

Ask HN: Lean Legal for SaaS Side Project - eastbayjake

What&#x27;s the minimum legal shield advisable for a sole proprietor to sell a SaaS product whose only goal is a small stream of side revenue? There are so many Startup Weekend &#x2F; 7 Day Startup programs out there and they focus 100% on getting you to release an MVP quickly to generate revenue, with no advice about how to avoid getting sued for shipping bugs in your software. (I get that the biggest blocker for most entrepreneurs is actually building a product, but it&#x27;s borderline criminal to encourage people to sell something without the legal foundation to protect yourself from liability and undue taxation.)<p>There have been several HN threads about this, but they cover more elaborate situations:<p>* Incorporation outside the US [1]<p>* Startups with multiple founders or employees [2] [3] [4]<p>* Advice that is 5+ years old and posts have gone missing [5] [6]<p>What&#x27;s the minimum legal incorporation necessary to limit liability and taxation for small-revenue side projects by a single developer?<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8870593<p>[2] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=2925222<p>[3] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;startupclass.samaltman.com&#x2F;courses&#x2F;lec18&#x2F;<p>[4] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8735793<p>[5] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=1924719<p>[6] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=2399139
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hmahncke
Clerky looks like a lightweight way to get incorporated, which is likely a
helpful first step towards a minimum legal shield by making you not personally
liable: [https://www.clerky.com](https://www.clerky.com)

An important second step in your minimum legal shield is having a good terms
of service agreement for your product, which should further clarify to your
users what they are getting, and what you are responsible for. You might look
at Snapterms [http://snapterms.com](http://snapterms.com)

~~~
eastbayjake
Unfortunately, Clerky can only help you with creating a C-Corporation. I think
this particular case (one owner, small revenue from a side project, no
shareholders or investment/fundraising plans) is a bad fit for a C-Corp and a
better fit for an LLC.

