When setting up a company it is easy to assume the future will be rosy. You have a great money-making idea and you have chosen a business partner you trust. So what could possibly upset the balance? A shareholder agreement can protect you from arguments resulting in costly and acrimonious legal battles that could leave you with nothing.

Think of it as the business equivalent of a marital pre-nuptial agreement. It does not mean you do not respect your partner, but it does mean that you are both protected in the event of future conflict.

There are 10 good reasons why committing your vision to paper can foster clarity and consensus from the outset (see opposite).