The basics you need to know to incorporate in Delaware

For a new company that is looking to attract investment from angels or VCs, Delaware incorporation is often the only best way to go. It is so widely spread, so common and standardized that you never ever should come up with own “inventions” and simply follow the well established track.

This brief insight is a guide for startup founders who seek to incorporate in Delaware.

So here is what you should consider doing:

Watch this video carefully

There are many takeaways from this video, but as it regards to incorporation: incorporate in Delaware and incorporate as C-Corp (“no point to do something different, just follow the herd”). By the way, if you have accidently launched your startup as an LLC in Delaware, you can easily convert it to a C corp with one state filing and one IRS filing.

Incorporation

If you want to set up your business, bank account and accept online payments, consider to simply use Stripe Atlas for incorporation. You will get:

1. C Corporation incorporated in Delaware;  
2. Signed Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Board Consent;  
3. IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN);  
4. Free templates for common startup post-incorporation legal needs;  
5. Bank account and debit card (that would otherwise be a challenge as banks required physical presence and proof of local business activity);  
6. Stripe account (linked to your bank account);  
7. Other (receive up to $5,000 of free credits from Amazon Web Services, a free conversation with a lawyer and an accountant, and flat-rate packages for additional legal and tax advice).

If you will be visiting the US in person you can consider using Clerky. It is a YC backed and YC recommended company. You will need to set up your bank account manually in such case.

Whatever option you choose, eventually consider using Clerky to automate your legals, and consider Gusto to automate your payroll.

Lawyer

If you approach a lawyer, make sure you deal with the relevant one. Startup lawyer will usually have industry specific expertise and knowledge which will make sure you don’t follow tracks that mislead and are uncommon to startups.

For your information, Margarian Law Firm is very friendly to Armenia based companies. Its cofounder Armen Margarian has assisted a solid number of Armenian companies with friendly advice. So you can consider them once you need legal guidance in the United States.

Accountant

We recommend that you have a trusted accountant to assist you with accounting and tax filings. US tax legislation is pretty complex and careful tax planning can save you a lot.

Should you need assistance we will be happy to make relevant introductions to accountants and lawyers. Good luck!

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