Ask HN: What is the best European countries for founding startups and companies? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What is the best European countries for founding startups and companies?

3 pointshedgehog09 comments

After reading this post [0] I learned that doing business or founding a company in Germany was quite hard. I was wondering which European countries are the best for start-ups and companies? For people who may start small and raise funding domestically and/or aboard?

How is the European business atomsphere compared to that of USA and Canada?

Thank you.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31601638

View on HN

As just one tiny data point, I recently started a limited company (Aktiebolag) in Sweden and the process of application, opening a bank account, and applying for VAT was _quite_ straightforward. It was not a very fast process and there was a bit of waiting for the various stages to be reviewed (about 5 weeks in total if I remember correctly). But the startup capital was much lower than Germany (25000 SEK) and the whole process was completed online.

For less patient people who need an AB with a quicker turnaround, there are companies that can sell you an already formed company with a registered name and company number for what in my opinion is a pretty reasonable fee.

However, I did this without any intention to raise funding so cannot speak to that side of it.

Thanks! Is this procedure only for Sweden and/or European people, or it applies to people outside of Europe as well?

I am not actually sure. Skimming through the documentation the process seems to sound largely similar, but I'm not sure if there are technicalities or waiting periods that get revealed only after you start.

There is some information about starting a company as a foreigner from the tax office here (in English): https://www.skatteverket.se/servicelankar/otherlanguages/ine...

This page (in Swedish) compares the different processes a bit, and it just sounds like you have an easier time using the Verksamt e-service if you have a Swedish personnummer. Whereas without a Swedish personnummer you have to do a bit more through Skatteverket (the Swedish tax agency): https://www.verksamt.se/starta/for-utlandska-medborgare

Thanks!

I'm in Lithuania for 1 year already, and I'd say depends on what kind of company you want to found.

Here in Baltics it's very good for B2B SaaS fintech, deep tech, and that kinda stuff.

Everywhere else e-commerse is big.

Also depends if you're bootstrapping or fundraising. Fundraising is easier if you're incorporated in Estonia, in other countries no one cares, you'll still need to incorporate in US with C-Corp.

The community in Europe is still forming imo.

Thank you for the info.

I learned that Estonia e-residency program seems to be great for this kind of things. Yeah, the US one is pretty "standard".

I am not at this moment. But I think I will be bootstrapping, but may raise fund in the future... Like the one in that article.

The process of registering and maintaining a company in the UK is probably as simple and cheap as it gets.

London has also emerged as a major hub for tech startups and funding.

The snag these days is that the UK is no longer in the single market.

Do you think has Brexit affected the tech side of UK in the international market?

Clickable link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31601638

Reply on news.ycombinator.com