GESSI: Standard contracts for more efficient start-up financing in Germany

As Founder:in you are often faced with the challenge of organising your financing processes efficiently and with legal certainty. The individual negotiation of contract details can be time-consuming and cost-intensive. This is exactly where the German Standards Setting Institute (GESSI) comes in: With standardised contract templates, GESSI offers a solution to make financing processes faster, cheaper and simpler - without compromising on professionalism and legal certainty. 

GESSI was founded in 2018 as a non-profit joint venture by the Business Angels Network Germany (BAND) and the Federal Association of German Startups e.V. was founded. The aim of the project is to reduce the complexity of financing start-ups and thus facilitate access to capital. 

Practical and balanced standard contracts were developed with the help of renowned lawyers and experts from the startup financing industry. Both startups and investors were actively involved in the drafting process in order to optimise the documents to meet the needs of all parties involved.

GESSI is aimed at a broad target group:

• • Startups: You benefit from a solid basis for contract negotiations that can be customised and saves time and costs.
  • Business angels and investors: The tried-and-tested and legally compliant documents significantly reduce negotiation costs and time. 
  • Lawyers: The standard templates provide a professional basis for advising clients while minimising the effort involved.

With over 100,000 downloads in the last five years, GESSI has proven how great the need for clear and uniform contract standards is. The most important templates include

• • Convertible loanFlexible use with options for conversion into equity. 
  • Term SheetThe basis for negotiations between start-ups and investors. 
  • Employment contracts: Practical templates for founding teams and employees. 
  • Financing roundsStructured documents for successful capital procurement. 
  • Shareholder resolutions: Legally compliant templates for important resolutions. 
  • NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)Non-disclosure agreements to protect sensitive information. 
  • Syndication and pooling: contracts for coordinated investor groups. 
  • Employee participation: Fair and clear agreements to motivate teams. 
  • Exit documents: templates for a successful sale or IPO. 

GESSI contracts are characterised by the following features: 

• • Free of charge & open source: The documents are available free of charge and can be customised.
  • Bilingual: All templates are bilingual (German/English) and therefore also suitable for international negotiations. 
  • INVEST-compatible: The contracts fulfil the requirements of INVEST funding for venture capital.

The documents are easily accessible and can be downloaded directly from the GESSI website  can be downloaded. 

In addition, GESSI thrives on the community: feedback and suggestions on the templates are always welcome in order to continuously improve the service and keep it up to date. 

GESSI is a pioneering project that makes start-up financing in Germany more efficient and accessible. Whether you are a founder, investor or lawyer - the GESSI standard contracts offer you a reliable basis for fast and legally compliant negotiations. 

Are you looking for further support for your fundraising? Have a look at our offers  for this! 

innoWerft does not provide legal advice, is not qualified to do so and is not liable. However, we can pass on our experience to you. Talk to us.