Ask HN: Advice on Incorporation (Stripe Atlas vs. Clerky)
Hi HN,
I recently left my job to focus on a company I'm starting, and I'm thinking about incorporating. I'm trying to decide how to go about doing this and was hoping to get some advice from others who have gone through this experience.
I don't have any cofounders, but I'm planning on incorporating with a Delaware C corporation because I'm expecting to have paying customers soon, and though I don't have any immediate fundraising plans, I want to leave open that possibility in the future. Am I correct that it makes sense for me to incorporate now?
Secondly, I'm trying to understand the differences between Clerky and Stripe Atlas, the two services I'm considering. I've ready the Satchel guide (https://satchel.com/incorporation/), but the issues they ding Stripe Atlas for don't seem like a huge deal to me. I also like that Stripe Atlas would be integrated with Stripe and would open a bank account for me, as I'm planning on using Stripe to accept payments. On the other hand, I've seen pretty universally positive reviews from people who have used Clerky. Any have any opinions on which one is better?
Lastly, I'm pretty confused by Clerky's product offerings (https://www.clerky.com/pricing). They have a "Company Lifetime Package" for $799, and then a bunch of different "Pay Per Use" items (https://www.clerky.com/pricing#pay-per-use) that you can buy separately. The formation pay per use items include Incorporation (which I know is necessary), as well as "Post-Incorporation Setup" and "Foreign Qualification". Does anyone know which of these are actually necessary for me?
I'm leaning towards Stripe Atlas, as it only has a single offering. Everyone seems to like Clerky, but I'm concerned about either overpaying for services I don't need, or neglecting to choose some item that I'll later find out I needed.
Thanks in advance for the help! - Sam
Hi Sam — sorry to hear that our pricing was confusing!
I'm not sure if this will help, but the Company Lifetime Package covers all the same products as the Pay-Per-Use Plan (other than some third-party fees). The Company Lifetime Package is the better deal for most startups, but we have the Pay-Per-Use Plan for startups that are not quite sure how fast they will be proceeding and are more cash-constrained.
As for what products you will need, at some point, just about every startup will need all of the products we offer. Since you asked about post-incorporation setup and foreign qualification, here are a couple articles we have on how to decide if you need to do them or not:
* https://help.clerky.com/article/1730-is-there-a-deadline-for... * https://help.clerky.com/article/1731-must-my-delaware-startu...
Hope this helps — feel free to reach out if you have any more questions, of course.