How to Build Your Team Without Destroying the Business
Your team can be your biggest competitive advantage or your most expensive mistake.
Early-stage hiring decisions, equity splits, and incentive structures have long-term consequences that most founders only discover when it's too late to fix them easily.
In this session, Patricia Wing (SuLe) and Sam Simpson (FounderCatalyst) break down how to build a team structure that attracts the right people, keeps them motivated, and protects the business as you grow. 🚀
This session is candid, practical, and grounded in real founder experience - not HR theory.
📑 What we'll cover:
How to attract co-founders, advisors, NEDs, and early employees and what to offer them
Equity and share option schemes: what works, what founders get wrong, and how to keep your cap table clean
Vesting agreements and why they're non-negotiable from day one
The legal foundations of co-founder agreements - responsibilities, decision-making, and exit mechanisms
📑 Who should attend:
Founders building or refining their founding team
Anyone planning their next key hire
Founders thinking about how to reward early contributors
Teams looking to structure equity and incentives effectively
Sam Simpson is a startup funding specialist and Co-founder of FounderCatalyst, with deep expertise in SEIS, share schemes, and founder equity across all stages. FounderCatalyst helps founders navigate funding and equity structures with confidence.
Patricia Wing is a second-time founder and qualified corporate lawyer who has helped hundreds of startups structure their teams, agreements, and equity the right way. SuLe is a legal platform built for founders - law firm quality at startup prices. Self-serve templates, an AI contract editor, and on-demand lawyers from top London firms, all in one place.