“Do things that don't scale.”1Except your contracts.
Build your startup with Kepta.
Early on, do everything by hand: recruit users one by one, answer support yourself, ship the fix while the customer watches. Contracts are the exception. Sign them right the first time and they scale with your company. Kepta keeps them in one place and monitors them, with lawyers reviewing what matters.
1Paul Graham's advice for early-stage startups, from “Do Things that Don't Scale” (2013).
Every startup signs the same papers.
In roughly the same order. Here is what Kepta does at each step.
Start.
Day 1 to first users
Day 1
Founders' agreement
Who owns what, who vests when, what happens if one of you leaves. Easy to agree on day one. Expensive to argue about in year two.
- Single document from scratch
Week 3
First contractor
The code they write should belong to the company, not to them. One clause decides it.
- B2B contract from scratch
- NDA and IP assignment
Month 2
Launch
Terms of service and a privacy policy, live before the first stranger signs up.
- Document set from scratch
Build.
First revenue, first money in
Month 4
First customer
A pilot becomes revenue when the terms are signed. Kepta reviews theirs or writes yours.
- Standard contract review
Month 6
First advisor
Advice for equity, with a vesting schedule, written down before it gets ambiguous.
- Advisor agreement from scratch
Month 8
Pre-seed round
The investment document, drafted on the terms you agreed, and the decision recorded where the next investor will look.
- SAFE from scratch
Grow.
Hires, big customers, the next round
Month 11
First hires
Offers, contracts and an equity plan, so the team owns a piece of what it builds.
- Offer letter for a candidate
- Equity plan for the team
Month 15
The 40-page MSA
An enterprise customer sends their paper. Kepta redlines it, negotiates it and files it in your Register.
- Long or non-standard contract
Month 20
Series A due diligence
The investor's lawyers ask for everything. It is already in one place: every agreement and every decision since day one.
- Deep Legal Health Audit
What you get. What you give.
Kepta for Startups is a design-partner programme: two months at no charge, up to 10 companies, and a decision made for each company.
You get
- Two months of the Kepta platform at no charge, worth £160.
- Legal services at no charge up to £2,000, in an offer made for your company.
- A fixed Start price after the programme, with no commitment.
You give
- Feedback every week or two.
- A case study and our badge on your site.
- A post about joining the programme on your socials.
We decide for each company separately and confirm the offer by email. The programme starts in November or December and takes up to 10 companies. The amounts are ceilings, in platform access and services, not cash.
How the programme starts.
1. Fill in the questionnaire
About ten minutes: who you are, the company, what legal work looks like today.
2. Get our answer
We read every application and decide for each company within 48 hours: a seat in the programme, or another way to start with Kepta.
3. Use Kepta and give feedback
Two months on Kepta at no charge, with feedback every week or two.
For funds and accelerators.
Give portfolio companies a clear route to legal support.
Contact Kepta about your portfolio →Apply for Kepta for Startups.
Tell us where the company is today and what needs attention first.
- You
- Company
- Need
- Decision
- Programme
Inserted by Kepta
Reviewed by a lawyer