Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 84 posts

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#61

Post by cpursley »

jpwagner wrote: post #22
cpursley wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Hong Kong's future belongs to China. http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

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.

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

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#62

Post by geoka9 »

cpursley wrote: post #52
geoka9 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that the countries won't welcome you, it's that the US punishes them for it. (At least as it comes to bank accounts.) This makes a foreign bank account a bit of a prized possession for Americans. I know that some countries (particularly some of the post-Soviet ones) make it a criminal offense to have a foreign bank account, but I thought that for the US it's just a question of sending in an extra IRS form. O…

Yes, but the tax compliance is so complex now that many foreign financial organizations don't find it worth the cost to do business with Americans due to the paperwork. This is why the number of Americans relinquishing their citizenship has skyrocketed over the past three years.

You mean American tax regulations may have jurisdiction over foreign banks? I don't understand.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#63

Post by cpursley »

josscrowcroft wrote: post #60
cpursley wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

openexchangerates looks useful for something I'm planning - bookmarked. Curious, what's your technical stack? I'm researching ways to build a Restful api to be consumed by web apps and mobile apps. Quite nice to be a resident of Channel Islands! Seems that everyone likes Berlin. Maybe checkout New Zealand?

Thanks! I have heard NZ is a top place to work from – it's the countryside that appeals most to me, though it's a bit remote. How's the startup scene? OXR is built out with PHP and (for a bunch of processes) nodeJS. PHP gets a bad rap, but it's fastest for me to work with and hasn't presented any problems so far.

Cool, thanks. Guess I need to break down and learn about server-side javascript...

I'm always impressed by the quality of the NZ govt. websites: http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/who-to-talk...

http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-New-Zealand-technology-st...

- Many good links here. It's not the valley, but impressive for a country of 4 mil.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#64

Post by cpursley »

geoka9 wrote: post #62
cpursley wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the tax compliance is so complex now that many foreign financial organizations don't find it worth the cost to do business with Americans due to the paperwork. This is why the number of Americans relinquishing their citizenship has skyrocketed over the past three years.

You mean American tax regulations may have jurisdiction over foreign banks? I don't understand.

FAQ: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Em...

No, just jurisdiction over it's citizens. The USA is one of the only countries that taxes and requires its oversees citizens to file a tax return. You can go to jail for not reporting a foreign bank account - pretty insane.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#66

Post by cpursley »

kintamanimatt wrote: post #16
cpursley wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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/

Ah, thanks for the link. That's serious PT.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#67

Post by raquo »

geoka9 wrote: post #48
raquo wrote: post #4

I'm betting on Canada now. Beats Russland hands down.

Vancouver? Not in the winter, unless you're crazy about skiing :)

Well, it's not that bad... lol nope, couldn't keep a straight face. Yep, December is hell. Wet, dark hell. Otherwise pretty neat.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#68

Post by cpursley »

meerita wrote: post #45

I'm in the process to make one here in Spain. It is hard, yes it is. I like it because Barcelona is a great central point, full of foreigners who embrace english and all kind of european cultures as well latin america. What I am looking for? an american partner. It will be good for various reasons as I think startups should be done.

That's great. Have you seen where people in northern Spain are finding abandoned villages and renovating them to be somewhat self-sufficient? That would make a pretty cool startup hub. P.S. I see you are a UX/UI designer - any social links (dribbble/behance/twitter, etc)? I'm sure there's Americans on here (like me) or here on the lookout of that skill set.

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#69

Post by geoka9 »

cpursley wrote: post #64
geoka9 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean American tax regulations may have jurisdiction over foreign banks? I don't understand.

FAQ: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Em... No, just jurisdiction over it's citizens. The USA is one of the only countries that taxes and requires its oversees citizens to file a tax return. You can go to jail for not reporting a foreign bank account - pretty insane.

That's right, but why banks should worry about this? How does this regulation increase the cost of having an American client?

Re: Ask HN: If you could start a start-up anywhere in the world

#70

Post by kintamanimatt »

rdouble wrote: post #65

The Netherlands is probably the easiest (only?) way for an entrepreneurial American to get a foothold into Europe. There's a Dutch-American friendship treaty which makes it easy to start a business there with a small amount of money.

I'm actually British! The EU is my visa-free playground!
Post reply on HN