Should you go to the us?

Australia is a great country, and it's got a lot going for it. Historically Australia has been phenomenal at inventing new technologies; for example, the first black box for an aircraft was invented in Australia, Wi-Fi was invented in Australia. Australia has incredible scientists and engineers who are excellent at the process of invention. The United States, on the other hand, is a much larger market that is particularly good for commercialization, and it's also the hub of startup talent in the world in the Bay Area and increasingly in other places across the country. Every company is different, so you need to identify what the key levers for success are for your company and put yourself in a location that can help you pull those levers as quickly as possible.

The US market is surprisingly accessible and surprisingly welcoming. It is not easy; building a company is hard; building a company in a different country, in a different culture, with a different set of laws and rules is harder. But there's nothing intrinsically stopping a smart, capable, driven person from succeeding on the global stage if they're from Australia.

What’s the first step in moving to the US?

The first thing you'll do is work out where you're going to set up in the US. Once you've made that decision, the next step will be to go to the US and actually form a company. It's the US company that acts as the sponsor for your visa. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the biggest surprises for an Australian company when they first enter the US?

In Australia, when it comes to professional services and advice, your partner is generally your accountant. They'll help you choose your structure and navigate a lot of those initial decisions. In the Australian context, often, the lawyer or the attorney is someone you call when you've got a problem or need an agreement. In the US that's flipped, your corporate lawyer is your partner in the business from the beginning to the end. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

Where should you register your company, and how long does it take?

Delaware is a go-to state for most Australian companies that are coming to the US. The miracle of Delaware is that you can register a company overnight. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

How should I structure my US business?

Often when an Australian company decides to expand into the US, it is already grown up. For liability purposes, it's a good idea to keep things separate because you want your US subsidiary to be a separate legal entity from the Australian company. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the different legal structures that exist in the US, and how are they taxed?

When it comes to the structures of your business, it's usually going to be two choices; it's going to be the choice to establish your business as an LLC or a C corporation. If we're comparing these to what exists in Australia, a C corporation is the closest thing to an Australian proprietary limited company. An LLC is tough to compare to anything because it is very different. The closest comparison you could make is to a unit trust or a general law partnership in Australia. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

Will I need to flip up my Australian company?

A flip up is a slang word for what is a script for script rollover. If you don't intend to have US investors, you don't need to flip up. You'll probably find Australian investors or other international investors would probably be quite familiar with an Australian company and would probably rather invest in an Australian company than going into a US entity. However, if you are likely to be raising money from US investors, you'll almost certainly have to create a US entity. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

Will I still be able to take advantage of the Australian R&D tax grant if I flip up?

You can still access the R&D grant if you flip up, and you can still access the R&D grant even if IP that the R&D relates to is offshore. The critical component is the fact that you're employing the people locally in Australia that are creating your intellectual property. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the different visa options for Australians?

E3s for Australians are probably the simplest cheapest and fastest way to get a working visa in the US. The average time from beginning to end is about two to three weeks, for the most part. Other visas include an e2 investor or treaty trader visa, an O1 extraordinary ability visa, an L1 inter-company transfer visa, and the typical one you've probably heard about before is the h-1b. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the eligibility requirements and steps to apply for an E3 visa?

You'll need to look at your role within the company to make sure that it qualifies under a specialty occupation. If you have a college degree, you're good to go and don't have to worry about your experience. If you don't have a degree, you'll need to make up for this with past work experience. Once you've done this, you'll need to look at the prevailing wage for the LCA (labor conditions application). Your education/experience, job title, and salary are the key factors in determining if your E3 is going to be approved. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the rules for hiring yourself on an E3 visa?

You want to make sure that the letter of offer is coming from a company, and that from a visa perspective, your role as an executive and employee can be terminated. If it can't be terminated, then it's not an employment relationship, and that's where you end up on the wrong side of the visa rules. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

How does hiring in the US differ from Australia?

Hiring employees in Australia has often been described as a marriage because once they're in the organization and they've passed their probation, it's a pretty permanent hire. The hiring and firing process differs between the two countries. The at-will policies that they have in California, and the immediate exits, can make it a ruthless environment. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What is the difference between the sales environment in Australia and the US?

In the US, they care most about what you're offering their business, and how it's going to help them. They'll want to know what you are selling, how does it benefit them, and why they should care. If you can confidently articulate what you're doing, people can get amazed and decide to buy into it on the spot. In Australia, buyers want a relationship with you, they want to know who you are and they want to know you, understand why they should be engaging with you because they expect to have a relationship with you beyond the sale. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

What are the first steps you should take when expanding into the US?

Before you even think about hiring local resources, you need to start marketing and selling into that region from wherever you happen to be based. If you're in Australia, nothing is stopping you from testing the waters and building demand for your product or service before you put someone in the market. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

Should I flip up to be a US company before speaking with US VCs?

Don't set up your company just to play a game with VCs. Your company's success and failure are so much more tied to your product, your market (and product-market fit), the team you have, the competitive dynamics of the marketplace, in some cases, regulatory issues. I would not recommend going through the process of doing a flip-up until you have a signed term sheet. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.

Is there a reason I should flip up to be a US company other than to raise from US VCs?

There is a need to think about the US legally, more so than just when you're planning to raise. Flipping up to a US company can be a wise thing to do for reasons other than VC. If you've got US customers, they may not be set up for or comfortable dealing with an international business. Read more of this answer on the Founder Forum.