4 ms·

Atlas looks fantastic for starting a US company, and it makes sense that Stripe would start with US companies. Are there other types of company in other countr

Atlas looks fantastic for starting a US company, and it makes sense that Stripe would start with US companies. Are there other types of company in other countries that may be better fits for certain reasons? Are there countries/types that would work better for say, non profits, charities, or financial institutions? I wonder if Stripe is building or considering a more diverse range of options for Atlas.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
patio11 5y ago
(I work at Stripe and have worked on Stripe Atlas.) We're always on the lookout for more ways to support the growth of the Internet economy, and have been looking in detail at which entity types and "hubs" would unlock the most opportunity for our users and for people who we talk to. As always, we'll announce our work here when/if it is ready to be used.
- tiffanyh 5y ago
  Hi Patrick My # one needs isn't related to Atlas per se (but I can see how all Atlas users need this), I love you're acquisition of TaxJar and release of Stripe Tax. But it only solves 1/2 the problem. I need an easy way to make tax payments to the appropriate regulator (e.g. Merchant of Record service). Hope that is in the works.
  - patio11 5y ago
    We hear you, and are hard at work on making taxes easier. Moving money around is very core to what we do, and money movements between companies and tax agencies are one of the largest funds flows for companies subject to that sort of regime, so you can make some very plausible assumptions about our level of interest in this area.
- Jake232 5y ago
  Have you started offering foreign owned LLC's again via Atlas? The last time I checked this wasn't possible sadly.
- tiffanyh 5y ago
  Hi Patrick Me again. I posted my Atlas wish list here. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27706864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27706864 Happy to email/talk 1:1 if you’d like to dive into this more.
motives 5y ago
This is probably a somewhat cynical take, but Stripe Atlas' US only offering is a big contributor to international startup brain drain which is costing local economies significantly. When countries (such as within the EU, India or South America) invest so much in the education and development of young entrepreneurs, only for them to leave to the US for the allure of quick investment, all of their potential future value leaves with them. I understand there is a lot for these countries to do to improve investment conditions for high risk startups, but how can poorer South American countries (like those in the Stripe promo video linked) compete with the US in terms of the availability of capital? This is not solely Stripes fault, though in my opinion by promoting Delaware parent companies for international founders they contribute to the hindrance of the local tech economies of these countries. I'd like to reiterate that this is a relatively uncharitable take, and would welcome alternate perspectives on this issue.
- patio11 5y ago
  While some Atlas users are internationally mobile, the dominant use case for Delaware entities is to give you a convenient box the system knows how to interface with while you live and operate your business wherever you live and operate your business. This is true for foreign and U.S.-based owners of Delaware entities. One of my favorite Atlas users, Meitre in South America, has this tagline on their site: "Proudly born in Uruguay. Made with love in California" Much of their business is in South America; they went on (after incorporation) to through YC, raised from A16Z, etc. I think their experience is a userful counter to the standard narrative about brain drains, because that business is very thoroughly South American and also a first-class participant in the SV ecosystem. Anecdotally speaking, a lot of the Atlas companies I'm aware of which raised money raised it either primarily locally, a mix of local and Silicon Valley, or "extremely widely distributed."
  - motives 5y ago
    Thanks for the response, it seems my initial take was indeed unbalanced and hadn't factored in the potential of geographically distributed raises which benefit the founders local territories whilst bringing the benefits of significant US capital.
cblconfederate 5y ago
Eu countries, especially the low tax ones each have benefits for different types of companies wrt to intellectual property law or finance. Ireland Malta cyprus estonia bulgaria Luxembourg have hundreds of companies that offer off the shelf company formation

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

patio11 5y ago

(I work at Stripe and have worked on Stripe Atlas.) We're always on the lookout for more ways to support the growth of the Internet economy, and have been looking in detail at which entity types and "hubs" would unlock the most opportunity for our users and for people who we talk to. As always, we'll announce our work here when/if it is ready to be used.

tiffanyh 5y ago
Hi Patrick My # one needs isn't related to Atlas per se (but I can see how all Atlas users need this), I love you're acquisition of TaxJar and release of Stripe Tax. But it only solves 1/2 the problem. I need an easy way to make tax payments to the appropriate regulator (e.g. Merchant of Record service). Hope that is in the works.
- patio11 5y ago
  We hear you, and are hard at work on making taxes easier. Moving money around is very core to what we do, and money movements between companies and tax agencies are one of the largest funds flows for companies subject to that sort of regime, so you can make some very plausible assumptions about our level of interest in this area.
Jake232 5y ago
Have you started offering foreign owned LLC's again via Atlas? The last time I checked this wasn't possible sadly.
tiffanyh 5y ago
Hi Patrick Me again. I posted my Atlas wish list here. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27706864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27706864 Happy to email/talk 1:1 if you’d like to dive into this more.

motives 5y ago

This is probably a somewhat cynical take, but Stripe Atlas' US only offering is a big contributor to international startup brain drain which is costing local economies significantly. When countries (such as within the EU, India or South America) invest so much in the education and development of young entrepreneurs, only for them to leave to the US for the allure of quick investment, all of their potential future value leaves with them. I understand there is a lot for these countries to do to improve investment conditions for high risk startups, but how can poorer South American countries (like those in the Stripe promo video linked) compete with the US in terms of the availability of capital? This is not solely Stripes fault, though in my opinion by promoting Delaware parent companies for international founders they contribute to the hindrance of the local tech economies of these countries. I'd like to reiterate that this is a relatively uncharitable take, and would welcome alternate perspectives on this issue.

patio11 5y ago
While some Atlas users are internationally mobile, the dominant use case for Delaware entities is to give you a convenient box the system knows how to interface with while you live and operate your business wherever you live and operate your business. This is true for foreign and U.S.-based owners of Delaware entities. One of my favorite Atlas users, Meitre in South America, has this tagline on their site: "Proudly born in Uruguay. Made with love in California" Much of their business is in South America; they went on (after incorporation) to through YC, raised from A16Z, etc. I think their experience is a userful counter to the standard narrative about brain drains, because that business is very thoroughly South American and also a first-class participant in the SV ecosystem. Anecdotally speaking, a lot of the Atlas companies I'm aware of which raised money raised it either primarily locally, a mix of local and Silicon Valley, or "extremely widely distributed."
- motives 5y ago
  Thanks for the response, it seems my initial take was indeed unbalanced and hadn't factored in the potential of geographically distributed raises which benefit the founders local territories whilst bringing the benefits of significant US capital.

cblconfederate 5y ago

Eu countries, especially the low tax ones each have benefits for different types of companies wrt to intellectual property law or finance. Ireland Malta cyprus estonia bulgaria Luxembourg have hundreds of companies that offer off the shelf company formation