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We moved GitLab from the Netherlands to San Francisco. Some things I noticed: 1. In the US we got to see more other startups that were going really fast and th
by sytse 10y ago
We moved GitLab from the Netherlands to San Francisco. Some things I noticed:
1. In the US we got to see more other startups that were going really fast and that pushed us to go faster ourselves, Y-Combinator helped with this.
2. It was easier to find people that are experienced with modern sales and marketing practices in the US.
3. Customers in the US like to buy from a US company (and pay by check, these took 2 months and cost $70 to cash in the Netherlands).
4. On average companies in the US adopts newer technology sooner.
5. There was better advice and investment available in the US, Y-Combinator helped with this.
6. In the US there are much more success stories, this raised our ambitions.
I know many impressive startups and incubators in the Netherlands (shoutout to Adyen, 3ax Cycling, AppSignal, and Utrecht Inc.) and we have some awesome Dutch customers. The above examples and talking about the statistical average, there are awesome organizations and people everywhere.
- Dutchie 10y agoWouldn't it be enough to set up a postal box office in the USA to create a US 'presence' for many saas companies based in Europe? Provided, of course, that you are available during US office hours for email and phone support?
- sytse 10y agoYou still have to pick an entity to bill from. If that is a foreign entity the US customers need a special form from you to do business with you https://www.irs.gov/uac/form-w-8ben-certificate-of-foreign-status-of-beneficial-owner-for-united-states-tax-withholding https://www.irs.gov/uac/form-w-8ben-certificate-of-foreign-s... And having a postal box office doesn't solve cashing a foreign check in the Netherlands. So as a first step I recommend incorporating a US entity (Inc. in Delaware), setting up the PO box (we used Earth Class Mail), and getting a bank account (heard good things about first republic bank).
- erichocean 10y ago> Y-Combinator Nitpick: it's Y Combinator (no hyphen).
- sytse 10y agoThanks, just seeing this now and it's too late to edit. As an alumni I should know better.