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Hah. I am an international tax lawyer and I advise startups that do business all over the world. I do not have a good answer to your question. There is insuff

Hah. I am an international tax lawyer and I advise startups that do business all over the world. I do not have a good answer to your question. There is insufficient data upon which to make a suggestion. However, here are my guidelines: - if there is a US person involved in this business as an officer or owner, you will experience exquisite agony in opening a bank account abroad. - until your net profits from non-US sources amount to $2M - $3M per year, the tax benefits are likely to be trivial. - an hour of founder time spent thinking about tax is an hour wasted. Think about building your product. Think about getting a customer. That's much more valuable. - as soon as you add a foreign corporation to your business structure you have probably added $10K - $20k to your overhead. Minimum. There are exceptions to every rule. Your situation may be different. Good luck.

ryanmaynard 10y ago
This needed to be said. I think a lot of the problems founders try to solve begin as responsible research, and slowly morph into a means of procrastination. I have certainly done it. Fear of shipping manifesting in 'productive' ways.
- skrish 10y ago
  This is a brilliant way to put it. "Fear of shipping manifesting in 'productive' ways." We tend to manufacture busy work instead of focusing on what is necessary right now. (OP himself might be in a situation to seriously consider incorporation, so may not be applicable at all.) I find so many startups in APAC incorporating in USA, with justification that they "need" a US company to get customers, or get a better payment gateway etc. That's just focusing on the wrong problem. 1. Get enough visitors by getting the word out. 2. Convert enough trials. 3. Talk to (email) real users. 4. Get to the point where they are ready to pay. 5. If objection clearly indicates payment experience, terms of service (location of company), then consider incorporation. By setting up subsidiary / parent company elsewhere, you are committing to too many overheads in time and money.

ryanmaynard 10y ago

This needed to be said. I think a lot of the problems founders try to solve begin as responsible research, and slowly morph into a means of procrastination. I have certainly done it. Fear of shipping manifesting in 'productive' ways.

skrish 10y ago
This is a brilliant way to put it. "Fear of shipping manifesting in 'productive' ways." We tend to manufacture busy work instead of focusing on what is necessary right now. (OP himself might be in a situation to seriously consider incorporation, so may not be applicable at all.) I find so many startups in APAC incorporating in USA, with justification that they "need" a US company to get customers, or get a better payment gateway etc. That's just focusing on the wrong problem. 1. Get enough visitors by getting the word out. 2. Convert enough trials. 3. Talk to (email) real users. 4. Get to the point where they are ready to pay. 5. If objection clearly indicates payment experience, terms of service (location of company), then consider incorporation. By setting up subsidiary / parent company elsewhere, you are committing to too many overheads in time and money.