
A Y Combinator Story - What's the interview like? - jamiequint
http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001679
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zkinion
Delaware has a long, clear history of case law, which is why many companies
are incorporated there. Alot are also incorporated in Nevada (my home state).
There it's like 200$ total. For a start-up, you normally don't need a whole
lot of "lawyer juice" in the equation. The forms are very simple. You
basically fill out the articles of incorporation document, then fill out a
listing of officers/board members (initial listing of officers), which can be
changed later. You also need to have a resident agent, which doesn't need to
be a physical place, so long as lawsuit stuff can get there. Many places offer
resident agencies as a service for as little as 99$. The deputy just needs to
be able to deliver you some lawsuit/whatever. You send it all off to the
secretary of state in whatever state you wish to incorporate, then in a few
weeks later you get a copy of the forms back plus a certificate signed by the
secretary of state saying that you're incorporated under that state. Normally
all states have a website where you can look up information about a particular
corporation. Every year you have to pay a few hundred bucks or so to rewnew
the initial listing of officers. It gets a little more complex if you have
investors and the company is initially shared between several people/other
companies, but overall, its really that simple.

Delaware might charge more because of the simple fact that so many companies
incorporate there. Finally, those "incorporate" services that charge a few
grand basically give little advice and just fill the paper work out for you.
They take advantage of the naive.

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python_kiss
This made me laugh, lol:

"Paul explains. 'Haven't you seen the Segway he built?' We walk into the other
room. 'See, this is typical Trevor-logic. He wants to lose weight so he starts
biking to work, but biking is too easy so he teaches himself to unicycle. Then
when he builds his own Segway, he decides that two wheels are redundant, so he
builds a self-balancing unicycle." :p

I am wondering why it costs $1000 to incorporate in Delaware? That is quite a
lot compared to how much it costs us in Canada.

~~~
davidw
Perhaps that includes some fees for lawyers and things of that ilk? You can go
to a lot of those web sites and get incorporated for much cheaper.

Never having done this before, though, I don't know what the difference is
between an el cheapo site, an expensive law firm, or much of anything else.

~~~
python_kiss
That must be it. I incorporated my dad's company as a sole-proprietor and it
was dirt cheap. I am guessing the process gets complicated when more than one
founder is involved. Blood thirsty lawyers!

~~~
jadams
If you're in Canada, and you set up a sole proprietorship for your dad, then
you didn't incorporate it. Corporations and sole proprietorships are mutually
exclusive categories of companies. Setting up a sole proprietorship is as easy
as going to a business kiosk and filling out some forms.

~~~
papersmith
Setting up a sole proprietorship is as easy as going to a business kiosk and
filling out some forms.

I think in BC you don't even need to register if you use your own name, so
it's completely free (money/bureaucracy).

~~~
python_kiss
That is also true in Ontario, Canada; you are not required to incorporate if
you're using your own name for the business.

~~~
jadams
You're using the word "incorporate" incorrectly, which was my original point.
To incorporate means to start a corporation. Therefore, registering a sole-
proprietorship is, by definition, not incorporation.

The more general term is "register", which applies to the three forms of
business: sole-proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations.

What you're thinking of is a business name registration. If you do business as
your exact name, you don't need to register a name. If you make more than,
$30k (I think), then you _do_ need to register for a GST number.

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dougw
"We manage to get back around 1AM and Im stunned to see that kids are sitting
and talking and playing ping-pong. Whats wrong with them?, I wonder. I just
came back from an arduous journey and theyre playing like its nothing! I
head up to my room, but nobody seems to notice a thing. My roommates are also
just sitting at their computers, as if everything is normal"

I know the feeling. My friends and family do not understand my desire to start
a company. The rush of creation that one expereiences when they are working
for themselves makes all else seem insignificant and minor. Well put.

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Leonidas
Nice story. I like how the Y Team talks over the ideas and propose
improvements to you. Seems like a really good environment to be in, everyone
with energy and ideas feeding off of other's people energy and ideas.

~~~
danielha
Productive advice was continually coming at Aaron even before an offer was
extended. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

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danielha
I read this a little while ago. It's a really good story, especially the
dialogue sprinkled throughout. I could almost hear the conversations as
written, even "4 of 4"'s.

