Market research
How to find out who buys, how big the market is and who you are up against, using free and paid data.
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Start and incorporate your business
How to check that people want what you plan to sell, pick a legal structure, register your company at home or abroad, and get the first filings done, in the order you will need them.
Topics
Product-market fit
How to test an idea before you put money into it, and the signs that customers really want what you are offering.
Coming soon
Legal structure
How an LLC, a C-corp, a sole proprietorship and a partnership differ on tax, liability and raising money, and how to pick the right one.
7 articles
Company formation
How to register a company in the US, the UK, India and other countries, what it costs, and which formation services will do it for you.
14 articles
Cross-border incorporation
How to set up a company in the US or another country while you live somewhere else, from the entity and tax ID to banking and the rules your home country still applies.
12 articles
Self-employment
For people who sell their own skills. How to register as a freelancer or sole proprietor, price your work, write contracts, send invoices and handle tax.
3 articles
Latest articles
Guide · Compliance and filings
Form 5472 and the other US filings for a foreign-owned company
A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, by fax or mail, due April 15 for a calendar year. Putting money in or taking it out counts as a reportable transaction, so almost every such LLC has to file. Missing it costs $25,000.
· 7 min read
Guide · Branding and design
How to choose a business name and domain: trademarks, state names and handles
A name that's free in your state can still infringe a trademark, and a federal trademark application costs $350 per class of goods or services. Check the USPTO database, your state's name rules and the domain before you print anything. Here's how to clear a name, and what each registration does and doesn't protect.
· 7 min read
Guide · Business banking
A US business bank account for non-residents: who accepts founders abroad
Mercury accepts US companies with founders living abroad, but may ask for proof of US business activity and can close accounts that have none. Relay asks every owner for a physical US address. Airwallex's US service needs a US principal place of business. Wise Business works alongside any of them for currency. Here's how to choose.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border payments
Stripe for non-US founders: a US company, a merchant of record, or local Stripe
If Stripe doesn't serve your country, you either form a US company and open a US Stripe account, or sell through a merchant of record such as Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Stripe Managed Payments, which charge around 5% or more but take on sales tax and VAT. Here's how the three routes compare.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border incorporation
ITIN for non-US founders: when you need one, and when you don't
You don't need an ITIN to get an EIN, file Form 5472 or claim a treaty rate on a W-8BEN if you have a tax number from home. You do need one to file a US return as a nonresident, for example when your business is engaged in a US trade or business. The IRS says allow 9 to 11 weeks from abroad.
· 7 min read
Guide · International hiring
EOR or your own Indian subsidiary: when to stop paying per head
At $599 per employee a month, an employer of record costs $7,188 a person each year. Your own Indian subsidiary swaps that for fixed running costs and Indian tax on a cost-plus margin. With $30,000 a year in quotes, it pays for itself at about six people. Here's how to work out your own number.
· 8 min read