deed or lawyer authorisation.
Read the answer -
We are setting up a startup as an s.r.o. Is a memorandum of association enough, or do we also need a founders’ agreement?
For a startup, usually both, because each document does a different job. The memorandum of association has statutory content, is deposited in the public collection of documents and binds the company and every future member. A founders’ agreement under Section 66c of the Commercial Code is not public and binds only those who signed it; vesting, roles, rights to the product and the rules for parting company belong there. Both documents are drafted together, so that they do not contradict each other.
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A co-founder programmed a prototype before the company was formed. Who owns the code and how do we get it into the company?
The code belongs to the founder as its author, not to the company, unless they wrote it in the course of work for another employer or client. The rule on employee works does not apply as against the company, because the company did not exist when the code was created and the founder had no employment relationship or office with it. The company may use the code only with the author's consent, and therefore needs a written licence agreement: exclusive, covering every necessary manner of use including modifications, and with consent to sub-licences and assignment of the licence given in advance.
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Further reading
Classes of shares in a simple joint-stock company: how to divide votes, profit and information between founders, investor and team on incorporation
A simple joint-stock company makes it possible to distinguish the shares of the founders, of the investor and of the employees without elaborate contractual structures. The article is for founders incorporating a j. s. a.: what the Act allows, where its limits lie and why classes of shares are worth designing in the very first articles of association.
Read more →
Legal due diligence on a startup before the first round: what an investor checks and what to prepare in advance
Before a first investment, an investor will have the startup checked over legally. The company is usually young, yet the questions concentrate on the same areas: who owns the company, who owns the product and what the founders have promised the people around them. This article is for founders who want to prepare before the investor’s list of questions arrives.
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A joint-stock company in Slovakia or in the Czech Republic: how incorporation, capital and bodies differ
The Slovak and the Czech joint-stock company share a name but are governed by different statutes. We compare who may incorporate them, what capital they need, what bodies they must have and what shares they issue, for businesses deciding in which country to incorporate a joint-stock company.
Read more →