4 ms·

Hacker News, Quora, etc are supportive of entrepreneurship - that is your support and mentorship network. Incorporate in a low-tax low-regulation business-frie

Hacker News, Quora, etc are supportive of entrepreneurship - that is your support and mentorship network. Incorporate in a low-tax low-regulation business-friendly jurisdiction like Singapore, bank in stable country like Switzerland and live/work wherever you like. Consider the 5 flags-theory for web-based business: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_traveler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_traveler

kintamanimatt 14y ago
I really, really love this idea.
- cpursley 14y ago
  It's not so much about the tax avoidance - it's really about flexibility and the realization that the world is much different that it was 20 years ago. Location is less important - don't let governments or culture hold you back.
  - kintamanimatt 14y ago
    Oh I know. Being a perpetual traveler appeals to me. Colin Wright's[1] an entrepreneur (not the one on here) that's reasonably well known for living in a new country every four months. [1] http://exilelifestyle.com/ http://exilelifestyle.com/
    - cpursley 14y ago
      Ah, thanks for the link. That's serious PT.
hnwh 14y ago
Considering this now, Singapore or Hong Kong
- cpursley 14y ago
  Well, Hong Kong's future belongs to China. http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
  - jpwagner 14y ago
    Can you elaborate on what you think the implications of China's involvement are? I mean, "one country, two systems" seems to be allowing HK to be very free.
    - mongol 14y ago
      One country two systems is for 50 years from 1997 as I understand
    - cpursley 14y ago
      Just a gut feeling. China is a behemoth, and territorial at that. Singapore has a really interesting free-trade independence minded history. This is an excellent documentary on the history of Singapore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3X_xR31Rt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3X_xR31Rt4
heelhook 14y ago
> Hacker News, Quora, etc are supportive of entrepreneurship - that is your support and mentorship network. That is nice and all, and yes, you are right, those are great resources for entrepreneurs along with a handful of other sites. Speaking as an entrepreneur that has sat on both sides of the fence - I partially live in Buenos Aires, and spend a lot of time in Boston: have done the /self served/ mentoring you hint at and had actual mentors and I'm going through my second incubator experience right now - I ought to say, the differences between a support or mentorship network is a completely different experience than when you have actual mentors, with names, faces and specific personalities. Hacker News, Quora, StackExchange are top notch resources when you have very specific questions that need answers. Its a completely different ball game when questions you face are ambiguous, and needless to say that the effect of being able to easily tap into willing and reliable networks of contacts through your mentors is a resource that is hard to replicate in these sites. A "Show HN" thread is great (provided it reaches the front page), but being able to get in front of insightful, connected people that have a particular understanding of the exact problem you are solving, is a much more meaningful resource, I'll listen to the insights from five such individuals much more carefully than to the comments of 200 anonymous comments (not that the 200 anonymous comments are not of use, of course, but one is heavily more valuable than the other imo). YMMV, but, all things being equal, having a handful of people you can reach out to (and just as important, that will reach out to you periodically) makes your own work much more effective.
- cpursley 14y ago
  I agree. These web resources have actually been springboards for me to discover people and mentors who I later meet with in 'real life' - so yes, actual face time is extremely important.
subsystem 14y ago
Nice in theory, hard in practice. Especially if you're doing a startup and not a lifestyle or small business. Edit: Ridiculous how people downvote. I've researched this area more than most and the flags theory just doesn't fit most startups as the core concept is having your tax residence and company in different countries. The only case I know of where it did or could have worked is Skype.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- joonix 14y ago
  Agreed, ideas like that sound great on paper but just don't translate to real life in most instances. And I encourage anyone dreaming about working abroad to go and try it for at least a month before making a big commitment.
- cpursley 14y ago
  I agree - it really dependes on if you're going for the 'home-run' or for a lifestyle/bootstrap business. I should have mentioned that. Speaking of Skype, I'd really like to visit Estonia. Low flat tax, nice capital city, part of EU but lower cost of living, forward thinking government, etc.
gamblor956 14y ago
Singapore is low regulation, but law heavy. While businesses generally have the freedom to do a lot, the people that work for the business do not. As long as you plan on being a perfectly law abiding citizen (or resident), Singapore is a great place. But once you have a crime on you record--including something as simple as jaywalking--it stops being such a great place.
- kintamanimatt 14y ago
  Also, I'm under the impression that Singapore's not all that gay friendly, which is something that matters to me as a gay guy.
- cpursley 14y ago
  Singapore for business domicile - not residence. It's also a great base to all the southeast Asian countries with super low cost of living if that's your thing.

kintamanimatt 14y ago

I really, really love this idea.

cpursley 14y ago
It's not so much about the tax avoidance - it's really about flexibility and the realization that the world is much different that it was 20 years ago. Location is less important - don't let governments or culture hold you back.
- kintamanimatt 14y ago
  Oh I know. Being a perpetual traveler appeals to me. Colin Wright's[1] an entrepreneur (not the one on here) that's reasonably well known for living in a new country every four months. [1] http://exilelifestyle.com/ http://exilelifestyle.com/
  - cpursley 14y ago
    Ah, thanks for the link. That's serious PT.

hnwh 14y ago

Considering this now, Singapore or Hong Kong

cpursley 14y ago
Well, Hong Kong's future belongs to China. http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
- jpwagner 14y ago
  Can you elaborate on what you think the implications of China's involvement are? I mean, "one country, two systems" seems to be allowing HK to be very free.
  - mongol 14y ago
    One country two systems is for 50 years from 1997 as I understand
  - cpursley 14y ago
    Just a gut feeling. China is a behemoth, and territorial at that. Singapore has a really interesting free-trade independence minded history. This is an excellent documentary on the history of Singapore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3X_xR31Rt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3X_xR31Rt4

heelhook 14y ago

> Hacker News, Quora, etc are supportive of entrepreneurship - that is your support and mentorship network. That is nice and all, and yes, you are right, those are great resources for entrepreneurs along with a handful of other sites. Speaking as an entrepreneur that has sat on both sides of the fence - I partially live in Buenos Aires, and spend a lot of time in Boston: have done the /self served/ mentoring you hint at and had actual mentors and I'm going through my second incubator experience right now - I ought to say, the differences between a support or mentorship network is a completely different experience than when you have actual mentors, with names, faces and specific personalities. Hacker News, Quora, StackExchange are top notch resources when you have very specific questions that need answers. Its a completely different ball game when questions you face are ambiguous, and needless to say that the effect of being able to easily tap into willing and reliable networks of contacts through your mentors is a resource that is hard to replicate in these sites. A "Show HN" thread is great (provided it reaches the front page), but being able to get in front of insightful, connected people that have a particular understanding of the exact problem you are solving, is a much more meaningful resource, I'll listen to the insights from five such individuals much more carefully than to the comments of 200 anonymous comments (not that the 200 anonymous comments are not of use, of course, but one is heavily more valuable than the other imo). YMMV, but, all things being equal, having a handful of people you can reach out to (and just as important, that will reach out to you periodically) makes your own work much more effective.

cpursley 14y ago
I agree. These web resources have actually been springboards for me to discover people and mentors who I later meet with in 'real life' - so yes, actual face time is extremely important.

subsystem 14y ago

Nice in theory, hard in practice. Especially if you're doing a startup and not a lifestyle or small business. Edit: Ridiculous how people downvote. I've researched this area more than most and the flags theory just doesn't fit most startups as the core concept is having your tax residence and company in different countries. The only case I know of where it did or could have worked is Skype.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
joonix 14y ago
Agreed, ideas like that sound great on paper but just don't translate to real life in most instances. And I encourage anyone dreaming about working abroad to go and try it for at least a month before making a big commitment.
cpursley 14y ago
I agree - it really dependes on if you're going for the 'home-run' or for a lifestyle/bootstrap business. I should have mentioned that. Speaking of Skype, I'd really like to visit Estonia. Low flat tax, nice capital city, part of EU but lower cost of living, forward thinking government, etc.

gamblor956 14y ago

Singapore is low regulation, but law heavy. While businesses generally have the freedom to do a lot, the people that work for the business do not. As long as you plan on being a perfectly law abiding citizen (or resident), Singapore is a great place. But once you have a crime on you record--including something as simple as jaywalking--it stops being such a great place.

kintamanimatt 14y ago
Also, I'm under the impression that Singapore's not all that gay friendly, which is something that matters to me as a gay guy.
cpursley 14y ago
Singapore for business domicile - not residence. It's also a great base to all the southeast Asian countries with super low cost of living if that's your thing.