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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

#281

Post by notpushkin »

Propelloni wrote: post #269
notpushkin wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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) subsid…

> Mimimum capital is 1 €, If you are talking about an OÜ this is often repeated and technically wrong (the best kind of wrong). One, actually the minimum capital requirement is 0.01 Euro per shareholder, and two, Estonian courts are pretty clear that in an OÜ with less than 2500 EUR capital the shareholders are personally liable to cover the difference between share capital and 2500 EUR to trustees.

Yeah, you’re technically right (the best kind of right!) — on both counts.

However, if I understand everything correctly (IANAL), personal liability is basically the same. If you go for 2500 € capital and your company becomes undercapitalized, you’ll still be personally liable for any claims against your company, no?

(But personally, I just like how this opens opportunities even for people for whom 2500 € is a serious amount of money. Granted, you probably shouldn’t open up a company in this kind of situation, but at least you can!)

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

#282

Post by system2 »

garrickvanburen wrote: post #270

I'm always conflicted about this because it's like saying the sky is blue. Stepping outside of the VC startup bubble, we see small self-funded businesses are the norm. It's the neighborhood businesses all around us. 82% of all US business have https://forstarters.substack.com/p/for-starters-10-the-three... 99.976% of new businesses don’t raise venture capital. https://forstarters.substack.com/p/for-starters-32-start-…

HN wants to hear what they already know, what to hear, or agree on.

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

#283

Post by ks2048 »

pembrook wrote: post #229
Bewelge wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that the process is unnecessarily complex, but I also think hiring someone for that would be the wise choice in most places anyway. And even in Germany hiring someone for that would probably amount to paying 500-1000€ for the whole registration of the company instead of doing everything yourself and only paying the 100-200€ notary fees. It's not as bad as you might think. > I will never try it in my home coun…

> but I also think hiring someone for [government paperwork] would be the wise choice in most places anyway. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried founding a business or fundraising in any other non-Germany country, but this is an insane thing to say imo. Is this why Germany has no globally relevant software (or hardware tbh) companies founded in the last 40 years? Are we sure we want to be holding up this model as an ex…

> I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried founding a business or fundraising in any other non-Germany country, but this is an insane thing to say imo.

In the US, people also tell you pay an expensive lawyer to deal with government paperwork.

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

#284

Post by vaidhy »

pembrook wrote: post #229
Bewelge wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that the process is unnecessarily complex, but I also think hiring someone for that would be the wise choice in most places anyway. And even in Germany hiring someone for that would probably amount to paying 500-1000€ for the whole registration of the company instead of doing everything yourself and only paying the 100-200€ notary fees. It's not as bad as you might think. > I will never try it in my home coun…

> but I also think hiring someone for [government paperwork] would be the wise choice in most places anyway. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried founding a business or fundraising in any other non-Germany country, but this is an insane thing to say imo. Is this why Germany has no globally relevant software (or hardware tbh) companies founded in the last 40 years? Are we sure we want to be holding up this model as an ex…

Why should there be a globally relevant software company? How about locally relevant software companies? If it is successful enough to pay for its own expenses and decent income for the employees/founders, it is a good business.

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

#285

Post by jagger27 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #256
jpfr wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just founded in Germany. The paperwork is … okay. Not much more crazy than tax returns or internal accounting you need to do in any jurisdiction. But yes, running any organization is a lot of work.

In terms of tax craziness (most crazy to least): 1) India. Lots of conflicting laws. Lots of conflicting paperwork. And as a foreign company you'll probably pay more in bribes ("voluntary non-disclosed payments to ensure success") than you would in taxes, because the alternative is that they send the police after your local employees and maybe try to have the local court seize your property. 2) EU. The VATOSS is stra…

> Canada. Even Quebec, which insists on doing everything in French.

Quebec would be the one place in Canada where you’re expected to do business in French. Maybe New Brunswick? Even right across the river in Ottawa you’d have no reason to use French in any official capacity.

Sure, you might want a FR/EN selector at the top of your site since Quebec is a big market (within Canada).

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

#286

Post by paulddraper »

PaulRobinson wrote: post #273
paulddraper wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes that’s not how Germany produces OpenAI or Space X. But it’s how you produce a lot of other things.

Only psychopaths with other people's money to burn want to produce OpenAI or Space X. I think if you want to produce a sustainable business that lasts a long, long time, and provides a good product to a lot of customers, and employ a lot of good people and provide them with a good living, you want to do this, not that.

So…VCs

(:

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

#287

Post by tptacek »

epolanski wrote: post #261
tptacek wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can essentially create an LLC in Delaware (from anywhere in the country) as easily as you can create an Amazon account, so that's a big claim.

You can create a full blow corporation in Delaware from Europe in an easier way that you can open here. Anyway, the benefits go beyond how easy it is to open, the most important things are moving forward with things like stock options, issuing shares, creating preferred ones, etc, etc, taxes access to funding, etc..

Are they? With a founding team? You can just boot up an LLC and have a short operating agreement with 4/1 vesting and equal allocations.

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

#288

Post by phendrenad2 »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #63
Etheryte wrote: post #8

Well yes, that's called a regular company. Not sure if I'm missing something here?

At least some years ago, browsing HN's comment section felt like it was a different world, separated from reality. I think some people need this kind of grounding reminders every once in a while.

Well, this is YCombinator, after all. VC-funded startups do still need to be ~unicorns.

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

#289

Post by [deleted] »

system2 wrote: post #282
garrickvanburen wrote: post #270

I'm always conflicted about this because it's like saying the sky is blue. Stepping outside of the VC startup bubble, we see small self-funded businesses are the norm. It's the neighborhood businesses all around us. 82% of all US business have https://forstarters.substack.com/p/for-starters-10-the-three... 99.976% of new businesses don’t raise venture capital. https://forstarters.substack.com/p/for-starters-32-start-…

HN wants to hear what they already know, what to hear, or agree on.

[deleted]

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

#290

Post by Ylpertnodi »

boxed wrote: post #258
datavirtue wrote: post #161

First time on substack, apparently first time writing also. Enough undefined acronyms to get an 8th grader smacked.

> For most B2B SaaS businesses, you shouldn’t need more than $1M in capital to get to PMF, find a GTM motion that works (not that it needs to scale), and reach an ARR figure where the revenue multiple for valuation starts to look pretty tasty—enough to offer significant upside even after investors are paid out. That sentence (yes, ONE sentence) is some of the worst I've seen.

>That sentence (yes, ONE sentence) is some of the worst I've seen.

"[S]ome", as in 'plural'? Perhaps 'one of', may be better?

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