FOUNDER-FIRST VENTURE BUILDING

Build faster. Keep the majority. Earn it early.

Q: Does this page create a company or grant equity?

No. It is an illustrative model. Equity exists only in signed documents for a specific company, reviewed by counsel. Submitting a form is not a financing.

Q: What if a founder leaves in month 12?

Unvested shares are subject to repurchase. During months 12–24 a voluntary exit also allows a declining call over part of the vested shares, half of what has vested at month 12 and none at month 24. A good leaver is treated differently. Recovered equity does not increase the studio above 20%.

Q: What happened to the 25/75 model?

It has been replaced by the 80/20 Founder Venture Builder. The older URL still resolves and points here.

Blockchain Lab brings venture design, product development and launch infrastructure. Founders hold the majority from day one and earn 50% of their equity in year one, while our protected 20% stake keeps us fully aligned to build for long-term value.

Apply to build a venture Read the illustrative terms

Illustrative commercial design. Not legal, tax, investment, securities or employment advice. Not an offer of funding or equity.

The public promise

80% is built for founders, teams, strategic partners and future capital. Blockchain Lab holds a fixed 20% for the first 48 months because it builds the company alongside you — not because it intends to control it.

20%

Blockchain Lab. Protected for 48 months against internal dilution. One board seat.

80%

Lead founder, co-founders, employees, advisers, strategic partners and a reserve for future capital. The human founding team starts in the majority on a founder-originated venture.

Who this is written for

Founders

You keep the majority from formation. You earn half of your own grant in the year you take the most personal risk. You do not keep the acceleration premium if you leave during launch without an agreed good-leaver path. The company, not the studio, receives equity that comes back.

Investors

The studio line is 20%, disclosed on day one, and it expires as a special right at month 48. The first 15% of external new money inside the build period can be borne by non-studio holders. Above that, Blockchain Lab dilutes unless it invests. There is no permanent anti-dilution.

Studio partners

Blockchain Lab contributes thesis, product system, technology, market intelligence and launch infrastructure. It does not take control, and it does not retain a perpetual exclusive services contract. Work after the agreed build needs a new board-approved scope.

Day-zero cap tables

Fully diluted at formation, before any external round. Percentages are the model, not a cap table that has been filed.

Founder-originated

The founder brings the insight, the sector, the customer access or the early traction. The founding team starts at 55%. Founders plus the employee pool start at 70%.

Blockchain Lab20%
Lead founder40%
Co-founders15%
Employee pool15%
Advisers5%
Reserve5%

Studio-originated

Only when Blockchain Lab originated the thesis, did the early research and product work, and then recruited the operating founder. The founder group still starts at 50%.

Blockchain Lab20%
Lead founder35%
Co-founders15%
Employee pool15%
Advisers5%
Capital reserve10%

Founder vesting

Founders vest 50% in the first 12 months and the remaining 50% over months 13–48. Months 0–3 vest nothing. Month 3 vests 12.5%. Months 4–12 vest 4.1667% of the grant each month. Months 13–48 vest 1.3889% each month. Month 24 is 66.67%. Month 36 is 83.33%. Month 48 is 100%.

Shares are intended to be issued up front under reverse vesting, or the local equivalent: the founder holds them, and the company can repurchase the unvested portion if service ends. Price, tax and enforceability are for counsel in the incorporation jurisdiction.

Founder vesting checkpoints
Month	Cumulative vested	Meaning
0	0.00%	Restricted shares issued. None earned.
3	12.50%	Short cliff ends. 12.5% vests.
6	25.00%	A quarter of the grant earned.
9	37.50%	Commitment through the build recognised.
12	50.00%	Accelerated first year complete. Half the grant earned.
15	54.17%	Inside the protected contribution window.
18	58.33%	Launch and proof underway.
21	62.50%	Window closing.
24	66.67%	Call option ends. About two-thirds vested.
36	83.33%	Scaling. Founder-led operating control.
48	100.00%	Fully vested. Studio protection ends.

Month-by-month schedule

Vested percent at each month from 0 to 48
Month	Vested
0	0.00%
1	0.00%
2	0.00%
3	12.50%
4	16.67%
5	20.83%
6	25.00%
7	29.17%
8	33.33%
9	37.50%
10	41.67%
11	45.83%
12	50.00%
13	51.39%
14	52.78%
15	54.17%
16	55.56%
17	56.94%
18	58.33%
19	59.72%
20	61.11%
21	62.50%
22	63.89%
23	65.28%
24	66.67%
25	68.06%
26	69.44%
27	70.83%
28	72.22%
29	73.61%
30	75.00%
31	76.39%
32	77.78%
33	79.17%
34	80.56%
35	81.94%
36	83.33%
37	84.72%
38	86.11%
39	87.50%
40	88.89%
41	90.28%
42	91.67%
43	93.06%
44	94.44%
45	95.83%
46	97.22%
47	98.61%
48	100.00%

An exceptional schedule — 60% vested at month 12, used only where the founder already brings traction, customers, IP or capital access — is a negotiation, not the default. The chart above is the standard.

Months 12–24, the protected contribution window

Founders who receive accelerated first-year vesting stay through launch, customer proof and the formation of an operating team — or part of the acceleration premium can return to the company.

On a voluntary exit without board-approved good-leaver status: unvested shares are repurchased, and the company has a call over a declining slice of vested shares. Callable vested shares = vested shares × (24 − completed months) / 24. At month 12 that is half of what has vested, so the founder keeps 25% of the original grant. At month 24 the call is zero.

Voluntary exit during months 12 to 24
Exit	Vested	Callable share of vested	Retained, before good-leaver exceptions
Month 12	50.00%	50.00%	25.00% of the original grant
Month 15	54.17%	37.50%	33.85% of the original grant
Month 18	58.33%	25.00%	43.75% of the original grant
Month 21	62.50%	12.50%	54.69% of the original grant
Month 24	66.67%	0.00%	66.67% of the original grant

Recovered equity is used in this order: replacement founder or successor CEO, key-employee pool, the operating team that stays, then unallocated treasury. It is not added to Blockchain Lab’s 20%.

Good leaver

Death, permanent disability or serious illness.
Termination without cause.
Material uncured breach by the venture or by Blockchain Lab.
Mutual separation approved by the board and the independent director.
A planned handover with an agreed continuing role.

Unvested shares follow the repurchase documents. Vested shares normally stay. The special call is waived or reduced. Confidentiality, IP and transfer rules remain.

Bad leaver

Narrow and evidenced: fraud, theft, wilful misconduct, a material fiduciary breach, a serious confidentiality or IP breach, deliberate abandonment, prohibited competition, criminal conduct that harms the venture, persistent material non-performance after notice and a chance to cure, or a material false statement at formation.

Written allegation, a chance to respond, and independent-director approval. This page does not claim that vested shares can always be repurchased at a nominal price.

How the fixed 20% meets a financing

Internal actions do not move Blockchain Lab off 20% during the build: pool top-ups, adviser grants, founder replacement (using recovered equity first), partner grants approved by the board and the independent director, and internal restructurings. External capital is different, or the company is not financeable.

Formation, founder-originated

Blockchain Lab20%
Lead founder40%
Co-founders15%
Employee pool15%
Advisers5%
Reserve5%

First 15% new money, inside the shield

Blockchain Lab20%
Lead founder32.5%
Co-founders12.2%
Employee pool12.2%
Advisers4.1%
Reserve4.0%
New investors15%

20% new money — 5 points past the shield

Blockchain Lab18.8%
Lead founder30.6%
Co-founders11.5%
Employee pool11.5%
Advisers3.8%
Reserve3.8%
New investors20%

After month 48, a 25% round

Blockchain Lab15%
Lead founder30%
Co-founders11.25%
Employee pool11.25%
Advisers3.75%
Reserve3.75%
New investors25%

Figures are rounded and start from the founder-originated table, with no other issuances in between. Inside the shield, non-studio holders absorb the first 15 points and the studio stays at 20%. The next 5 points of a 20% round dilute every holder, including the studio, unless Blockchain Lab buys its pro-rata share. After month 48 every holder dilutes pro rata. A pool increase inside the window is the same pattern as the shield: the studio percentage does not fall, and the new pool is not taken from the studio line. Show this page before a round. A protected stake that appears for the first time in a term sheet is how trust dies.

Governance without studio control

Studio director

One seat, appointed by Blockchain Lab.

Founder director

One seat, appointed by the lead founder. The CEO runs the company day to day.

Independent director

Mutually agreed within six months. Required for founder removal, bad-leaver status, the special call, related-party studio contracts, changes to the 20% protection, material issuances and IP transfers.

Blockchain Lab cannot unilaterally remove a founder.
At month 24, founder-led operating governance is the default.
At month 48 the special protection ends. Information rights may continue. Control rights do not.
Later studio services need a board-approved scope, market terms and a conflict check.

IP, and a company that can leave

The venture owns what is built for it: source code, brand, domains, customer data, product documentation, design and customer relationships. Studio background IP stays with Blockchain Lab only if the venture receives a licence that is perpetual, transferable and sufficient to operate, including through a sale. No forced technical dependency. No hostage credentials.

Independence checks

Month 12 — something outside the studio has used the product, and the founder is the public lead. Repositories and domains sit with the company.
Month 24 — a repeatable commercial motion, or an honest stop. Engineering is not only studio staff.
Month 36 — the company can ship without a studio statement of work. Finance and customers sit with the company.
Month 48 — protection expires. Blockchain Lab is a shareholder, not an operating parent.

01
Commit
Months 0–3
0% → 12.5%
Incorporate, assign IP, test the thesis.
02
Validate and build
Months 4–12
12.5% → 50%
Prototype, first hires, buyer evidence.
03
Launch and prove
Months 13–24
50% → 66.7%
The protected contribution window.
04
Scale
Months 25–36
66.7% → 83.3%
Founder-led growth. Studio steps back.
05
Independent
Months 37–48
83.3% → 100%
Protection ends. Ordinary shareholder.

Illustrative terms, one page

A reading copy for a first conversation. It is not the shareholder agreement.

Parties: Blockchain Lab and the founder team, incorporating a new company in a jurisdiction counsel chooses.
Scope: Thesis, brand, product, engineering and go-to-market foundations for an agreed theme. Not an open-ended future obligation.
Studio stake: 20% fully diluted at formation. Protected for 48 months against internal dilution. Not protected forever, and not against all external capital.
Founder-originated: Lead founder 40%, co-founders 15%, employee pool 15%, advisers 5%, reserve 5%.
Studio-originated: Lead founder 35%, co-founders 15%, employee pool 15%, advisers 5%, capital reserve 10%. Used only when the studio created the thesis and the early product.
Vesting: 48 months, reverse vesting. Nothing before month 3. 12.5% at month 3. 50% at month 12. 100% at month 48.
Window: Months 12–24. Voluntary exit: unvested shares repurchased, plus a call on vested shares equal to vested × (24 − months) / 24.
Recovered equity: Replacement leadership and the team that stays. Not an increase in the studio’s 20%.
External money: First 15% of new-money equity inside 48 months can be borne by non-studio holders. Above that, the studio dilutes unless it invests pro rata. After month 48, ordinary pro-rata dilution.
Board: Studio, founder, and an independent director within six months. The independent director is required for the sharp decisions.
IP: Company owns venture IP. Studio background IP is licensed on terms the company can operate and transfer.
End of services: Either side can stop future services for material breach. Equity follows the documents.
Law: Chosen at incorporation, not on this page.

Who should apply

Full-time operators with a buyer inside one of the five themes, who have read this page and still want the trade. Not a team shopping a token, and not a search for capital as the only deliverable. See the venture portfolio for the kind of product the studio actually ships.

You send a thesis. We read it. This site does not store the application.
If it fits, a conversation. If it does not, we say so.
A validation sprint is scoped in writing, or the work stops.
Only then do lawyers draft a venture agreement.

Apply

Questions

Is the 20% stake non-dilutive forever?

No. For 48 months it is protected against internal equity actions: founder replacement, option-pool top-ups, adviser grants, strategic-partner grants and reallocations of repurchased founder shares. The first 15% of bona fide external new-money equity in that window can be borne by non-studio holders. Issuance above that dilutes Blockchain Lab with everyone unless it invests its pro-rata share. After month 48 the protection ends and the studio is an ordinary shareholder.

Does this page create a company or grant equity?

No. It is an illustrative commercial model. Equity exists only in signed documents for a specific company, drafted for the incorporation jurisdiction by qualified counsel. Submitting the form is not an offer, an acceptance or a financing.

What if a founder leaves in month 12?

Unvested shares are subject to the company’s repurchase right. A voluntary exit without good-leaver status during months 12–24 also allows a declining call over part of the vested shares: half of what has vested at month 12, falling to zero at month 24. The founder therefore keeps 25% of the original grant at a month-12 voluntary exit, before any good-leaver exception. Recovered shares fund replacement leadership and the team that stays. They do not increase Blockchain Lab above 20%.

Can Blockchain Lab remove a founder or decide a bad leaver alone?

No. Bad-leaver findings and any call over vested shares need written notice, evidence, a chance to respond, and approval by the independent director. The studio has one board seat, not unilateral control.

What happened to the 25/75 model?

It has been replaced. The current offer is 80% for founders, employees, advisers, partners and future capital, and a protected 20% for Blockchain Lab during the 48-month build. The older URL still resolves and points here.

Illustrative commercial design only. This is not legal, tax, investment, employment or securities advice, and it is not an offer to the public, a solicitation to invest, or a promise of funding, equity or returns. Structures vary by venture and must be drafted for the incorporation jurisdiction by qualified startup, tax and securities counsel. Blockchain Lab does not claim to be a licensed investment manager, broker or bank on the basis of this website.