Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
lukashermann.dev
Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
1–10 of 110 posts
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#2This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket change.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#3This is a great resource, thank you very much! I have friends who opened small tech companies in Germany, and the prevalent feeling is fear. Fear of doing something wrong, not declaring the correct taxes, misunderstanding profitability, etc. This type of article makes the process much more understandable. I like the strategy of detailing which problems to ignore or push for later, this is very useful advice.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#4This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
[flagged]
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#5Thank you for sharing and documenting your path! It's very, very interesting to me right now and came at the right time.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#6This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
Serious question: who would I hire for these kind of stuff?
In a couple of situations, I decided to give software away for free to avoid the hassle. If there's a simple solution to get advice, I'd really appreciate that.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#7This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
Serious question: who would I hire for these kind of stuff? In a couple of situations, I decided to give software away for free to avoid the hassle. If there's a simple solution to get advice, I'd really appreciate that.
An accountant can walk you though the steps.
The author writes "The best approach is to start as an “Einzelunternehmer” (sole proprietor). You can register this at your local town hall for a nominal fee, and you’ll typically receive confirmation within a few days."
When I did it the cost was 35 Euro, I think it depends on city. One can argue why this step can't be done online but until 2023 it wasn't possible to register a car online in Germany either.
Then a letter to the local tax office (in Germany they're by city or region, not central. Then as the author says ignore VAT until you're over the threshold.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#8This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
Not sure if it's so much easier in the US. If you sell things you e.g. have different sales tax requirements in every state, and if you have a Delaware C Corp you still need to do you taxes which usually requires an accountant. Overall the system isn't very different in Germany, I'd even say VAT tax rules for Europe are probably a bit easier than sales tax rules in the US. Founding a limited liability company takes 2-3 weeks here BTW, costs are around 2000 T€ I think. Maybe more expensive than opening a C Corp but not by much.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#9This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
In the UK you pay £12 online, fill in an address and it's done.
So that's not true.
It completely depends on the European country.
And given the Germany is the economic powerhouse of the EU, their bureaucracy doesn't seem to be hurting them much.
Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
#10This is such a european startup story - where most energy is spent setting up a company and navigating bureaucracy rather than building a product. If anyone wonders why europe has such a lower number of startups this is why. And it’s not the government at fault. It’s the culture. Like seriously just pay someone 200€ to do this on your behalf and focus on stuff that matters not the “legal gray area” of earning pocket…
Yeah I think all you need to know about the "gray area" is the threshold of "tax evasion" or "tax fraud" in your country, and don't get even close to it, for me I'd still be worried to make a mistake and it would be on the back of my mind, so as you are saying, if you want to make things right and easy, incorporate a mini-GmbH, use professional help, and focus on your product.