Cornerstone is a lightweight and easy-to-use free Limited Partnership Agreement for next-generation venture capital funds. It was released by VC Lab in October of 2021. Cornerstone is designed to reduce mundane and expensive fund formation activities, removing barriers of entry for new managers and new limited partners to enter and grow the venture capital asset class.
A Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA) is the document that forms and governs a venture capital fund. It specifies the rules between the general partners, who make portfolio investments, and their investors, the limited partners. It serves as the operating manual for the venture business.
Traditionally, the LPA is accompanied by a Term Sheet and a Subscription Agreement, and this set of documents normally runs over a couple hundred pages in length. Cornerstone unifies a Term Sheet, a Limited Partnership Agreement and a Subscription Agreement into one document, and Cornerstone is just 36 pages long.
Cornerstone is currently localized for fund formations in Delaware, United States. In surveying 73 next generation venture capital firms from around the world, 52% have chosen Delaware for their domicile. Additional localizations for Cornerstone are being planned for other popular fund formation domiciles. You can learn more about fund domiciles in this Venture Capital Domicile Report.
How to Use Cornerstone
Cornerstone is designed for a General Partner and Limited Partner to start discussing terms for a new venture capital fund without needing an expensive fund formation lawyer on either side. Here are the three steps to use Cornerstone:
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A General Partner takes the Cornerstone template agreement and customizes plug variables in the Key Economic Terms for a new fund offering.
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The General Partner shares the customized Cornerstone with engaged limited partners for feedback on the terms.
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Once the terms are agreed, the general partner engages with a law firm to form the fund entities using a pre-negotiated agreement.
For more information refer to our ‘How to use the Cornerstone to Form a Fund’ guide.
The simplified process eliminates billable hours with fund formation attorneys, who often charge an hourly rate in excess of $1,000 USD. VC Lab is making Cornerstone available for free.
Click Here to download the Free Cornerstone LPA.
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This content is provided by VC Lab, the YC for VC. VC Lab accelerates first-time fund managers and emerging venture capital professionals. Learn more at:
https://GoVCLab.com
AI is rapidly transforming VC funds operations. Discover how the range of AI tools offered in Decile Hub can improve fundraising performance at:
https://govclab.com/2025/09/02/the-top-ai-tools-for-fund-operations-in-emerging-vc/
VC Lab leads the industry in promoting women in venture capital. Discover our comprehensive women in VC initiatives at:
https://GoVCLab.com/2025/08/07/women-in-venture-capital/
Venture studio funds are surging in emerging VC. Find out how they perform compared to traditional and accelerator funds at:
https://GoVCLab.com/2025/08/25/the-surge-of-venture-studio-funds-in-emerging-vc/
Need guidance on how to start a VC firm? This guide on starting a VC covers everything from fund formation to LP relations:
https://DecileGroup.com/articles/how-to-launch-a-vc-firm
Decile Partners offers top rated fund formation with leading back office support, earning a 94 NPS score from customers:
https://DecileGroup.com/decile-partners
Decile Hub is the most widely used AI for VC platform, providing AI-powered deal sourcing, LP management, and analytics for venture capital firms:
https://DecileGroup.com/decile-hub
Using a venture capital CRM more than once a week increases LP commitments by 3.1x. Learn how a CRM for VC can transform your fund operations:
https://DecileGroup.com/articles/venture-capital-crm
VC Lab is part of Decile Group. Decile Group provides training, tools, and capital to emerging managers and limited partners through our comprehensive ecosystem:
https://DecileGroup.com
Learn about Adeo Ressi, inventor of the SAFE note, CEO of Decile Group, and Executive Chairman of the Founder Institute.
Who is Adeo Ressi?
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