6 ms·

Why did you do it in Estonia?

by lukasm 9y ago

fijal 9y ago
English, stable currency, ability to do stuff online, mature and working banking system. Does not leave many interesting candidates.
- dejv 9y ago
  What are you using (if you are using anything) for taking credit card payments? Stripe is not available there, right?
  - fijal 9y ago
    Investigating that topic, but taking card payments is not a part of my primary business.
  - logronoide 9y ago
    Stripe is not in Estonia, so we applied to Braintree. It took us a couple of weeks and we were rejected at the beginning, but finally they accepted us. Also 2checkout can be an option too.
    - kreetx 9y ago
      It's so unfortunate that Stripe isn't supported in Estonia yet! It would be a major boon given the good reputation Stripe has among developers.
      - vilmosi 9y ago
        Maybe it's a regional thing but I never encountered Stripe in the UK/EU. I don't think people know of it.
        ateesdalejr 9y ago
        Stripe is used by https://pythonanywhere.com https://pythonanywhere.com I believe they are based in the UK according to their payment statements.
        wastedhours 9y ago
        On the other hand of anecdata, I'm in the UK, and plenty of people I know have heard of and use it. It's the developer go-to for most projects I've seen, but BT does appeal with Paypal integration.
      - toomanybeersies 9y ago
        I've worked with both Braintree and Stripe, and I'm honestly not sure why people harp on about Stripe so much compared to BT. In my experience, they're both super easy to work with.
      - randsp 9y ago
        What about Paymill?
    - MadQA 9y ago
      Dang, I should go try and reapply, also e-resident, also got rejected pretty quickly. Good to know the guys are open to re-evaluation.
      - logronoide 9y ago
        I was a Braintree customer for more than three years in another company. My experience in my former company was very good, so I was a bit surprised when I was rejected. I wrote to them and I asked them to explain to me why they have rejected me. I told them I was an ex-customer and I could prove it. So they came back and they asked for an insane amount of information and documentation. Something I learned is the 'no-paper' model of Estonia is something Braintree doesn't like at all. I had a problem with a very specific request, and Leapin helped me to get it in less than 24 hours. So yes, go and try again!
    - randsp 9y ago
      What bank are you using? Apparently Stripe doesn't accept Holvi or Transferwise (which indeed are not banks)
- superplussed 9y ago
  What are the advantages over using Stripe Atlas and having a US Delaware C Corp for $500?
  - dullgiulio 9y ago
    Maybe it needs to be in the EU.
  - fijal 9y ago
    I tried to sign up for stripe atlas in beta and they didn't want me :) More seriously - owning shares in us companies create scary tax implications that require some advice when having us clients. US banking system is stuck is in the 1800s and dealing with it is a very serious pain. US legal system, unlike European is very unfriendly for individuals - its just infeasible to do stuff yourself on a shoestring budget, without hiring professionals.
    - adventured 9y ago
      > its just infeasible to do stuff yourself on a shoestring budget, without hiring professionals. Millions of new businesses are started every year in the US on a shoestring and without hiring professionals.
      - slededit 9y ago
        For foreign owned companies there are a myriad of complex reporting requirements a US person would never see. Despite not even being a tax form some of these (e.g. FBAR) have penalties of 50% of the unreported amount. It's not something you want to leave to chance.
      - forapurpose 9y ago
        > Millions of new businesses are started every year in the US on a shoestring and without hiring professionals. I don't think that's meaningful. There are 320 million people in the U.S., and only a tiny proportion of people anywhere would consider opening their business in another country. That doesn't mean there isn't a high barrier to accessing the U.S. legal system. For example, as we know, well-funded parties often defeat poorer parties by simply threatening legal action, because the poorer party cannot afford to use the legal system.

Why did you do it in Estonia?

by lukasm 9y ago

Why did you do it in Estonia?

English, stable currency, ability to do stuff online, mature and working banking system. Does not leave many interesting candidates.

dejv 9y ago
What are you using (if you are using anything) for taking credit card payments? Stripe is not available there, right?
- fijal 9y ago
  Investigating that topic, but taking card payments is not a part of my primary business.
- logronoide 9y ago
  Stripe is not in Estonia, so we applied to Braintree. It took us a couple of weeks and we were rejected at the beginning, but finally they accepted us. Also 2checkout can be an option too.
  - kreetx 9y ago
    It's so unfortunate that Stripe isn't supported in Estonia yet! It would be a major boon given the good reputation Stripe has among developers.
    - vilmosi 9y ago
      Maybe it's a regional thing but I never encountered Stripe in the UK/EU. I don't think people know of it.
      - ateesdalejr 9y ago
        Stripe is used by https://pythonanywhere.com https://pythonanywhere.com I believe they are based in the UK according to their payment statements.
      - wastedhours 9y ago
        On the other hand of anecdata, I'm in the UK, and plenty of people I know have heard of and use it. It's the developer go-to for most projects I've seen, but BT does appeal with Paypal integration.
    - toomanybeersies 9y ago
      I've worked with both Braintree and Stripe, and I'm honestly not sure why people harp on about Stripe so much compared to BT. In my experience, they're both super easy to work with.
    - randsp 9y ago
      What about Paymill?
  - MadQA 9y ago
    Dang, I should go try and reapply, also e-resident, also got rejected pretty quickly. Good to know the guys are open to re-evaluation.
    - logronoide 9y ago
      I was a Braintree customer for more than three years in another company. My experience in my former company was very good, so I was a bit surprised when I was rejected. I wrote to them and I asked them to explain to me why they have rejected me. I told them I was an ex-customer and I could prove it. So they came back and they asked for an insane amount of information and documentation. Something I learned is the 'no-paper' model of Estonia is something Braintree doesn't like at all. I had a problem with a very specific request, and Leapin helped me to get it in less than 24 hours. So yes, go and try again!
  - randsp 9y ago
    What bank are you using? Apparently Stripe doesn't accept Holvi or Transferwise (which indeed are not banks)
superplussed 9y ago
What are the advantages over using Stripe Atlas and having a US Delaware C Corp for $500?
- dullgiulio 9y ago
  Maybe it needs to be in the EU.
- fijal 9y ago
  I tried to sign up for stripe atlas in beta and they didn't want me :) More seriously - owning shares in us companies create scary tax implications that require some advice when having us clients. US banking system is stuck is in the 1800s and dealing with it is a very serious pain. US legal system, unlike European is very unfriendly for individuals - its just infeasible to do stuff yourself on a shoestring budget, without hiring professionals.
  - adventured 9y ago
    > its just infeasible to do stuff yourself on a shoestring budget, without hiring professionals. Millions of new businesses are started every year in the US on a shoestring and without hiring professionals.
    - slededit 9y ago
      For foreign owned companies there are a myriad of complex reporting requirements a US person would never see. Despite not even being a tax form some of these (e.g. FBAR) have penalties of 50% of the unreported amount. It's not something you want to leave to chance.
    - forapurpose 9y ago
      > Millions of new businesses are started every year in the US on a shoestring and without hiring professionals. I don't think that's meaningful. There are 320 million people in the U.S., and only a tiny proportion of people anywhere would consider opening their business in another country. That doesn't mean there isn't a high barrier to accessing the U.S. legal system. For example, as we know, well-funded parties often defeat poorer parties by simply threatening legal action, because the poorer party cannot afford to use the legal system.