Startup 25

The all-in-one legal package for startups manufacturing in China.

Four stages, four bilingual agreements, one scope and one budget: NNN, product development and tooling, manufacturing, and the purchase order that ties them together.

Apply for Startup 25See the plans
Kelly Zhang

China-licensed lawyer · Bilingual practice · Shenzhen

  1. ProtectNNN Agreement
  2. DevelopProduct Development Agreement · Mold & Tooling Agreement
  3. ManufactureManufacturing Agreement
  4. OrderPO Template

Why I created Startup 25

Manufacturing in China is a chain of connected decisions.

Each one usually comes with its own contract, its own quote and, often, its own adviser. Startup 25 brings legal support for all four stages into one package, with a clear scope and budget from the outset.

  1. What to disclose

    Which drawings, specs and customer details a factory sees before it has signed anything.

  2. How to structure development

    Who pays for engineering and tooling, and who owns the files and molds that come out of it.

  3. What to agree before production

    Specs, inspection, payment milestones and delivery dates, fixed before the deposit leaves your account.

  4. How to place an order

    A purchase order that confirms quantity and price without reopening the terms you already negotiated.

25 startups each quarter.

A limit that protects service quality.Each client gets the attention their project deserves.

The four agreements.

Each stage has one job.Together they cover what you disclose, what you own, what the factory must deliver, and how you order it.

Protect

NNN Agreement

When:Before you send drawings, samples or a spec sheet to any factory.

A China NNN agreement covers non-use, non-disclosure and non-circumvention. It is drafted for a Chinese court: the factory’s registered Chinese entity as counterparty, a Chinese governing version, liquidated damages the factory can calculate, and a dispute route inside China.

  • Protected information defined by list, not by label
  • Binds subcontractors and the sales manager who quotes you
  • Liquidated damages sized to be enforceable, not symbolic
NNN agreement service →

Develop

Product Development AgreementMold & Tooling Agreement

When:Once the factory engineers the product, builds prototypes or cuts custom tooling.

The development agreement settles who owns the CAD files, firmware, patents and improvements, how NRE fees and milestones work, and how you leave with your files if you switch factories. The mold and tooling agreement gives you title to the molds regardless of who paid or where they sit.

  • Deliverables, acceptance tests and milestone payments
  • IP assignment for everything the factory creates for you
  • Mold tagging, custody, no third-party use and return penalties
Product development agreement service →

Manufacture

Manufacturing Agreement

When:Before the first production deposit.

A framework agreement that turns a promising sample into obligations for the other ten thousand units: specification scope, AQL and acceptance mechanics, lead-time triggers, payment tied to inspection, subcontracting bans and defect remedies. It states that it prevails over the factory’s proforma invoice.

  • Golden-sample scope and document priority
  • Balance payment released on inspection, not on notice
  • Warranty, rework and refund rights for rejected batches
Manufacturing agreement service →

Order

PO Template

When:Every time you place or repeat an order.

A reusable bilingual purchase order locked to the framework: quantity, unit price, packaging and delivery date, with a clause that the framework governs over any PI or invoice fine print. Your team can issue reorders and change requests without waiving the rights you negotiated.

  • One page your operations team can fill in
  • Framework prevails over the factory’s PI
  • Guidelines for reorders and change requests

Four plans. One fixed fee each.

Same four-stage method in every plan; the tiers differ in scope. Each plan has one fixed program fee.Once your application is approved, the fee and scope are confirmed in writing and do not change afterwards unless the scope does.

Starter

For a finished design and a single factory.

Fixed program fee

US$2,000/ 6 months

Apply

Standard

For a product the factory helps develop.

Fixed program fee

US$2,800/ 6 months

Apply

Advanced

For development, substantial tooling and a trademark.

Fixed program fee

US$4,500/ 9 months

Apply

Extended

For two product lines or a twelve-month program.

Fixed program fee

US$7,000/ 12 months

Apply
Package coverage and support by plan
FeatureStarterStandardAdvancedExtended
Bilingual China NNN Agreement1112
Bilingual Product Development Agreement—112
Bilingual Manufacturing Framework Agreement1112
Bilingual Tooling / Mold Agreement1—1(tooling under US$10,000)1(any tooling value)2(any tooling value)
Bilingual PO Template1112
China Trademark——1 mark / 1 class2 marks / 1 class each
Supplier Entity Check2Up to 3Up to 5Up to 10Up to 20
Client Meetings (40 min)2348
Supplier Meetings (40 min)1248
Supplier Replacement (basic document adaptation)Up to 3 suppliersUp to 5 suppliersUp to 10 suppliersUp to 20 suppliers
Revision Support3Up to 3Up to 5Up to 10Up to 20
Service Period46 months6 months9 months12 months
6-Month RenewalUS$500US$800US$1,200US$2,000
  1. Based on the tooling value in the mold contract. Larger tooling takes more work to document, so agreements above US$10,000 start from Advanced.
  2. Registration status, actual shareholders, registered capital, business scope, and court or enforcement records.
  3. In most projects the included revisions are enough. Additional revisions are US$150 each.
  4. The initial service period for the plan. If you need longer, add six months at the renewal fee shown below.
  5. Prices are in US dollars and exclude Chinese VAT at 6%.

Need only one document?

Each document in the program can be engaged on its own.Standalone work is scoped and quoted per project, so the fee reflects what your matter actually needs.

  • Bilingual NNN AgreementBefore the first disclosure to a new factory.
  • Bilingual Product Development AgreementWhen a factory engineers or prototypes your product.
  • Bilingual Tooling / Mold AgreementWhen you pay for molds a factory will hold.
  • Bilingual Manufacturing Framework AgreementBefore the first production deposit.
  • Custom PO templateReorders locked to an existing framework.
  • China trademark filingOne mark, one class, in your name.
Request a standalone quote

Tell me which document and where you are with the factory; you get a fixed quote for that piece of work.

How the program works.

From your first note to a signed manufacturing agreement, in four steps.

  1. Apply with a short note

    Tell me the product, the stage you are at, how many factories are in play, and what you have already shared or signed.

  2. Application review

    I check the fit between your project and the plan. Once approved, you receive the fixed program fee, the documents and meetings it covers, and the service period in writing. No hourly billing.

  3. Drafting in stage order

    Documents are drafted in the order your project needs them, bilingual, with Chinese designated as the governing version.

  4. Supplier negotiation and signing

    When the factory pushes back, I explain which changes are harmless and which strip your protection, join supplier calls, and check seals and signing authority.

Reception area of the JT&N Law Firm office in Shenzhen

JT&N Law Firm

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Beijing, JT&N is among the first partnership-based law firms in China and the platform behind this practice. It is repeatedly recognised as a National Model Law Firm and recommended by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500, ALB and IFLR.

1992
Founded, among China’s first partnership law firms
16+
Offices across China, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore
80+
Countries via the ADVOC global alliance
Kelly Zhang

Drafted by a lawyer who knows how supplier disputes start.

I am Kelly Zhang, a China-licensed lawyer at JT&N in Shenzhen. Before private practice I spent seven years at CIETAC administering more than 400 commercial arbitrations in Chinese and English. Case after case, I saw exactly where supplier contracts break.

Since then I have worked on the buyer’s side of China manufacturing, mostly for US and European brands in jewelry, apparel and consumer electronics. Small teams, physical products, a factory or two: the same shape as most Startup 25 projects.

“My dispute experience lets me draft contracts from the perspective of how clauses may later be interpreted, challenged and enforced — not merely how they read when signed.”
More about Kelly →

Questions about Startup 25.

Who is Startup 25 for?

Startups and small brands about to develop or produce a physical product in China who want the legal side handled in one scope. The program takes no more than 25 startups per quarter, so each project gets proper attention.

Is the program fee really fixed?

Yes. Each plan has one fixed fee for the documents, checks and meetings listed. Your application is reviewed for fit and complexity before it is approved; if the project needs more than the plan covers, I will suggest the right plan first. Once approved, the fee and scope are confirmed in writing and change only if the scope does. Prices exclude Chinese VAT at 6%.

What if none of the plans fits?

Apply anyway and tell me what you are building. If your project sits between two plans, I will suggest the closer one; if it needs something the plans do not cover, I will scope it separately. Either way, nothing is confirmed until your application is approved and the scope is agreed.

Do I need all four agreements?

Not necessarily on day one. If you already have a factory, we may start with the development or manufacturing agreement and bring the NNN in for the next supplier. Documents for later stages are prepared as templates you can reuse, so the package still saves you the cost of drafting each one separately.

Are the agreements enforceable in China?

They are written to be. Each is bilingual with Chinese as the governing version, names the factory’s registered Chinese entity as the counterparty, and uses a dispute route a Chinese court or arbitration tribunal will act on. An English-only contract under foreign law usually fails at exactly this point.

Is the service period enough?

For most projects, yes: from first disclosure to a signed manufacturing agreement and a working PO typically fits inside the initial period. If development runs longer or a second product follows, renew for another six months at the renewal fee shown above, or start on a longer plan.

What if the factory refuses to sign?

Refusing a reasonable bilingual contract is useful information before you pay a deposit. In practice most factories sign once the terms are explained in Chinese by a lawyer on a call. Supplier meetings are included in every plan for that reason, and the supplier replacement allowance covers adapting the documents if you move on.

Can I buy a single document instead?

Yes. Each document can be engaged on its own and is quoted per project after a short scoping note. The package makes sense once you need two or more of the four stages, because the documents are drafted to work together and the meetings and checks are bundled.

Before you send the first drawing or wire the first deposit.

Tell me what you are building and where you are with your factory. Once your application is approved, you get the fixed program fee and a stage plan in writing; if a single document is enough, I will say so.

Apply for Startup 25