SkyAndSand

9 ms·

31.
by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Couldn’t agree more. I went through the same process multiple times in the past and every step on the way (like you describe) is complicated, expensive, slow and error-prone. And I am actually fluent in German. I can’t imagine how someone w
32.
by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I've looked into the UK multiple times and it definitely sounds very attractive. It seems that OnlyFans and Hopin ( https://hopin.com/ ) were both started as UK LTDs. Downsides (as you mention) are probably access to US
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
> Because of the US FATCA law you may have trouble opening a bank account in some countries (smaller entities simply can’t be bothered with the paperwork the US demands on accounts for “US Persons”, a term which has specific meaning). In
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I am indeed another European and I do know about the issues with being a "US person". Many banks and brokers will simply immediately close your existing account or not allow you to open one. However, are you sure that simply by ow
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Thanks for the feedback. Did you generally encounter any bigger issues with this setup or would you do it again for the next company? Also, where in the US did you incorporate? Delaware?
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Good point, added that to the list of requirements in the original post. I am asking myself the same question.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Oh wow, I actually didn't know that.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I don't think 1000€ per year for a yearly closing for a dormant company is "dirt cheap", but we might have different definitions of what constitutes "cheap".
39.
by SkyAndSand 4y ago
> I never filed yearly accounts for the UG so afr, the first two years you don't have to. I've never heard about this and also can't find any sources for that when googling. Could you post an article that describes why a U
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I am also not a lawyer but for me it doesn't seem to be that easy to pierce the corporate veil https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/personal-liability-p...
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
True, as Europeans we are basically always disadvantaged and need to set up a new entity to be able to receive an investment from YC (or likely most US investors).
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Similarly to Estonia I've heard lots of people recommending Malta but can't really name any international remote-first startup that became successful and raised money with an Maltese entity..
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I've heard lots of people talking about Estonia but can you name any international remote-first startup that became successful and raised money with an Estonian entity? I don't and this makes me somewhat suspicious :)
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I am actually not trying to optimize for taxes but rather for low overhead and not spending too much time managing the company but rather building a great product.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
These are all really good questions. I am not sure. I think that you could work around these issues by either "hiring" people as contractors or using something like https://remote.com/ or https://www.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
That doesn't really contradict what I posted? If you have a company in US, Canada, Singapore or Cayman Islands you can use that. If not you need to set up a company in one of these jurisdictions.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
> Or skip the "digital" shit and do it the proper way. What do you mean by that? The employment aspect?
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
You could go with Ireland and Malta, but US investors would probably not be too happy to invest in you then ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31620700 ).
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
What is the alternative? (also asked here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31620700 )
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
We did go through a tax consultancy. Still took that long. While you may be technically right in that it is separate from incorporating, it still plays into how quickly a company actually becomes usable.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Well, I had a UG as holding company in Germany and even though the company was basically dormant (besides holding shares in another entity) I still had file yearly accounts which cost about 1000€ / year. Plus another 200€+ for IHK, 100
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Well, isn't that exactly what is happening if you set up a US LLC or a UK LTD? You get limited liability and can set up the company with a couple hundred dollars or pounds. Why would that be a problem in Germany but not in these jurisd
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Can't you work around this by using https://www.letsdeel.com/ or https://remote.com/ ?
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I am wondering, too - how would you actually solve this issue if you have founders living in multiple countries, inside and outside the EU (created a new topic here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31620700 )
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I'd say that highly depends on what your product actually is :)
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I am asking myself the same question - how would you actually solve this issue? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31620700
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
I couldn't agree more. The whole situation is extremely complicated, especially if founders from multiple countries become involved. If you had to do it again, how would you incorporate in the future (basically what I am trying to figu
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Agreed, took about 14 months and multiple visits in person to a notary for me.
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
> If you want to avoid tax problems, and problems around social security, you would need a local legal entity in every country you have employees. My understanding is that we could work around this issue by using https://www.l
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by SkyAndSand 4y ago
Not true anymore: > We invest in US, Cayman, Singapore, and Canada corporations. We have founders who apply to YC from all around the world and many have already incorporated in their home countries. https://www.ycombinator.co

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