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Ask PG: Can you release info on how foreign founders can get setup in the US?
Hey Paul or Jessica,
You don't require YC applicants to be residents or citizens of the US, just have a visa that allows us to travel to the US for at least 3 months. You have invested in many international startups. You released 'standard' series AA documents for everybody to use in angel rounds - http://ycombinator.com/seriesaa.html. Thank you for that.
Knowing how you guys operate, there is a high probability that you have it down to a science - the exact legal steps to make once the foreign founders are ready to start the company in the US. E.g. make sure to register a C corp, not LLC. Register in Delaware, etc. You probably have service providers (possibly even automated) that do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. I know you have said many times that Jessica handles a lot of the legalese, so maybe between you and her you guys could publish exactly what you do to allow a foreign founder to setup a company in the US and conduct business in the US - while living in their home country. Assume the founder is creating a web app, and would like to setup a bank account, merchant account, payment processor, etc.
These little things are important to the company, and can be a major distraction on those trying to build an MVP.
Thanks very much in advance.
- Marc
- pg 17y agoI don't think there is anything special you have to do to incorporate in the US if you're not a US citizen. Founders who aren't US citizens just fill out the same forms as the other founders. Getting a merchant account would probably be more of a pain if you lived abroad. Dealing with merchant accounts seems to be a pain even if you are US citizens, frankly. We don't get involved with that, though; the YC alumni network give one another advice about the best options.
- marcamillion 17y agoWould you recommend, based on your experience, that foreign founders follow this post written by startuplawyer to register a company - http://thestartuplawyer.com/startup-issues/if-i-launched-a-startup http://thestartuplawyer.com/startup-issues/if-i-launched-a-s... ? Do you have links to the forms that your founders fill out, online? It sometimes can be difficult to wade through all the third-party service providers that want you to use their service instead of going directly to the state. Forgive me if I am asking so many questions, but I know it might seem trivial to you guys, because you do it so much, but when I was investigating it for myself I was confronted with the question of having an agent based in Delaware. Do I want a local agent? If so, who do I use? Why do I want an agent? Does everybody that registers in Delaware require an agent? Am I better off contacting an attorney in Delaware that can act like an agent for me? What will an agent do? Do I need them to do anything specific, like file yearly returns for me (or is that just an 'upsell')? I know it might be asking much, but perhaps if you could just spell it out (as dumb as it may sound to you) exactly how your founders setup their companies (and the reasoning behind it), it would help clear up a lot of questions I (and am sure many others) have. I understand about the merchant account and anything you don't handle. Just curious about what you guys do handle. Thanks for even responding.
- ig1 17y agoYour best approach might be to survey the YC founders who did it and find out what route they used.
- marcamillion 17y agoGood suggestion.