Starting a business with others changes everything from day one. Skills complement one another, risks are shared, and decisions benefit from a broader perspective. But starting a business together also means choosing the right tools, structure and support to avoid administrative hurdles or tensions between partners.
Business and Employment Cooperative: test a joint project without setting up a company
Before drafting articles of association, there is an option worth knowing about. A business and employment cooperative (CAE) lets you start an entrepreneurial activity under an employment contract. In practice, the entrepreneur joins an existing organisation that handles tax, social security and accounting obligations.
This arrangement is particularly useful when starting a business with others. A team can run a joint activity within a CAE, under an agreement specifying the nature of the activity, how income is shared and who owns the customer base. These rules are governed by the French Labour Code.
Why consider this option? Because it removes the main barrier to setting up a business collectively: the initial risk. There is no capital to raise and no need to register a company straight away. The project can be tested in real-world conditions before making a final decision about its legal structure. To explore other schemes suited to co-founder teams, Co Entreprendre’s services provide tailored support for setting up a collective structure.
Legal structures for starting a business together: look beyond the default SAS or SARL
Most guides immediately point to the SAS or SARL. These structures suit many projects, but the choice should be approached differently: the structure should reflect how the partners actually work together, not the other way around.
What the legal structure determines in day-to-day operations
The chosen legal form determines three practical aspects that affect the business from its first few months:
- How decision-making power is distributed: in an SAS, the articles of association offer considerable flexibility and can assign different voting rights to different partners. In an SARL, the rules are more tightly regulated by law.
- The social security status of company directors: a majority manager of an SARL is covered by the self-employed social security scheme, while an SAS president is treated as an employee, with different contributions and coverage.
- Exit arrangements: how can a partner leave the project? Transferring shares in an SARL often requires the other partners’ approval. In an SAS, the articles of association can provide greater flexibility.
A shareholders’ agreement is a useful complement to the articles of association. This separate document, which is not filed with the articles, sets out the partners’ mutual commitments, including non-compete clauses, pre-emption rights and how shares are valued if a partner leaves.
When micro-entrepreneur status is no longer enough
Two micro-entrepreneurs who regularly work together for the same clients may end up forming a de facto partnership without realising it. This can expose them to tax and legal risks. As soon as resources are pooled or income is shared, a formal structure protects each partner.
Business start-up support networks: choose based on your actual needs
Business start-up support networks do not all offer the same kind of assistance. Choosing the right organisation depends on the project’s stage and the most pressing need.
Support and funding: two distinct approaches
Initiative France combines one-to-one support with an interest-free personal loan, which strengthens the credibility of a bank loan application. Réseau Entreprendre focuses on mentoring by active business owners, supplemented by a loan subject to certain conditions. France Active targets projects with a social or local impact, offering tailored financial support.
An interest-free personal loan is not a conventional loan: it makes the project owner personally liable, but requires no collateral and charges no interest. It helps secure additional bank financing.
BGE, which has been active for more than forty-five years, steps in at an earlier stage. The network helps entrepreneurs develop their project, write a business plan and learn the basics of business management.
CCI, CMA and the one-stop shop
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and Chambers of Trades and Crafts (CMA) remain useful points of contact for administrative formalities. Since the one-stop shop was introduced, company registration procedures have been completed online through a centralised portal, regardless of the type of business.
For a business set up by several partners, the CCI can direct them to group workshops on drafting articles of association or establishing governance arrangements between partners.
Employee profit-sharing: a recent requirement to plan for
Are you setting up a company that already employs a small team? Since 2025, certain companies with 11 to 49 employees have been required to introduce a profit-sharing scheme. This experimental requirement applies to companies that meet the profit conditions set out by law.
Available options include an incentive scheme, profit-sharing or employer contributions to an employee savings plan. For a young business set up by several partners, planning for this when drafting the articles of association avoids having to renegotiate everything a few years later.
This is an issue many project owners are unaware of. Support networks such as France Active and chartered accountants can help tailor the right scheme to the company’s size and sector.
Starting a business with others depends on practical decisions made early: choosing the right structure, agreeing clear terms between partners and getting targeted support. Every step that is poorly prepared can cost more later. Options are available, from CAEs to interest-free personal loans. The key is to use them in the right order and at the right stage of the project.
