Practical templates for running a startup and raising your first round — built or vetted for New Zealand founders.
This page brings together the core documents founders need to:
These are execution documents — the artefacts founders reach for when decisions matter: hiring, applying for funding, issuing shares, taking investment, and running a board.
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🚨 Disclaimers:
This page follows how New Zealand startups actually grow:
Company Setup → Team → Capital → Governance
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Making the company real and credible — before equity enters the picture.
This is where most NZ founders start. These documents help you operate properly, apply for grants or visas, and engage with institutions before private capital is involved.
Includes:
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Bringing people in — and doing it properly.
Once you move beyond just the founders, documentation matters. NZ employment obligations apply earlier than many founders expect.
Includes:
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Raising money and managing ownership.
This section begins the moment equity, dilution, or investor rights enter the picture. Everything here affects ownership structure or investor expectations.
Includes:
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Running the company once investors or a board are involved.
Governance is what changes after capital is raised. These documents help founders meet investor expectations, protect directors, and prevent expensive clean-up work later.
Includes:
Most founders download templates before they fully understand them.
For deeper context on: founder equity, dilution, SAFEs vs priced rounds, investor expectations and staying investor-ready without overspending early –
See Startup Legal — an Expert Edition built by Tony Davis (Avid.legal), designed to help Kiwi founders manage legal before the first dollar in.