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I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

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Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#91

Post by grellas »

Back in the bubble days, all but a relatively few would-be founders found themselves crawling out of a hole and into the dark, as it were, in trying to figure out how to get from ground zero to a point of success: it was all super-bewildering and there were virtually no resources to help understand how it all worked: no helpful web-based forums to explain process or to share experiences, no solid resources for helping understand how best to launch, no easy access to funding, etc., etc.

Today, it is all different. We are all hyper-connected and the old barriers are much diminished. This means a founder in Silicon Valley, where the infrastructure is solid, can continue to do incredible things but, now, so too can founders everywhere. Yes, it can help to be geographically at the heart of it all but it is no longer an indispensable part of startup success.

I think Stripe's Atlas takes a huge additional step in helping to remove the accident of a founder's location from the list of barriers to entry in the world's startup club. I have explained my views in more detail here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11166417#11168750

And what a felicitous teaming between Patrick and Stripe to help further that goal. Great people all round, working to achieve great goals! I cannot imagine a better combination. Very exciting and congrats to all.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#93

Post by rpeden »

rfrey wrote: post #72
matchagaucho wrote: post #21

I know from personal experience the sub-title to this article is "How I'm justifying a bad decision". Entrepreneurs know when they're making a bad decision, whether consciously or not. [Edited for brevity. No disrespect, but hate to see a Developer give up on their independence]

This comment is quite disrespectful, as well as arrogant.

It might be, but I try to read comments like this one a little more charitably.

People tend to see things through the lens of their own thoughts and experiences. The author of the post in question is probably just trying to provide advice based on how they'd feel in a similar situation. The wording probably made it seem more abrasive than it was intended to be.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#94

Post by cag_ii »

runako wrote: post #84
cloudjacker wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I like about the US is that there are so many different jurisdictions all in the business of having competitive incorporation services. So although LLC formation might cost $800 in California, it can be like $50 in a nearby state. Both a feature and a bug, is that there is no federal incorporation statute for private persons in the United States.

> although LLC formation might cost $800 in California That sounded really high, so I looked it up here: http://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/fo... It looks like CA is $70, unless I'm missing something. I've never started an LLC in CA though. (EDIT: keep reading down the thread for more clarification.) (But: there's another thread here that says IL is $500, which does appear to be correct.)

The $800 usually mentioned is actually the yearly minimum tax for an LLC in CA.

From the LLC-1 form:

"Filing Form LLC-1 will obligate most LLCs to pay an annual minimum $800 tax to the California Franchise Tax Board. For more information about taxes, go to https://www.ftb.ca.gov."

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#96

Post by anexprogrammer »

basisword wrote: post #48

First time I've seen Atlas. I'm immediately worried. If someone starts a company using this I presume it's subject to US laws? What does this mean: 1. For taxes? If I live in the UK and start my business with Atlas does the US get the corporation tax revenue or the UK (or a split of the two)? 2. For data security/privacy? Is the data I store now subject to access by the US government through National Security letters…

You probably need to research these or see a suitable advisor before deciding if Atlas is the right answer. From a UK point of view wouldn't be surprised if Revenue look that little more carefully given the amount of government fuss about entirely legal tax avoidance recently.

I'm surprised at the downvotes too - I'd have thought anyone outside the US and not knowing the laws (probably of both countries) would have similar questions to avoid landing themselves with an expensive mess.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#97

Post by idlewords »

losvedir wrote: post #89
idlewords wrote: post #58

I don't see any advantage in incorporation if you want to run your own private business, but I'm willing to accept that I'm being the weirdo here.

Oh wow, that surprises me. Does that mean pinboard isn't a Delaware C-Corp like everything seems to be? I suppose it makes sense since everything about it screams "the anti-startup", but I'd be curious to know what the real ramifications of going about it that way are.

Nope, nothing but a logo, a tiny server farm, and a long series of tweets.

I spooked myself into starting the process with LegalZoom at some point, but then couldn't figure out how to transfer assets, and then I got real sleepy.

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#98

Post by benjismith »

Awesome! I've been a big fan of Patrick since the days of the old Joel on Software forums, and I've always admired his plucky optimism.

Atlas is an incredibly cool, potentially game-changing project, and Stripe was already a game-changing company before launching it. I'm excited to see what happens next!

Way to go, Patrick!!

Re: I’m Joining Stripe to Work on Atlas

#99

Post by blackbagboys »

rev_bird wrote: post #77
idlewords wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vs sole proprietorship.

Liability protection, if nothing else. If someone sues a company, they can't (in theory) take the CEO's house. Also, in the US, you can save a bunch of money on payroll taxes if you elect to be taxed as an S-corp. The short version is that you only pay those taxes (Social Security, FICA, Medicare, etc etc) on money you get in paychecks -- so, if you make $100k in a year and "pay" yourself $70k, you end up with the ot…

What becomes of that other $30k? I assume there's a reason why you wouldn't just pay yourself $30k and keep the tax-free $70k.
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