Back to Week 14
Guide
Week 14
Company formation and banking guide
How to turn a validated product into a legal company that can collect payments — from anywhere in the world.
When to do it
- After you have validated the product and have traction — paying or ready-to-pay customers.
- Before you take significant revenue, sign contracts with businesses, or raise money.
- Not on day one: validation comes first.
Choose your entity
- LLC: simplest and cheapest to run; profits pass to you. Best for most solo founders.
- Delaware C Corp: the standard for raising venture capital and issuing shares to investors.
- Not sure? Start with an LLC unless you already plan to raise from investors.
Form the company online
- Stripe Atlas (stripe.com/atlas): forms an LLC or C Corp, gets your EIN, and sets up Stripe.
- Firstbase (firstbase.io): remote incorporation with a registered agent and ongoing compliance.
- Both work for non-US founders and cost a few hundred dollars upfront, plus yearly state fees and registered agent costs.
Bank account and payments
- Open a US business bank account that accepts non-residents, such as Mercury, using your company documents and EIN.
- Connect the bank account to Stripe so payouts land in your company account.
- Switch your checkout from test mode to live mode and run a small real payment to confirm everything works.
Stay compliant
- Track yearly state filings, registered agent renewal and US tax returns (Form 5472 applies to many foreign-owned LLCs).
- Check how your home country taxes income from a foreign company.
- Speak to an accountant before your first filing — this guide is not legal or tax advice.