# Set up the company

Settle who owns what, bring the right questions to your own counsel and accountant, and keep signed records in one place before others write code for you.

Canonical URL: https://worldenterprise.org/playbooks/set-up-the-company/
Last updated: 2026-10-10
Publisher: World Enterprise, run by World Enterprise Group Incorporated

## The steps

1. **Write down who is contributing what.** For each founder, list the role, the time promised, any money put in and any work or code that existed before the company did. Where a contribution is unclear, mark it as a question.
2. **Turn the open points into questions for your counsel.** Group the points into entity, equity and vesting, intellectual property, founder agreements, names and tax. Write each as a question, so a meeting with counsel produces answers and not a general conversation.
3. **Engage your own counsel and accountant directly.** The company hires them, and they advise the company. Share the questions in advance and ask each adviser what they need from you to give a firm answer.
4. **Sign what counsel advises and keep the originals together.** Keep every signed agreement, filing and receipt in one folder with an index. Anyone who later does diligence on your company will ask for it, so build the habit now.
5. **Ask your accountant which tax registrations apply.** The company may need an employer identification number from the IRS and other registrations that depend on where you operate. Ask your accountant what applies and apply through the official agency.
6. **Keep a cap table that matches counsel's records.** Record who holds what, when and under which agreement. Reconcile your table with your counsel's records every time something changes, and note the date of the check.

## What you will have at the end

- A list of what each founder contributes
- A list of questions for your counsel and accountant
- A folder of signed agreements with an index
- A short list of registrations and the status of each
- A cap table that matches your counsel's records