

Ask HN: How to start a software company (the basics)? - cubeboy

Looking at 2 possible avenues:<p>1. Software products and<p>2. Custom software development in Australia.<p>I tried Google and got eHow pages and I tried searching HN but didn't find what I was looking for.<p>I know this is a place about start-ups, but where does one find the basics, from the start? And in Australia?<p>Software Products:<p>I am going to develop a product, and host it online. What kind of company do I register for that. What lawyers do I need? If people pay for my product what and where do I get the T&#38;Cs from? How much should I save up before I begin the adventure?<p>Can I own two companies? Say I want to create a separate company with a couple of graduate developers and we just work on small customised software solutions.<p>Can I own a parent company that owns these 2?<p>So many questions, I need a bearing of where to begin.
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Andrenid
In Australia:

You need to register either as a sole trader (get an ABN) or register a
company (PTY LTD, with an ACN).

The first is free, but you can't have employees and you have no personal
protection from anything that happens to your business.

The latter costs around $1,000 to set up ($4-500 if you do it yourself, the
forms etc), and you will have a proper company where you will be the Director,
and it can have it's own bank account, it's own everything.

Find a local accountant who has experience setting up companies and running
the books (it's a bit more complicated than your usual personal tax returns)
and they can usually handle it all for you, that's what i've personally done.

Yes you can run multiple companies. Yes you can have a parent company. It's
all just a matter of how you set it all up with ASIC.

There's lots and lots of information on how to set up and run a business in
Australia at:

<http://www.business.gov.au>

<http://www.abr.gov.au>

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cubeboy
Thanks Andrenid.

I think I might go for the solo ABN approach for now and move to a company
approach once things improve.

Don't people recommend an 'incorporate' company as well? Thanks.

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cubeboy
<http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html>

Some good information.

I think I envision my path as moving to contracting, then consulting, and
creating a consulting company, while this funds my product company. pg
suggests this is difficult though. However once the consulting side hits of, I
could hire a reputable manager for x amount of profit share, while I receive
enough to invest in my product based company.

How naive am I about all of this?

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coryl
You sound hugely naive. How old are you? I would suggest not worry about the
legalese for now, or even looking so far ahead.

Just start your project, try to get a few customers, and go from there. Those
steps alone will take you far longer than you'd expect, and teach you more
than you can learn in researching how to start a company. You don't need
lawyers, you don't need T&Cs, you don't need to incorporate. Just build out
your idea and get to market as fast as you can.

~~~
cubeboy
Looking through your previous comments history. In some it seems you have had
some success with websites. Do you consider yourself successful?

Did you build your products on the side whilst holding a full-time job? And
you just went at it, creating products and getting cash from users from it?

Are you a good programmer?

I've been thinking about these things a lot, but finding it hard to actualise
everything around it. From what you've said, it appears to be as simple as it
is. Build a product, try to get customers, and maybe make some money. Worry
about everything else later.

~~~
cubeboy
Should look a little further before I comment. <http://coryliu.com/> Looks
profesh. And HiveDesk. So a lot of experience? Do you have a blog entry on
some starter tips?

~~~
coryl
I don't consider myself particularly successful compared to many people here,
but yes, I've created products which got users/customers, and made a few
bucks.

Its good that you have questions and curiosity, but some things you need to
figure out or learn on your own. So in short: • If you need to accept money,
use paypal or google "accept credit cards online". Thats your research.

• If you have unhappy customers, you talk to them and resolve it. Don't worry
about terms unless you have a good reason to.

• If you want to know more about Twitter, look them up on Wikipedia.

Don't worry about other people or about trying to follow a pattern to success;
there are no patterns. Just work hard, and do what you gotta do.

