Put advisor equity in writing before expectations drift

Trust is helpful, but startup advisor arrangements often become unclear once the company changes direction, raises money or expects more involvement than originally discussed. Problems usually arise around what the advisor was actually meant to do, whether equity was earned over time or upfront, and what happens if the relationship fades out after a few introductions or meetings. A written agreement gives the founders and the advisor a shared record of the role, the equity mechanics and the circumstances in which the arrangement can end or be revisited.

Most advisor equity agreements deal with the advisor's role, the services or introductions expected, the type or amount of equity being offered, and how that equity is earned. They often also cover vesting periods, milestone triggers, confidentiality, intellectual property, conflicts, termination and what happens if the advisor stops contributing. If the arrangement is tied to fundraising support, product advice or strategic introductions, those points should be described carefully so the agreement reflects the real commercial deal rather than a vague promise of help.

The level of customisation usually depends on what the advisor is actually doing and how the equity is meant to work. A simple arrangement may only need clear role wording and a basic vesting schedule. More involved setups might need milestone drafting, restrictions on authority, IP wording if the advisor contributes materials or know-how, and clearer exit mechanics if the relationship is short term. We use your instructions to shape the agreement around the arrangement you have actually discussed, rather than forcing it into a generic founder-advisor template.

Timing depends on how settled the commercial terms already are and whether there are open questions about vesting, milestones or the form of equity being offered. Once we have the key instructions, we prepare the draft agreement and work through any points needed to finalise it. If the founders are still deciding the commercial deal, that usually adds time because the legal wording depends on those decisions. The service covers the agreement drafting itself, while any broader cap table planning, tax structuring or longer-term support would need separate advice.

No. This page covers the advisor equity agreement itself and the legal drafting needed to document that arrangement. It does not include tax advice, ongoing representation, or a full set of company or fundraising documents unless that is separately agreed. If your startup also needs shareholder approvals, constitution updates, option documentation or investment paperwork, we can discuss those as additional work. That way, the scope stays clear and the fixed-fee remains tied to this specific document rather than a broader startup restructure.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Advisor Equity Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

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 operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.