Running a business like a boss in the US — Chapter I
This post is the first in a series about Running a business like a boss in the US.
Using our experiences as entrepreneurs as operators, including while building Fairmint over the past 2 years, we’ll explore business and operation strategies for the 21st century, including the partners and products that make our lives as founders easier.
*Chapter I — *Incorporating in Delaware & Running your C-Corp “like a boss”
Founding a company is always a challenge & focusing means accepting the simplest solutions for anything that is not your core business. After having incorporated several companies in the US & abroad, I wanted to share how important it is to consider the environment you’re in. Again, the key is KEEP IT SIMPLE. #nobrainerpost #noBSpost #thispostisnotlegaladvice
If you are a startup founder, Delaware is a no-brainer! There is a startup ecosystem and it has its codes. Most investors around the world consider Delaware as the right jurisdiction to incorporate a business. There’s no need to innovate here. To incorporate you can simply call a law firm (especially if you incorporate while raising capital, it can be super helpful). Or you can go with Clerky or Stripe Atlas , services that are used extensively by many, many companies.
On our end, we incorporated Fairmint Inc, a Delaware C-Corp with our lawyer on day 1
Now that you are incorporated, you need a bank account. You are super lucky, because entrepreneurs decided to tackle the banking market to finally deliver a great banking experience to founders. From our experience, I strongly suggest going with Mercury Bank! I have to say it is among the best banking services I’ve ever used to run a business. Coupled with Ramp the corporate card with 1.5% cashback and expenses management platform that automates your accounting and lowers your bills, you are all set. Brex is also a well-known name, but it seems they don’t accept all businesses and we feel like their current offer is kind of confusing.
Mercury Bank****’s another thing we’ve had at Fairmint since day 1, and we really enjoy all the features, especially now that the mobile app is live!
Now that you’re set to start running your operations properly, to serve your business efficiently, let’s save time on anything that is not core.
Here you can again count on amazing entrepreneurs who have delivered products made to make your life easier.
You’re incorporated, you’ve got a bank account… now you’re ready for Gusto, the people platform. A must-have to run payroll wherever you, your company and its employees are (or, at least your founding team).
At Fairmint, we absolutely love Gusto! Having run companies with hundreds of employees, I really wish I had Gusto back then.
For accounting, Pilot literally helps you pilot your finances. And that’s one of the biggest fears when it comes to running a business in the US, especially for a foreign founder. You will receive access to your own QuickBooks account with all your transactions sorted and prepared by your dedicated bookkeeper.
On top of Pilot and Gusto, when considering the use of blockchain in your stack to maintain transparency and traceability, Gilded.Finance is the back-office tool you will love. Made by CPAs/CFOs for CPAs/CFOs, plugged into your bookkeeping, you can easily monitor all the USD that are funnelled via the blockchain. It’s among the best ways for businesses to monitor their balances and synchronize with the rest of their bank accounts.
At Fairmint, we use Gilded and our customers do too :-) The fastest and simplest way for CFOs & CPAs to be the tech-forward financial people in the company. And they are an open equity company ;-)
To complete your stack, here’s another no-brainer: MainStreet, for R&D tax credits. I really wonder how any startup could not be using it yet!! With MainStreet, you transform a pain into a simple monthly payment that you receive on your Stripe account! They really have changed R&D tax credits for good, making it as simple as it should have always been. Here is a nice cover by Packy McCormick / Notboring if you want more details.
At Fairmint, it took us less than 15 minutes to qualify, integrating our Gusto and Stripe account directly to our MainStreet dashboard, and they do all the paperwork for us.
Now that your R&D tax credit is under control, you might also be eligible for grants. But again, anything that is not a core part of your business shouldn’t take up your time. You can now ping OpenGrants.io, an open equity company! They will get rid of the pain that working on grants has poured on many founders.
We use OpenGrants and their team of grants writers to handle all of that for us and are always impressed how fast they deal and the value they bring!
You know have your back-office under control! Keep an eye out for our upcoming post on some key points to run your operation & manage your team like a boss.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday🙏🏻
About me.
I’m Joris Delanoue, an entrepreneur and angel investor. I’ve been building and scaling my previous companies from scratch mostly in Europe, but now in the US. I’m on a mission to counteract inequalities by decentralizing access to wealth. Fairmint, Inc., the company I co-founded with Thibauld Favre, is a big step in this long journey.
*Twitter: *@joris_DLN
