3 ms·

"Just make sure to take the proper corporate formalities and never co-mingle funds. The most important thing at this stage (and the next stages as well) is to n

"Just make sure to take the proper corporate formalities and never co-mingle funds. The most important thing at this stage (and the next stages as well) is to not waste time on things that are irrelevant, so don't make banking more complex than it needs to be. as you grow, your CFO or maybe even COO might have their own processes and preferences, so just keep it as simple as possible till then." - Could you elaborate on this please? I'm currently bootstrapping this myself and pre-revenue. I have a Stripe account and I'd like to set up subscriptions to deposit into a dedicated checking account. But how do I cease co-mingling funds? I'm the only investor, paying for expenses with my credit card, that I'm paying off with my checking account and savings. I'm trying to learn as much as I can now to (A) avoid doing anything stupid, like co-mingling funds, and (B) do things "right" as quickly and as easily as possible. I should have definitely specified that I'm not funded (at all) and pre-revenue. Great advice all around. Much appreciated.

wheelerwj 8y ago
hey, not sure you if you will see this but just in case: first, i am not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice, just stories from experience. Maintaining proper corporate formalities and handling finances is a big part of actually _operating_ a business. The main idea is that if you want to operate as a business, what you are actually doing is operating a separate legal entity to separate the legal and financial risk from you personally as the owner. This often includes setting up a proper corporate entity such as an LLC or inc, and maintaining the proper financial records, among other things. At later stages, this means working with your board and corporate counsel to maintain minutes and have regular board meetings too. As a founder, if you are pre-revenue but are starting to get customers/users who want to pay, its a good time to speak with an attorney to talk about getting some kind of liability protection setup (in today's environment, that also means ToS and Privacy Policies too). But if you are before that, it might still be early. The good news is that most lawyers do a quick consult for free, and its a GREAT time to start to develop your skills in working with counsel.

wheelerwj 8y ago

hey, not sure you if you will see this but just in case: first, i am not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice, just stories from experience. Maintaining proper corporate formalities and handling finances is a big part of actually _operating_ a business. The main idea is that if you want to operate as a business, what you are actually doing is operating a separate legal entity to separate the legal and financial risk from you personally as the owner. This often includes setting up a proper corporate entity such as an LLC or inc, and maintaining the proper financial records, among other things. At later stages, this means working with your board and corporate counsel to maintain minutes and have regular board meetings too. As a founder, if you are pre-revenue but are starting to get customers/users who want to pay, its a good time to speak with an attorney to talk about getting some kind of liability protection setup (in today's environment, that also means ToS and Privacy Policies too). But if you are before that, it might still be early. The good news is that most lawyers do a quick consult for free, and its a GREAT time to start to develop your skills in working with counsel.