I've reviewed hundreds of contracts for founders over the years, and the same three mistakes show up again and again. If you're running a business and signing agreements without a lawyer's eyes on them, check these first:

1. Unlimited liability clauses. Most vendor and service agreements are drafted by the other side's lawyer — meaning they're written to protect the other party, not you. If there's no liability cap, one bad delivery or missed deadline can expose your entire business, not just the value of the contract. Always negotiate a liability cap tied to fees paid.

2. Auto-renewal with no exit window. I see this constantly in SaaS and vendor contracts — a 30/60/90-day cancellation notice buried in page 12, auto-renewing for a full additional term if you miss it. Calendar every renewal date the day you sign, not the week before it hits.

3. Vague IP assignment language. If you're hiring contractors or agencies to build anything — code, designs, content — 'work made for hire' language alone often isn't enough depending on jurisdiction and work type. You need an explicit IP assignment clause, or you may not actually own what you paid for.

None of these take a law degree to catch once you know to look for them — but they're exactly the kind of thing that's cheap to fix before signing and expensive to fix after. Happy to answer questions on any of these in the comments.