This might be slightly off topic but this situation has always seemed strange to me.
As someone outside the US could someone explain why it appears to be so complex to start a company in the US?
I live in the UK and it is very simple if you want to register a private limited company (i.e a private company where shareholder liability is limited by the value of your shares). You can even do it online directly with Companies House (agency of the UK government where all companies are registered) for £15 and does not require any specialist legal services or for you to have any expert knowledge. This fee also includes the assignment of initial shares. See:
Just looking at the pricing on Clerky I'd be looking at $680 + $99 annually to accomplish a similar thing in the US so obviously this seems very strange to me.
Perhaps I'm missing something here but as I see it there just appears to be excessive red tape when it comes to company incorporation in the US and might even deter me if was considering setting up business in the US.
It is easy to incorporate in the U.S, I've done it myself several times and I'm no lawyer. Clerky is looking beyond just offering help on incorporation though. Their site lists help with legal stuff regarding employees, advisors, consultants, seed financing, and NDAs. Personally I'd be more interested in those services than with help on incorporating.
Part of it has to do with federalism -- the federal government has very little to do with setting up a corporation, but then has quite a bit to do with selling shares. So you have to deal with at least a state government and the federal government, and often more than one state government.
As someone outside the US could someone explain why it appears to be so complex to start a company in the US?
I live in the UK and it is very simple if you want to register a private limited company (i.e a private company where shareholder liability is limited by the value of your shares). You can even do it online directly with Companies House (agency of the UK government where all companies are registered) for £15 and does not require any specialist legal services or for you to have any expert knowledge. This fee also includes the assignment of initial shares. See:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/companyRegistr...
Just looking at the pricing on Clerky I'd be looking at $680 + $99 annually to accomplish a similar thing in the US so obviously this seems very strange to me.
Perhaps I'm missing something here but as I see it there just appears to be excessive red tape when it comes to company incorporation in the US and might even deter me if was considering setting up business in the US.