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Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

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Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#31

Post by vertis »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #12
candiddevmike wrote: post #9

Sorry to tell you this, but you picked a terrible time to start contracting. I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Also, I personally wouldn't use the US LLC if you don't live in the US--that would be a huge red flag for me as a potential client. Contracting is all about trust, and you want your business to appear as solid as possible.

> I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Upwork is international and you're competing with millions of people willing to work for $5/day, are you not?

Upwork and Freelancer are cesspits. Filled with people that don't bother reading your job and just spam your job listings. I'd sooner cold email startups asking if they need help (as annoying as that is).

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#32

Post by gist »

I never understand (ok I understand but take issue with) these types of questions. Sure nice to read ideas people give on HN but really isn't this a classic case of RTFM. Where that means 'do some reading spend some time do some research and FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN'. What changed (old timer here btw) in culture where everyone wants the answer from someone else. There is a wealth of free information on the internet that can be had. Do some work yourself then come back with specific questions (on another forum probably) and tie up the loose ends.

Part of being an entrepreneur is figuring things out on your own with nominal help from others. In the old day btw when you 'started a business' (was not called a 'startup') you not only didn't have money to buy expensive help you were lucky to even get any help. You wore most if not all hats.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#33

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

bidandanswer wrote: post #10
bidandanswer wrote: post #5

Stripe takes a hefty cut. Use USDC. Costs a fraction of a penny and settles in less than a second.

No explanation, just downvotes? Standard Stripe fees on $250k revenue: - 2.9% + 30¢ per charge - Assume net-30 invoices - Total fees: 2.9% * $250k + 30¢ * 12 = $7,253.60 - Stripe can freeze your money arbitrarily and indefinitely Standard USDC fees on Solana: - Less than 1 cent per transaction - Total fees: < 12¢

Because 2.9% is just a cost of doing business. If it's that critical to your margins, raise your price to compensate for it. Adding friction by using crypto is likely to cost you far more than 2.9% by losing the contract altogether.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#34

Post by bidandanswer »

Zetobal wrote: post #29
bidandanswer wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See my other comment. Not hard. And it will only get easier as time goes on.

It's neither easy nor will it get easier.

All of the facts contradict you.

Two years ago I had to fend off contracts that paid in USDC.

It's easier to find someone to pay in USDC today than it was then.

Market share and volume will continue to grow.

What do you have against a genuinely useful technology with tangible benefits?

- Cheaper

- Faster

- No arbiter risk

- Built-in escape hatch for political dissidents and enemies of the state

If you want a trusted arbiter for all your financial transactions, you can continue to use the legacy financial system and pay the costs for doing so. I'm not arguing crypto will replace it. Both have their use case.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#35

Post by bidandanswer »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #33
bidandanswer wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No explanation, just downvotes? Standard Stripe fees on $250k revenue: - 2.9% + 30¢ per charge - Assume net-30 invoices - Total fees: 2.9% * $250k + 30¢ * 12 = $7,253.60 - Stripe can freeze your money arbitrarily and indefinitely Standard USDC fees on Solana: - Less than 1 cent per transaction - Total fees: < 12¢

Because 2.9% is just a cost of doing business. If it's that critical to your margins, raise your price to compensate for it. Adding friction by using crypto is likely to cost you far more than 2.9% by losing the contract altogether.

Okay. I have personally saved tens of thousands of dollars and hours of headache by just doing my business on chain.

How valuable is 2.9% of $1m+ to you?

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#36

Post by Zetobal »

bidandanswer wrote: post #34
Zetobal wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's neither easy nor will it get easier.

All of the facts contradict you. Two years ago I had to fend off contracts that paid in USDC. It's easier to find someone to pay in USDC today than it was then. Market share and volume will continue to grow. What do you have against a genuinely useful technology with tangible benefits? - Cheaper - Faster - No arbiter risk - Built-in escape hatch for political dissidents and enemies of the state If you want a trusted…

I have nothing against it but your anecdotal evidence isn't supported by the market.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#37

Post by vertis »

bidandanswer wrote: post #17
vertis wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the most part big companies won't be paying via stripe anyway, but even if they did want to pay on credit card they certainly won't want to pay with cryptocurrency, even if it is a stable coin.

In my experience, that's not true. I've accepted hundreds of thousands of USDC in revenue in other ventures. I've also wired and accepted wires for similar amounts. Each time I get a call from the bank and it takes a half a day at the very least. Sometimes it takes weeks to unfreeze my money in various payment processors. On chain, it's faster. It's cheaper.

Would love to see some stats on the number of companies that are prepared to use USDC vs bank transfers. I'm going to suspect it's low until proven otherwise.

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#39

Post by bidandanswer »

vertis wrote: post #37
bidandanswer wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, that's not true. I've accepted hundreds of thousands of USDC in revenue in other ventures. I've also wired and accepted wires for similar amounts. Each time I get a call from the bank and it takes a half a day at the very least. Sometimes it takes weeks to unfreeze my money in various payment processors. On chain, it's faster. It's cheaper.

Would love to see some stats on the number of companies that are prepared to use USDC vs bank transfers. I'm going to suspect it's low until proven otherwise.

And the number of companies that made use of computers was low when they first came out, despite the fact that the fledgling technology was genuinely valuable to them.

What's your point?

Re: Ask HN: Opened a LLC in USA, where should I look for clients?

#40

Post by pxue »

anonu wrote: post #30
candiddevmike wrote: post #9

Sorry to tell you this, but you picked a terrible time to start contracting. I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there. Also, I personally wouldn't use the US LLC if you don't live in the US--that would be a huge red flag for me as a potential client. Contracting is all about trust, and you want your business to appear as solid as possible.

I disagree with both you statements: Why is it a terrible time? What's wrong with setting up a US entity? Actually from a US employer perspective you have a bit more recourse if you need to use the legal system than someone operating entirely out of a foreign country.

Been contracting for 7 years and there's been a 10x in opportunities from Q42023 to Q12024.

Things are looking very up.

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