

Ask HN: Feedback on my startup, OpenStarts - david927

Please take a look at OpenStarts (www.openstarts.com, clickable link below) and let me know what you think.<p>I'm also looking for a non-technical co-founder to do business development.  If you're a developer or a designer with spare time on weekends, let me know as well. I'm at: david@openstarts.com
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ig1
What are the implications of founding a company in Malta ? -are you bound by
their tax regime, legal system, how does the corporate structure effect
acquisition potential.

Also I'm guessing you'll only be able to take investment locally, you won't be
allowed to promote the opportunity in countries which have minimum investor
requirements (like the UK and the US) so that'll probably substantially
decrease your pool of investors.

~~~
david927
Yes, you are bound by Maltese taxes and its legal system. It's EU, though, so
it's not that different than the UK or Germany, for example.

Companies can't _promote_ the opportunity -- and that's a key point covered in
the slides. OpenStarts, like Crunchbase, lists all sorts of companies but for
those that are Malta public LLC's, you can _inquire_ and solicit a prospectus.
So the user is asking the company; the company never promotes. Investment may
be made by anyone, regardless of nationality. If they can invest in SAP, for
example, they can also invest there.

~~~
ig1
Germany and the UK have hugely different tax and legal systems, many startups
from across Europe incorporate in London due to the fact that London is much
more business friendly.

Won't OpenStarts itself be counted as a form of promotion ? - most hedge fund
websites block people from outside their home country so they don't get
prosecuted for offering an investment opportunity in countries where they're
not licensed. Your building this directory for the sole purpose of helping
companies get funded, that's probably enough for you to be classified as a
financial promotion.

~~~
david927
Different, yes, but I guess we have different definitions of "hugely
different". I thought your question was, "Would incorporation in Malta
preclude an acquisition later?" And I can't see, if it is EU, how it would
_preclude_ one.

OpenStarts is many things. It's a Crunchbase listing of startups worldwide,
but also a listing of ideas, a place where co-founders can meet and more.
We'll play down the investment connection to whatever level is necessary, upon
launch.

It seems to me that if I incorporated in the same way and got listed in
Crunchbase, then I don't see how that could be construed as promotion of a
subscription.

These are great questions and I'm still investigating the answers. For
example, can we show the public information of the trades of these public
companies? It seems like that would be a no-brainer, but it's not.

Would you be willing to be an advisor for occasional questions? Your
background is a great match.

~~~
japhyr
Sounds like a good time to consult a pretty knowledgeable lawyer.

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nurik
As paradox as it sounds: I think you have a really great idea here but you
would need to go the US or have a least a co-founder in the US to get it
started with the right traction. You said it yourself: funding in the US was
16bn USD. Its also a matter of the marketsize: the European markets are still
too tiny.

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revorad
Did you see this? - [http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/09/08/president-s-
americ...](http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/09/08/president-s-american-
jobs-act-fueling-innovation-and-entrepreneurship)

What do you think?

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Egregore
I'm not sure, but I think I've read that something like this is illegal in US
(only rich people can invest in such things) it also can be illegal in other
countries, have you investigated this?

~~~
david927
_That's the point_

If you read the deck again, you'll see that what you're saying about rich
people (meaning 'accredited investors') is true for private companies. You can
invest in Amazon but not Facebook; you can buy shares of Google but not
Twitter. And that's what is being solved here!

What OpenStarts does is to assist in the creation of "public but not listed"
companies in the EU -- perfectly legal -- and then offers a directory where
you can find them and potentially buy shares (subtly, but legally, eliminating
the problem of listing).

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revorad
You need a back button too. I skipped a few slides quickly and now have to
reload to go back :-)

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david927
Clickable link: <http://www.openstarts.com>

