State of incorporation always affects the bottom line, immediately. It determines what legal requirements you must satisfy in organization and funding your business, including who your investors can be. It determines what taxes you pay, what tax credits you may qualify for, whether you can qualify for special small business contracts that many state governments restrict to small businesses within their own state. It also plays a large role in whether banks will provide business loans: many banks will not loan money to small businesses that operate in the bank's state but which are headquartered in another.