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Ask HN: Has anyone here successfully applied to Stripe Atlas?

51 points by anacleto 10y ago

I've been thinking to apply - but I was wondering if anyone here at HN has any experience with Stripe Atlas so far? How long the acceptance phase during does it last?

ryanol 10y ago
I applied in August and was accepted in about 2/3 weeks. They were in beta at this time and were very helpful throughout the entire process. All I had to do is enter information onto the forms they provide and they do all the work behind the scenes. Personally, I'd recommend Atlas to foreign startups looking to incorporate in the US, rather than US based startups looking to incorporate. They only offered C-Corp at the time of my acceptance.
pradipmj 10y ago
Yes , we received an invite couple of weeks back. Once you fill in all required information , it takes a about 7 to 10 days to complete the process and you'll also get 15000 $ worth of AWS credits
MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago
US based looking for incorporation, rejected after a couple weeks.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- GordonS 10y ago
  Can you say why you were rejected?
  - MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago
    They didn't say. Business is licensing an algorithm we designed to enterprise customers for use in their software products. Dǒng is my surname by the way.
  - guywithabike 10y ago
    Their HN username gives you a hint as to why.
    - facetube 10y ago
      No it doesn't.
      - joemi 10y ago
        I'd be very willing to bet that the same qualities that drive someone to use a crude username may cause that person to be less desirable in several aspects of professional life.
        partisan 10y ago
        It's sad that this has to be spelled out.
      - allannienhuis 10y ago
        Their username suggests that they're related to the porn business (dong == penis). Stripe (and any credit card company) has rules about the types of businesses they will support/allow. Porn "Adult" sites are on the prohibited list. https://stripe.com/ca/prohibited-businesses https://stripe.com/ca/prohibited-businesses
        oh_sigh 10y ago
        Or maybe the user just enjoys penises, or wants more dong for himself at a personal level. Not everyone uses HN as an extension of their business/professional interests.
        allannienhuis 10y ago
        perhaps - but the parent was questioning that the username did not provide a hint about the reason. I think it's fair to say that's a reasonable hint. It may or may not be the actual reason he was denied of course.
bastawhiz 10y ago
I have. It took about six months before I heard back after initially signing up. After that, it took about three weeks to get through the paperwork, and then about a month of waiting for the government and various third parties (SV Bank, Amazon) to get their pieces together.
noodles23 10y ago
March 5th - We signed up to the waitlist the instant we heard about it April 8th - Received an invite. They gave up a form to fill out online where we had to upload some IDs and other details. April 10th - The docusign (digital signature) email documents came along with a legal/tax guide. We filled that out on Apr 19th. We ended up delaying for a while discussing the tax implications since we're moving from a low tax (Hong Kong) to much higher tax (Delaware C-Corp) area. Unlike Hong Kong, taxes in the US appear much much more complicated and intimidating. Ultimately for our startup, we weighed the benefits and decided to go ahead. May 16th - Decided to go ahead with the incorporation and signed all the forms (via docusign) May 17th - Get 15k AWS credits emails (super cool) May 19th - Our Stripe payments account was opened "You can now accept payments via Stripe" Email May 19th - "Welcome to SVB Bank" email with login details May 25th - "Your Company is now incorporated" w Certificate of Incorp attached June 4th - "Your Company now has an EIN", which a number ID to file taxes June 21st - SVB Bank asked us to print out a few docs to sign. Basically to confirm we received the EIN. And that's it. In most cases, it only takes a few days once you've signed the forms to be able to start taking payments via Stripe US (so you get the cheaper Stripe US fees rather than the more expensive international fees). As an international, we ended taking a while to decide if a US incorporation was the way to go. There's 2 reasons we hesitated: 1) Stripe released a beta in Asia where you can accept payments in many Asian countries. No more Braintree/Paypal crap so you don't need to have US bank account to use Stripe and the Stripe API. 2) American taxes are pretty high (compared to HK), and there seems to a lot more rules and paperwork required. For us, what pushed us to go ahead despite our reservations was that we spent 1 week in SF (for our YC interview). We didn't get in, but we scheduled a lot of meetings while we were there and we realised if we were to raise any sort of significant funding, a Delaware C-corp is a prerequisite.
- will_brown 10y ago
  It would seem odd SV Bank opened the business bank account prior to the EIN (though maybe Atlas had the EIN and delayed sending it to you for one reason or another). Can I ask what the game plan is for the annual DE C Corp compliance? Specifically do you know how much your DE franchise tax will be (did you determine how many shares were created or did Atlas)? Do you file your own DE annual report or does Atlas? Do you know who your DE Registered Agent is and the annual cost moving forward? I'm thinking I could easyily offer those services, but it is not clear if Atlas does/plans to.
kl_r 10y ago
Got in at the initial beta. Super smooth, took us about a month from getting approved to having everything sorted out (bank account, AWS credits etc).
CCing 10y ago
Can someone explain how the double-taxation works ? I mean, if you have your business in america, but then you work from your home country, how you manage it ? It's really hard found some informations about it...
- tim333 10y ago
  I think that stuff varies a fair bit on the specifics of which home country and where the company is. In general you fill in the tax returns in both countries and they work out something you owe. At least for C-Corps. I've got a Delaware LLC and live in the UK and that one's simple - there's no US tax and the company is ignored and it's earnings considered yours for UK tax.
pentesterlab 10y ago
Got in during the beta. Incorporated in less than 2 weeks. The process was quick and straightforward. I started the paperwork to get a debit card from SVB 3 weeks ago and I should receive it in few days.
- Skrint 10y ago
  Could you share a little more details about the debit card process? How was the paperwork, how do they ship the card (courier company or regular international mail), do they ship anywhere in the world, the fees to receive the card (cost of the card + shipping) how do you request the card, can it be used internationally without limitation (it would make sense since this solution is for international customers, but US banks tend to be very strict regarding sending wires or withdrawing money from ATM outside of the US), what are the daily/monthly ATM withdrawal limits, and any other useful information. Thank you
soneca 10y ago
A brazilian startup of some friends got accepted (with no warm intros or fancier credentials, just "cold" application). They applied as soon it came, got an invitation in July i think. Now, as far as i know, the process is on hold as the startup is still figuring out some bureaucracy on their side.

51 points by anacleto 10y ago

I've been thinking to apply - but I was wondering if anyone here at HN has any experience with Stripe Atlas so far? How long the acceptance phase during does it last?

ryanol 10y ago

I applied in August and was accepted in about 2/3 weeks. They were in beta at this time and were very helpful throughout the entire process. All I had to do is enter information onto the forms they provide and they do all the work behind the scenes. Personally, I'd recommend Atlas to foreign startups looking to incorporate in the US, rather than US based startups looking to incorporate. They only offered C-Corp at the time of my acceptance.

pradipmj 10y ago

Yes , we received an invite couple of weeks back. Once you fill in all required information , it takes a about 7 to 10 days to complete the process and you'll also get 15000 $ worth of AWS credits

MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago

US based looking for incorporation, rejected after a couple weeks.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
GordonS 10y ago
Can you say why you were rejected?
- MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago
  They didn't say. Business is licensing an algorithm we designed to enterprise customers for use in their software products. Dǒng is my surname by the way.
- guywithabike 10y ago
  Their HN username gives you a hint as to why.
  - facetube 10y ago
    No it doesn't.
    - joemi 10y ago
      I'd be very willing to bet that the same qualities that drive someone to use a crude username may cause that person to be less desirable in several aspects of professional life.
      - partisan 10y ago
        It's sad that this has to be spelled out.
    - allannienhuis 10y ago
      Their username suggests that they're related to the porn business (dong == penis). Stripe (and any credit card company) has rules about the types of businesses they will support/allow. Porn "Adult" sites are on the prohibited list. https://stripe.com/ca/prohibited-businesses https://stripe.com/ca/prohibited-businesses
      - oh_sigh 10y ago
        Or maybe the user just enjoys penises, or wants more dong for himself at a personal level. Not everyone uses HN as an extension of their business/professional interests.
        allannienhuis 10y ago
        perhaps - but the parent was questioning that the username did not provide a hint about the reason. I think it's fair to say that's a reasonable hint. It may or may not be the actual reason he was denied of course.

bastawhiz 10y ago

I have. It took about six months before I heard back after initially signing up. After that, it took about three weeks to get through the paperwork, and then about a month of waiting for the government and various third parties (SV Bank, Amazon) to get their pieces together.

noodles23 10y ago

March 5th - We signed up to the waitlist the instant we heard about it April 8th - Received an invite. They gave up a form to fill out online where we had to upload some IDs and other details. April 10th - The docusign (digital signature) email documents came along with a legal/tax guide. We filled that out on Apr 19th. We ended up delaying for a while discussing the tax implications since we're moving from a low tax (Hong Kong) to much higher tax (Delaware C-Corp) area. Unlike Hong Kong, taxes in the US appear much much more complicated and intimidating. Ultimately for our startup, we weighed the benefits and decided to go ahead. May 16th - Decided to go ahead with the incorporation and signed all the forms (via docusign) May 17th - Get 15k AWS credits emails (super cool) May 19th - Our Stripe payments account was opened "You can now accept payments via Stripe" Email May 19th - "Welcome to SVB Bank" email with login details May 25th - "Your Company is now incorporated" w Certificate of Incorp attached June 4th - "Your Company now has an EIN", which a number ID to file taxes June 21st - SVB Bank asked us to print out a few docs to sign. Basically to confirm we received the EIN. And that's it. In most cases, it only takes a few days once you've signed the forms to be able to start taking payments via Stripe US (so you get the cheaper Stripe US fees rather than the more expensive international fees). As an international, we ended taking a while to decide if a US incorporation was the way to go. There's 2 reasons we hesitated: 1) Stripe released a beta in Asia where you can accept payments in many Asian countries. No more Braintree/Paypal crap so you don't need to have US bank account to use Stripe and the Stripe API. 2) American taxes are pretty high (compared to HK), and there seems to a lot more rules and paperwork required. For us, what pushed us to go ahead despite our reservations was that we spent 1 week in SF (for our YC interview). We didn't get in, but we scheduled a lot of meetings while we were there and we realised if we were to raise any sort of significant funding, a Delaware C-corp is a prerequisite.

will_brown 10y ago
It would seem odd SV Bank opened the business bank account prior to the EIN (though maybe Atlas had the EIN and delayed sending it to you for one reason or another). Can I ask what the game plan is for the annual DE C Corp compliance? Specifically do you know how much your DE franchise tax will be (did you determine how many shares were created or did Atlas)? Do you file your own DE annual report or does Atlas? Do you know who your DE Registered Agent is and the annual cost moving forward? I'm thinking I could easyily offer those services, but it is not clear if Atlas does/plans to.

kl_r 10y ago

Got in at the initial beta. Super smooth, took us about a month from getting approved to having everything sorted out (bank account, AWS credits etc).

CCing 10y ago

Can someone explain how the double-taxation works ? I mean, if you have your business in america, but then you work from your home country, how you manage it ? It's really hard found some informations about it...

tim333 10y ago
I think that stuff varies a fair bit on the specifics of which home country and where the company is. In general you fill in the tax returns in both countries and they work out something you owe. At least for C-Corps. I've got a Delaware LLC and live in the UK and that one's simple - there's no US tax and the company is ignored and it's earnings considered yours for UK tax.

pentesterlab 10y ago

Got in during the beta. Incorporated in less than 2 weeks. The process was quick and straightforward. I started the paperwork to get a debit card from SVB 3 weeks ago and I should receive it in few days.

Skrint 10y ago
Could you share a little more details about the debit card process? How was the paperwork, how do they ship the card (courier company or regular international mail), do they ship anywhere in the world, the fees to receive the card (cost of the card + shipping) how do you request the card, can it be used internationally without limitation (it would make sense since this solution is for international customers, but US banks tend to be very strict regarding sending wires or withdrawing money from ATM outside of the US), what are the daily/monthly ATM withdrawal limits, and any other useful information. Thank you

soneca 10y ago

A brazilian startup of some friends got accepted (with no warm intros or fancier credentials, just "cold" application). They applied as soon it came, got an invitation in July i think. Now, as far as i know, the process is on hold as the startup is still figuring out some bureaucracy on their side.