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A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

mattgiustwilliamson.substack.com

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Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#231

Post by DiggyJohnson »

hijodelsol wrote: post #150
toomuchtodo wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there an opportunity to streamline the paperwork mentioned to reduce friction for founding in Germany?

Yes, there are ways to buy up existing “empty” companies with a bank account, commercial registration, etc. If you want to found a new one, there are also services that will prepare all paperwork and set up appointments with notaries, etc. for you for affordable prices Day to day operations do generally not require much else than bookkeeping and accounting which you can almost fully outsource (though accountant fees…

This makes it sound like a lot of unnecessary work…

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#232

Post by 9rx »

LikeAnElephant wrote: post #228
9rx wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I literally walked into offices in my town and asked what the most annoying part of their job is and I made a prototype. Consumers don't have offices. You are looking at a business-to-business transaction, which is where we said there is still opportunity, in large part thanks to those collecting angel money. If you are going to disagree, surely you can provide an example of where you have sold to the consumer? Aff…

My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like. B2B, B2C, mobile, web, node, Python, PHP. None of it really matters. > You are looking at a business-to-business.. which is where we said there is still opportunity, in large part thanks to those collecting angel money. You might be mixing up opportunities within the te…

> My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like.

That point was already firmly established before you arrived. What were you hoping to add?

> You might be mixing up opportunities within the tech industry with using tech to build a business within other industries.

Industry doesn't matter. An economy is all connected. What does matter is that at some point your sale needs a "final destination". If you sell to another business, they are going to need to pass the need on to the next hop. If they fail to do that, they will go out of business, and soon you will too.

That means either a consumer, someone with angel money to burn, or government (which is, as it pertains to this discussion, basically the same as angel money). Angel money keeps a lot of these B2B businesses alive. You might not need to accept the angel money directly, but someone needs to in order to support the system we have.

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#233

Post by cweagans »

the_clarence wrote: post #176
zwnow wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tax returns is once a year, which is okay. I see my bosses having to do paperwork every week...

I have an LLC in the US and have to deal with tax stuff all the freaking time

I've had a couple of LLCs in the US (now and in the past) and they've been pretty hands-off as far as paperwork/tax stuff go. More or less, just keep good books and file/pay quarterly taxes and that's about it. I'm curious about what you've run into?

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#234

Post by erikerikson »

tptacek wrote: post #215
the_clarence wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an LLC in the US and have to deal with tax stuff all the freaking time

You deal with essentially (probably exactly) the same tax issues any freelancer would deal with, right?

Mine is almost certainly almost the minimal case, except for someone running in Delaware. Federally, I file quarterly 941s (employee tax withholding), annual 940 (unemployment) and 1020 (tax return). In Delaware I final annually (stamp tax). I then file locally for Washington (excise tax) and Seattle (licensing tax).

I believe a freelancers wouldn't file employee tax forms. They frequently roll their filings into their personal taxes.

[edit: this is for a C corp]

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#235

Post by notpushkin »

nottorp wrote: post #92
Propelloni wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, it is sufficient to only pay 50 % of the stock capital at registration of the GMbH, ie. 12500 EUR. Obviously you also have less operating capital then. Second, the money is not gone. It is right there in the company's account. You use it to pay company bills. The only thing annoying about German GmbH is that it can take 6-8 weeks until you get your tax id and registration numbers. You can, of course, already d…

> Second, the money is not gone. It is right there in the company's account. You use it to pay company bills. That's fine if you start a restaurant or small workshop and need money for salaries, materials etc, of course. It's a barrier to entry when you can start something digital only with just a person or three putting in sweat equity and zero to very little actual cash.

Why not try Estonia instead? You’ll need to get an e-signature card (“e-Residency”) which might take about a month, then you just submit an online form and get your company number the same day. Mimimum capital is 1 €, and the fees are about 400 € for setup and 100 €/yr for virtual address. https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/eresidency-germans/

The downside, of course, is that you probably won’t get any direct(-ish) subsidies from Germany — although any pan-EU options should be on the table.

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#236

Post by LikeAnElephant »

9rx wrote: post #232
LikeAnElephant wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like. B2B, B2C, mobile, web, node, Python, PHP. None of it really matters. > You are looking at a business-to-business.. which is where we said there is still opportunity, in large part thanks to those collecting angel money. You might be mixing up opportunities within the te…

> My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like. That point was already firmly established before you arrived. What were you hoping to add ? > You might be mixing up opportunities within the tech industry with using tech to build a business within other industries. Industry doesn't matter. An economy is all connecte…

Sounds like you've got it figured out then. Best of luck!

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#237

Post by [deleted] »

LikeAnElephant wrote: post #236
9rx wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like. That point was already firmly established before you arrived. What were you hoping to add ? > You might be mixing up opportunities within the tech industry with using tech to build a business within other industries. Industry doesn't matter. An economy is all connecte…

Sounds like you've got it figured out then. Best of luck!

[deleted]

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#238

Post by trollbridge »

thuanao wrote: post #227
tptacek wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creating a company in the US doesn't require tax returns or internal accounting. (But perhaps you meant European jurisdictions).

It does if you're actually incorporating (C or S corp). You'll need to at least file both federal and state returns. And in many cases you'll need to pay money even if your business earned $0. An LLC setup as a passthrough can get away with filing personal returns, but that only works for small freelance operations. Once you've got payroll or investors it's constant paperwork hassle.

Payroll is relatively simple for a basic LLC. You can use a service like Rippling or a local CPA to do it for you. Usually costs around $40 per month per employee.

S Corp filings are drop dead simple. The tax return may take a CPA’s help if your structure is complicated or you want to get the absolute best tax breaks possible.

Yes it could be simpler - jurisdictions like Estonia figured this out.

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#239

Post by dehrmann »

rmnclmnt wrote: post #196
esafak wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russ (VC): Why would you go after revenue? Richard (CEO): Because... to make money? Russ: No. If you show revenue, people will ask how much, and it will never be enough. The company that was the hundred x-er, the thousand x-er, becomes the two x dog. But if you have no revenue, you can say you're pre-revenue ... you're a potential pure play. It's not about how much you earn, it's about what you're worth, and who's wo…

One of the best shows of all time, both extremely sarcastic but so on-point at the same time. We laugh because we know it's true

Part of it was Mike Judge (Office Space, among others). Part was that they did really good research. They nailed lots of little details about VC, technology, tech businesses, the locale, and industry.

Re: A startup doesn't need to be a unicorn

#240

Post by 9rx »

LikeAnElephant wrote: post #236
9rx wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My broader point is that if you want to build a business there's a ton of opportunity if you're not overly picky on what that opportunity looks like. That point was already firmly established before you arrived. What were you hoping to add ? > You might be mixing up opportunities within the tech industry with using tech to build a business within other industries. Industry doesn't matter. An economy is all connecte…

Sounds like you've got it figured out then. Best of luck!

No. I remain unsure about what you were trying to add. You must have had some kind of astute observation that warranted your time to formulate a response – more than once. But, I'm afraid it went over my head. Perhaps you can frame it in another light?
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