Ask HN: Possible to legally form a startup as a digital nomad?

2 pointsby ryannevius12 anni fa3 comments

I'm a developer, US citizen, out of college, and out of the country. With no desire to work for the man, and a strong desire to travel the world, my wife and I are living abroad. She's teaching, I'm doing freelance design and development work, while also spending a significant amount of time on a startup.

We have no plans to return the the US in the foreseeable future. We have no address in the US. We will also be moving from our current location (Vietnam) to another shortly. So my question is:

Is it impossible to legally register this startup?

As far as I know, I need to register my business name, register as an LLC, register with the tax board...but much of this has to be done in person.

My last US address was in California. Contacting the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development was no help.

Is it impossible?

2 comments

rahimnathwani12 anni fa

Implicit in your question is that the company will be registered in the USA. Why?

A couple of pros:

- You want to raise big money from a VC, and it will be easier if your company is a Delaware (http://www.grellas.com/faq_business_startup_002.html)

- You will employ people in the USA, and think it might make the paperwork for that easier

One potential con to consider:

- You might pay more tax if you are set up in the USA (vs. e.g. Cayman Islands)

ryannevius12 anni fa

I hope to eventually employ people in the USA, but have no need to seek VC.

How are hack-together-a-product-per-month founders handling this process?

pdb12312 anni fa

I'd guess the exact legality varies state to state. Practically speaking you just need an address. Most registration procedures can be done remotely, but one big potential annoyance is getting things notarized as this is often quite expensive at US embassies.