

Ask HN: Best country for startups - pappas83

Which is the most favorable country in terms of tax &#38; infrastructure for a web startup focusing on Asia to operate from?<p>If anyone has a startup servicing Asia (China, India, Korea, Japan etc) with online payments please share where you incorporated and why.
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znt
The answer depends on the context you define the term startup. In countries
with bloated and corrupt government organizations it is nearly impossible for
an individual to start a company and be profitable unless he has
"connections".

In my country (Turkey), a close friend of mine just started a software company
and developing software for government organizations. I know the architecture
of the software and it is very robust, but he was able to get the offer from
our government because of his co-founder,who's not a software developer but an
ex-swat officer with "deep" connections.

It's already hard to come up with good software when you're in the startup
scene, and trying to get "connections" multiplies the effort you must put into
the process. I bet the system is similar in eastern countries such as Russia,
China, India etc.

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anthuswilliams
My (totally unqualified) opinion: corporate and individual tax rates don't
tell the entire story. If you are making a high-risk venture, you are best
served to do it in a place in which there are lots of other people making
risky ventures, so that the risks you take will be proportionately rewarded.
This means any business culture that inordinately stigmatizes failure and
bankruptcy is one to avoid. It's hard to tell whether the location you're
considering has such a culture, but warning signs should include an ossified
bureaucracy, restrictive startup thresholds, and a workforce that doesn't
switch careers a lot. My gut instinct is that you should avoid India, China,
and Japan. I would go for South Korea.

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rwhitman
A guy I work with a lot just moved to Taiwan and just went through all the
hurdles to get an offshore developer office set up there. He claims it should
be a great place to start a company, provided he can find the developer
talent. There are considerably lower operating costs in Taiwan, but without
the chaos of China. There's a pretty high acceptance of entrepreneurial risk,
technology and international business ventures etc. The education level and
english language skills of the engineering talent pool are favorable as well.

Considering how many hardware companies operate in Taiwan I'm surprised more
software & social media hasn't gravitated there as well

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tchae
US has one of the highest total tax rate of both corporate and individuals
when taking into account federal tax and state taxes.

i don't know anyone with a startup in Asia, but I can't see starting a company
in China being easy.

I'd say Korea most likely has a good infrastructure of a growing tech startup
ecosystem. they also have a relatively low corporate tax rate as well as
individual rates.

two startups from S. Korea were part of the fbFund I believe.

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dileepsingh
It seems Singapore and Hong Kong are quite attractive because of the low
corporate taxes and great infrastructure. But best to take advice from a
lawyer and accountant.

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kls
_It seems Singapore_

I would second Singapore, they have a favorable government and stable
government, fairly low taxes and they are actively trying to attract non-
manufacturing sector companies. It would be one I would look at if I where
looking to open an Asian operations. A second would be Australia though often
overlooked when looking at Asia it has a fairly start-up friendly business
environment.

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iworkforthem
Checkout the Business Portal by the Singapore government:
<http://www.business.gov.sg/>

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dileepsingh
Check out this site... <http://doingbusiness.org/>

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lzw
I've heard multiple reports that Hong Kong is a good choice- quick to start
businesses, moderate or low taxes and a good culture for business... though
others have complained that the successful businesses are snooty there, so if
yours requires getting meetings with larger business execs might not be the
best place. But a consumer internet startup, it sounds good.

Also, hear good things about singapore, though it is a bit less freewheeling.

All of this is just what I've heard attempting to research the same question,
don't have direct experience.

