I started a company (LLC) for my own app business. It's not a startup, but it's not contract work either. I make apps and sell them on the App Store. It's been profitable for nearly six years now. It's just a regular business or "lifestyle business" for some. There should be an option for that. Startup implies a focus on growth and getting funded.
Poll: Do you have your own company?
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Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#12Remote consulting. I setup a C-corp. 3 Full time offshore employees. Still have my day job as a full stack enterprise developer but what I am getting to learn about running a business and helping people 'produce their best' is phenomenal.
I look at my role as a really strong conduit between client and my team. I can speak both their languages and since I am a developer myself and the team is so small, I can point to the exact changes done or required to make something happen. My current client loves this.
Biggest hurdle - finding clients who have the need and budget.
Just posted this if you would like to offer suggestions - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7821974
(Btw, I am a long time lurker, occasional commenter but first time Ask HN poster. Stupid question - Does anyone know how to make a post appear under 'Ask'? My post appears under 'New' but I can't see it under 'Ask')
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#13Founded 14 years ago (profitable since 2002, ~$8M EBIT in 2013), sold most of it in the past 6 months (in 2 steps) and will be retiring soon. Does that count?
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#14Well, I am not in US, so I don't even know what is INC and LLC. But I voted for "Yes - a startup i founded".
Inc. stands for Incorporated, and LLC for Limited Liability Company, two methods of creating a corporation to protect you from liability.
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#15I've been consulting on user acquisition for close to a year now, and also run a fairly large "side-project" (not sure if it yet warrants being called a "company"). So far I'm operating as a sole proprietor, but plan on filing for an LLC soon, which will act as an umbrella LLC for both my consultancy and the project.
Before organizing your LLC, consult with an attorney (most should offer a free consultation). Generally, you would want separate legal entities for your consulting and side-project business, as they sound unrelated. If both function under the same LLC, then one may be accountable for the liabilities of the other. A consulting business will generally have very limited potential liability; nevertheless, a free consulta…
Thanks for that suggestion. Is free consulting something many attorneys provide? I've just been going by my own research instead of consulting with an attorney, because I assumed the consultation would be costly.
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#16I voted twice. I run a startup company that provides consulting services and acts as an incubator for in-house ideas. If one of the side projects grows large enough that it starts making "real" money, it will get its own LLC and DBAs to separate the liability from parent's core business of consulting. I'm in NY, which is home to one to publication requirements, so I only form LLCs for projects when the potential for…
Check out this old comment I posted: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7031842
I described a hack my old employer (a law firm) utilized to accomplish the NY LLC publication requirement. Pretty cost effective, total was $519.90 to organize/file the LLC with the NY Secretary of State and complete the publication requirement.
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#17If people are open to it, I would really love to hear some anecdotes about making the transition from working for a big tech company to doing independent consulting. It seems very hard (often forbidden by the company) to pick up clients on the side while being an employee, but quitting a job without any clients is pretty scary. And I'm not even clear where to find clients (who will pay a reasonable rate).
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#18Yes, Inc. Consulting.
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#19In California, an LLC is treated like an S-Corp and you get charged the Corporate tax rate in addition to paying your regular income tax. Unless you feel the name of your company requires the protection of an LLC and make enough to justify the 8.84% (minimum of $800) additional tax, skip it.
Re: Poll: Do you have your own company?
#20If people are open to it, I would really love to hear some anecdotes about making the transition from working for a big tech company to doing independent consulting. It seems very hard (often forbidden by the company) to pick up clients on the side while being an employee, but quitting a job without any clients is pretty scary. And I'm not even clear where to find clients (who will pay a reasonable rate).
I am currently doing this. What I am doing on the side or the companies I am doing it for does not compete in any way with what my day job company produces.
Edit - I do have the problem you are describing though. Where to find clients who will pay a reasonable rate. Don't mean to spam but since this seems relevant, full story here - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7821974