Commercial contracts
Make the deal.Understand the terms.
Commercial agreements that connect business expectations to clear obligations.
Talk about your startup
01 / THE PROBLEM
The contract promises more than the product can deliver.
Identify the practical consequences of the contract: what must be delivered, when payment is due, who owns the work, and how the relationship ends. Negotiate the terms that matter to the actual deal.
+02 / COMMON FRICTION
Small gaps.Bigger questions.
01Sales terms disconnected from operations
02Unclear data responsibilities
03Conflicting agreement and order form
04Open-ended liability
05No practical exit process
03 / HOW ETHAN CAN HELP
Understand the business.
Then the documents.
Start with your objective and the documents already in place. Identify the decisions that need attention, discuss practical options, and coordinate the work needed to move forward.
Identify the practical consequences of the contract: what must be delivered, when payment is due, who owns the work, and how the relationship ends. Negotiate the terms that matter to the actual deal.
+04 / WHAT THE SERVICE MAY INCLUDE
The workbehind the next step.
- Customer and vendor agreements
- Licensing and partnerships
- NDAs
- Reseller agreements
- Payment, liability, and termination
The scope is agreed for each engagement. Some questions may require coordination with tax, employment, or other specialist advisers.
07 / WHEN YOU MAY NEED THIS
Signing your first enterprise customer?↗Updating your standard customer terms?↗+FOUNDER FAQ
Good questions.Clearer next steps.
General information only.
Not legal or tax advice.
01What should a SaaS agreement cover?
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Consider access rights, fees, acceptable use, service commitments, data handling, IP, confidentiality, liability, and termination. The agreement should match the product and the customer relationship.
02When should a startup use outside legal counsel?
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A useful time is before a consequential commitment: issuing equity, accepting investment, hiring, transferring IP, or signing a material contract. The scope should reflect the company’s stage and needs.
+FROM PRODUCT TO BUSINESS
Behind the product.Between the people.
Connect the work your team creates with the relationships that help it reach the world.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION.
Let’s talk about
what you’re building.
Tell Ethan where the company is today
and what needs to happen next.