Preface#
After two months of registering overseas companies, bank accounts, and Stripe, I encountered many difficulties and shed a lot of tears. Here, I will share some personal experiences in the hope of helping everyone.
First, let's talk about the choice of company registration. Based on the information I have collected, most of the registration of US companies is done through the following channels:
- Taobao agents
- Stripe Atlas (strict review process, my application was rejected)
- Various agency companies, such as Firstbase, Northwest Registered Agent, and wyomingagents.com recommended by Twitter user "Luo Shuo Bu Luo Suo"
Personally, I saw the recommendation of Firstbase by "Lai Jiawei Gary" and chose to register through Firstbase (mainly because I was deceived by the Dashboard).
Firstbase Registration Process#
Before opening an account, there are some preparations that need to be done. You need to prepare the following documents:
- Driver's license or ID card
- Passport
- Translation of driver's license or ID card
You can buy a translation of the driver's license or ID card on Taobao. I bought a translation of a rental car driver's license, which only cost a few yuan for postage.
Rent a mailbox (personal address)#
Before registering a company, you need to register a US address. I used the mailroom service provided by Firstbase this time, but I do not recommend everyone to use it because the notary public they cooperate with is not friendly enough to Chinese people. In the end, I spent money to find an agent on Fiverr to help me complete the 1583 form notarization. The video notarization process requires simple English communication. The staff will ask you to shoot the translated documents, inquire about your willingness, confirm your signature, and then send the notarized form to Firstbase by email to complete the final mailbox registration.
Get your own referral code#
Firstbase's registration fee is expensive, but you can use a referral code to get a 10% discount when making payment. The person who shares the referral code will also receive a commission of about $100 (really high!).
Therefore, before registering, you can first register an account and then obtain your own referral code in the "Refer and Earn" section at the bottom left corner of the dashboard.
Company registration#
Next, you can use your own referral code to register and make payment. You can register directly through the dashboard or you can also use my referral link (thank you very much 😀): https://get.firstbase.io/rp3j9dhq18j5
I have already registered, so I can't take screenshots (next time for sure!). Let me briefly explain my process:
- For the state of company registration, I chose Wyoming, and the company type is LLC, which is more suitable for individual developers.
- After payment, there will be four steps in the dashboard. The basic information that needs to be filled in is in the first step. Here, you need to fill in your passport, email address (registered above), and some personal and company information.
- After that, there will be some content for you to confirm. STEP 2 is to open a Mercury bank account. Because of the cooperation with Firstbase, you can leave the EIN field blank for now.
By now, you have obtained the company entity, EIN, personal address, and bank account. With this information, you can open a Stripe account.
Finally#
After you have completed the registration with the referral code, you should receive an email from Partner Stack informing you that you have received a commission. Then, you can use the Mercury account you opened above to receive payments (closed loop!👍).