I still use a 2010 MacBook Pro (i7 8GB RAM 256SSD) to run my IDE and all the "normal" apps (Skype, Slack, Chrome), and a NUC (NUC5i7RYH) on Ubuntu to build and run the stack.
I mostly access the NUC via SSH (and rsync my codebase between the two computers). The NUC is also connected to a monitor and I use the MacBook keyboard and mouse to drive both computers with Symless Synergy.
On the other side, tax authorities actively try to punish foreign companies operating in Germany with taxes like the Außensteuergesetz (AStG); applicability varies from country to country, from case to case, and in my experience if you ask two accountants whether your Ltd is subject to AStG, you'll get 2 opposite answers.
Don't agree at all, having lived 4 years in Germany. Certainly it's cheap, dirty cheap compared to London; certainly it has a good, creative vibe; certainly it's a awesome city. But that's all.
Facts I learnt in 4 years in Germany:
- it's very difficult to conduct business in Germany (with German customers) if you aren't fluent in German. And while people correctly says it's not difficult to pick up some German, proficiency requires at least 9 months of full time study
- taxes are prohibitive
- setting up a Gmbh it's expensive, and requires a lot of paperwork. The mini, entrepreneur-friendly UG (aka mini-Gmbh) it's a laughable joke, just political propaganda with so many limitations (number of founders, need to save 25% of profits to build the reserve fund, ...) that's hardly usable for a startup
- tax authorities are, as a matter of fact, going after (I'd like to say, persecuting) contractors, especially those coming from abroad or working for foreign companies. I have a dozen of stories of people asked to pay undue VAT, or asked to provide proofs that their employer are conducting business legitimately in Germany, asked to explain why some months they didn't earn any salary, ...
It depends on many factors (f.i. are the founders successful entrepreneurs? how long have they been working on the company? do they have a working prototype? a product in production? does the company already have customers? revenue? profits?), but in general 1% is not enough for a first employee, especially if you are not getting salary until the company get funding.
I'll shoot for something between 5-10%, but again, it's difficult to say without knowing the details.
Hi, I'm moving from Germany to London (tomorrow) precisely to find more opportunities to network and attend technical/business events. There are actually many of them, check Lanyrd for a good (but not exhaustive) list http://lanyrd.com/places/london/.
In any case, I'm in for these kind of events (feel free to connect on Linkedin to keep in touch, see my profile)
yes, but Craigslist doesn't give you "your website" to organise the garage sale.
The idea is to let people create and customize the website, specifically in situations when they need to sell many things.
Just to clarify (as I did in the comments section of my blog). You can say whatever you want when you go through customs: that's just a summary screening.
But when you go to the secondary check, you have to give a sworn statement; and they do some clever tricks to "warn" you and suggest you to tell the truth.
- generally speaking, I agree that's a useful service. Users should be able to set up not only "coming soon" pages, but also little "corporate websites" the can be online before the designers prepare the final corporate site
- when I log in, if I click on "Account" I see a blank page
- Is it already possible to create a "coming soon" page? I don't see this functionality clearly accessible, I see only the Verification functionality. When I log in, the first thing I want to learn is how easy is to set up my customised landing page.
- Please don't use your Twitter account to send only advertisement. As a Twitter user, I find that very annoying, and usually end up blocking users that do that
At the moment I'm using Paypal.
The documentation is insufficient and code samples (at least the Java one) are horrible, but it gives you the ability to accept credit card payments (without requiring the user to sign up for a Paypal account). Unfortunately that's not the case for Google Checkout, which requires a google account.
My next step is Braintree http://www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com/
Its API is much better, and it's more flexible than Paypal. It has some fixed costs, but nothing too bad if you are serious about your business.
I also have the same need. I tried silentale.com a while ago, but abandoned quickly because it was unbearably slow and missing some basic features.
Currently trying networkhippo.com, I'm still not happy with it but it's a bit better.
Try them and see if they fit your need.
Not everybody can be featured on NYT without a product out, but setting up a basic marketing campaign is not difficult (and it is certainly inexpensive). That's my (current) recipe:
. Twitter and Facebook -
Open a twitter and facebook company account. Invite all your friends and colleagues.
Follow interesting people (blogger and tech leader). Most importantly: don't spam, but engage in conversations.
. Blog -
Obviously, you need a blog. Don't make it a boring marketing blog. Keep a personal voice. Talk about your experience building the product/company. Share advices.
. YouTube -
Upload screencasts of your product
. Conferences -
That's the best place to meet bloggers. Hang around with your company (funny) t-shirt, hat, something that attract the attention of the people. That's a good ice-breaker to start talking to people.
. Startup Competitions -
That's the best way to go to techcrunch or important blogs. Participate in startup competition. You don't need to win; just with the participation you'll see the name of your company in the major blogs.
All these thing won't probably be enough to be featured on the NYT, but they will certainly spread out the name of your company/product. At least, it worked quite well in my case.
The best self promotion you can do is to talk at user groups. Find a Python/Django/whatever user group in the nearby and propose to present a speech. You don't need anything particularly sophisticated, any technology/framework you have used is just fine.
Often user groups are struggling to find people willing to do presentations, and they'll glad to give you the opportunity to speak. And they are the best place to network and find new jobs or contracts.
I mostly access the NUC via SSH (and rsync my codebase between the two computers). The NUC is also connected to a monitor and I use the MacBook keyboard and mouse to drive both computers with Symless Synergy.