Legal support for NZ startups applying to accelerators

It is usually most useful when your startup is moving from informal founder discussions into external scrutiny. That can include applying to an accelerator, speaking with early investors, starting pilot conversations, or bringing on a first employee or contractor. At that point, gaps around founder roles, ownership expectations, confidentiality and hiring terms often become more visible. This service helps put those core pieces in place in one fixed-fee engagement, rather than leaving them scattered across templates, emails and verbal understandings.

Common issues include founders operating without a written agreement, unclear intellectual property ownership, no confidentiality document for sensitive discussions, and early team arrangements being handled informally. Another frequent problem is having a website or product live without a basic privacy position documented. These issues do not always stop momentum, but they can raise questions in due diligence or programme review. This service addresses the main early-stage documents often requested or expected, while keeping the work at a practical startup level.

The service commonly includes a founders agreement, an employment or contractor agreement, an NDA template and a basic privacy policy, along with a strategy call to discuss how those documents fit your current stage. The exact drafting depends on your startup's setup, such as how many founders are involved, whether someone is contributing part-time, and whether your first team member will be engaged as an employee or contractor. If you need extra work outside the listed items, that can be scoped separately.

No. Many founders use this service before they apply, especially when they want their legal setup to look more organised before submitting materials or entering interviews. It can also be useful if you are not pursuing an accelerator but still need the same early-stage groundwork for pilots, fundraising conversations or onboarding a first hire. The service is not ongoing representation, and it is not a substitute for every legal issue a scaling startup may face, but it can help cover the main starting documents.

After the included documents are finalised, you can use them as part of your startup's legal foundation for accelerator applications, early diligence requests and internal team arrangements. Founders often move on to other work after this stage, such as capital raising documents, customer contracts or share incentive planning. If that happens, we can let you know what further legal work may be worth considering. This service itself is intended for the core early-stage documents listed on the page, rather than long-term legal management of the business.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Accelerator Ready Legal Pack service, pricing starts from $1,200.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.