How to structure a startup with a small number of founders to avoid chance of 'paralysis' at some later point

Consider a startup with a small number of founders (lets imagine 2 to 4). At some point down the line a difference of opinion developed (such as market to target, or if to continue or fold) that can't be resolved in the normal way.

What can you do to ensure that organisational paralysis doesn't ensue?

For example

• equity & control split 49% / 51%
• the parties want to take company in different directions
• controlling party can force their way - but then minority party can loose all motivation, which means majority part has no incentive to work either as they put in 100% of work for 51% of future gain.
• controlling party may be able to buy out minority party if they can agree on price - but what if they can't agree or refuse to?
• obviously more of a problem the closer the majority/minority part.

Make a point to document and get into legal contracts if necessary as much as possible up front. There should be provisions to reevaluate everything in the future.

• Decide how responsibilities are divided
• Evaulate if everyone is meeting expectations of time, expertise and performance.
• Come up with a tie-breaker system. Maybe those with expertise in that area are given a deciding vote.
• Have a way to allow members to exit when the business direction is not to their liking or they are no longer a fit for the next version of the company.

Get it all in the open.

Personally, I would solve this using a business plan. I've been in situations where of the 2-4 founders, each of us had a unique skill set, and by setting up a business plan, we could focus the business goals and at a hight level, keep ourselves on the same page. A decent business plan with future planning (1, 6, 12, 24 and 60 month planning, more abstract the farther you go in time) that is a living document, combined with each of us working toward those goals in our section of the business, does amazing things.

To strengthen that, you could also add radical change clauses, as well as majority consent to any major directional changes. This means the business should be able to function for an extended period of time, while all founders work together to come to an agreement, if change occurs.

I think at the end of the day, people changing (or changing their minds) is just part of going into business with someone. If you have concerns about this, most of the time you can structure your business to handle it at the beginning, while you are all still agreeing on things. This can be rough if you're the one wanting change, but it protects the idea that caused you to form an entrepreneurial partnership. It's also another in a long list of reasons to make sure you're careful who you found companies with, and who you bring in as employees/contractors.

Hope that helps.

The best way to start a relationship between co-founders is to have a shareholders agreement which decides the basic framework within which the founders will operate. The agreement can also state up front the decisions which will a unanimous vote of all founders, which will ensure that decisions are taken in the interest of of all parties. A business plan can be made a schedule to the shareholders agreement to ensure that it is adhered to. Otherwise you may find that business plans are easiest to digress.

There are a number of devices that exist to solve these sorts of problems. You need to talk to a lawyer practicing in this area in the jurisdiction where you are incorporating.

Options include requiring all votes to be unanimous (forces you all to get along from the start), favourable buy-out/drag-along/tag-along/russian roulette terms (allowing disaffected parties to cash out, and creating a financial problem for the business if a split happens), some kind of casting vote structure (e.g. chairman has the casting vote, and chairmanship rotates, or allocate casting vote by lot), or a coin-toss provision.