Founder Institute's "FAST" Agreement (Founder / Advisor Standard Template) is used by tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and advisors per year to establish productive working relationships, trading meaningful advisor advice and support for a standardized amount of startup equity.
In This Week in Startups "Startup Checklist" series episode 5 'How to Build a Great Team', legendary angel investor and host Jason Calacanis gives the FAST Agreement a specific shout-out in how to onboard a valuable advisor, saying,
If [an advisor] is valuable to you as a founder, and they're willing to put in at least an hour to a month and at least 50 hours a year total with you—maybe 30, 40, 50 hours a year between lunches, dinners, phone calls—then I think it's worth it: there's some trade going on here of actual value. You can see the Founder Institute's FAST Agreement: FAST is basically a Founder-Advisor Standard Template that my friend Adeo Ressi came up with - most people use that. And you just have to be able to have a candid [founder-advisor] discussion.
Watch the clip, and full episode of This Week in Startups here:
The Founder / Advisor Standard Template was developed by the Founder Institute to help aspiring entrepreneurs in the startup launch programs that we operate worldwide setup advisory boards and engage with the mentors that they interact with throughout the program.
In 2011, the Founder Institute released the FAST Agreement to the public, and we have been making incremental updates on the Version 1 of the Agreement ever since. In August, 2017, the Founder Institute has released Version 2, which includes a number of enhancements:
- The FAST Agreement can now be localized into any legal jurisdiction where corporate law supports the granting of options or restricted stock without having to hire a lawyer.
- The Advisor commitment levels have been simplified and standardized.
- The signing of the Agreement has been simplified.
- The enforceability of the Agreement has been improved.
Using the FAST Agreement, you can check a few boxes, sign the Agreement and start working. There is no longer the need for cumbersome negotiation, legal drafting and review!
For more information and to access the Founder / Advisor Standard Template for free, visit FI.co/FAST
Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $1.85BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
