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Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

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Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#41

Post by jforman »

seanmccann wrote: post #37
nodesocket wrote: post #33

Silicon Valley bank is frankly awful. I used them for three years but just recently switched over to Capital One Spark Business Checking[1] and love it. Spark is all online, has zero fees unlike SVB (I used to pay $15/mo), and has solid technology again unlike SVB. The account gets setup instantly and your debit card and checks arrive about a week after opening. The Spark iOS mobile app is really solid and allows for…

SVB's biggest value is in more complicated financial products for startups when traditional banks may not want to work with startups. I've worked with SVB in the past for an AR line that almost no bank would have given us. If you just need a checking account, then there are lots of cheaper banks with better UIs.

Agreed. When I needed a letter of credit BofA refused to issue one to a new company, despite us having ample cash to cover our commercial lease. We switched to SVB, they issued one quickly, and we've been happy ever since. Their technology stack may be a little antiquated, but they are very startup-friendly in their policies. They offer lots, especially to well-funded startups, that you just won't find elsewhere.

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#42

Post by nodesocket »

seanmccann wrote: post #37
nodesocket wrote: post #33

Silicon Valley bank is frankly awful. I used them for three years but just recently switched over to Capital One Spark Business Checking[1] and love it. Spark is all online, has zero fees unlike SVB (I used to pay $15/mo), and has solid technology again unlike SVB. The account gets setup instantly and your debit card and checks arrive about a week after opening. The Spark iOS mobile app is really solid and allows for…

SVB's biggest value is in more complicated financial products for startups when traditional banks may not want to work with startups. I've worked with SVB in the past for an AR line that almost no bank would have given us. If you just need a checking account, then there are lots of cheaper banks with better UIs.

You have to acknowledge a bank named Silicon Valley and having absolutely terrible technology and only recently a mobile app that is not even native is somewhat of an oxymoron. They also nickel and dime fees.

While I am sure SVB does assist with loans, investors, legal, most small businesses and startups just need a checking account and going with SVB is a mistake.

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#43

Post by jstoiko »

If you're looking for a guide/checklist before going through the "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix"[1] involved in setting-up a startup, I found this one particularly helpful: https://github.com/leonar15/startup-checklist

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Tasks_of_Asterix

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#44

Post by brianwawok »

valuearb wrote: post #31
brianwawok wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LLCs are a swim army knife. You can basically do anything, with way less rules and fees. LLCs can totally offer equity. LLC's are easier to sell than a C corp. Plenty of pluses. If you don't want to get VC funded, you should default to LLC.

Of course LLCs can offer employees equity. But it's not simple, and it's not easy. And its not just VC funding, you should be wary of LLCs if you think it's likely you will need any kind of investors, as typically investors prefer not want to deal with partnership K1s. If your startup is intended to be profitable quickly, and plans to distribute those profits to the founders, an LLC offers significant tax advantages.…

> And its not just VC funding

Sure, I do not know many people getting non-VC funding, but I guess if that exists for you, you can consider it..

> If you want to build a big business, it can offer some significant limitations.

Not sure that is really true. There are some HUGE LLCs. Say, Koch or Cargil.

https://www.forbes.com/largest-private-companies/list/

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#45

Post by WordSkill »

Info I would find useful in deciding to proceed with Atlas:

1. What are the ongoing costs for a company which, worse case scenario, makes little or no money?

2. What are the costs to close such a company, fulfilling the likely tax and regulatory requirements?

I do understand that Stripe is not a law firm or an accounting firm, and I have read through the publicly available documentation. Even so, I find myself uneasy about the possible downsides of getting tangled up with the US system.

Obviously, if everything goes well nothing will be a real problem: the money coming in can cover all sorts of ridiculous fees, tax demands and ridiculous bank charges. I am sure, however, that many potential owners are, like me, more focused upon the possibility that they might find themselves in a financial and paperwork blizzard that will drag on for years.

I am grateful that Atlas makes it easy to jump in, but how difficult will it be to jump out if necessary?

Related: I get that making the entire Atlas Forum members-only adds to the perceived value of membership, but it is frustrating for potential applicants who are hungry to hear about the experiences of others. Having just one open section would almost certainly encourage more people to go ahead and sign up.

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#46

Post by no1youknowz »

nodesocket wrote: post #33

Silicon Valley bank is frankly awful. I used them for three years but just recently switched over to Capital One Spark Business Checking[1] and love it. Spark is all online, has zero fees unlike SVB (I used to pay $15/mo), and has solid technology again unlike SVB. The account gets setup instantly and your debit card and checks arrive about a week after opening. The Spark iOS mobile app is really solid and allows for…

My bad. Misunderstood partially about the post/article.

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#47

Post by ci5er »

seanmccann wrote: post #37
nodesocket wrote: post #33

Silicon Valley bank is frankly awful. I used them for three years but just recently switched over to Capital One Spark Business Checking[1] and love it. Spark is all online, has zero fees unlike SVB (I used to pay $15/mo), and has solid technology again unlike SVB. The account gets setup instantly and your debit card and checks arrive about a week after opening. The Spark iOS mobile app is really solid and allows for…

SVB's biggest value is in more complicated financial products for startups when traditional banks may not want to work with startups. I've worked with SVB in the past for an AR line that almost no bank would have given us. If you just need a checking account, then there are lots of cheaper banks with better UIs.

For AR, cash management facilities and even backing a bond for a long-term commercial lease, they are pretty startup friendly -- at the beginning. I had a company in the 90s that got caught in a couple of unexpected ripples (unrelated to our core business), and a couple of unexpected contracts that failed to close at the same time (completely related to our business), a cancelled IPO (because, Y2000's NASDAQ plunge) and then the private equity guys hiding under their desks, and ... yet more nonsense that ended up hitting a wall that had materialized out of nothing faster than we had planned for. Whatever - it happens. We found two buyers that, between them, would pick up >95% of our employees and get the investors 85% back on their ~$100m invested. Not great - but it sure beats a sharp stick in the eye. Silicon Valley would not budge on their first leinholder position on some cash we wanted to move to get liquidated to get everyone (including them!) paid. I think they held up an $85M million transaction over a $2M deposit we had in their bank (but they froze) for almost 3 weeks. Almost queered the deal twice over. At this point I don't remember the details, but I remember being frustrated (and very very surprised!) that they had changed from friendly/flexible to "nope! not gonna do it!" in a heart beat, and they almost lost out on getting paid their piece (which was bigger than the $2M note they were holding us up over). Weird.

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#48

Post by nodesocket »

no1youknowz wrote: post #46
nodesocket wrote: post #33

Silicon Valley bank is frankly awful. I used them for three years but just recently switched over to Capital One Spark Business Checking[1] and love it. Spark is all online, has zero fees unlike SVB (I used to pay $15/mo), and has solid technology again unlike SVB. The account gets setup instantly and your debit card and checks arrive about a week after opening. The Spark iOS mobile app is really solid and allows for…

My bad. Misunderstood partially about the post/article.

"Does Capital One work with foreign startups? That's really the main question here."

Since when is that the main question? The title of the post is Atlas opens to US-based startups. Give Spark business checking a call and ask about foreign accounts 1-844-88-SPARK

Re: Stripe opens its Atlas program to US-based startups

#50

Post by boundlessdreamz »

patio11 wrote: post #2

We've technically speaking got a lot of US startups on Atlas, but we're happy to have more. Today's announcement also includes a number of other improvements we've made the last few months. I'm happy to answer questions if anyone has them.

Do you plan to offer incorporation in other business friendly countries - say singapore?
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