Bootstrapping a Startup Alone
thaumaturgy: So you like challenges?You definitely want to talk to a business attorney and pay for some professional advice on the best way to set this up. You really don't want to put the next year of your life into this and then end up in a fight with the U.S. government over it.You might consider incorporating in Nevada. Nevada and Texas have protections for businesses against piercing the corporate veil, as well as some protections from the IRS. Your business just needs a contact in Nevada, and there are a number of businesses that provide this as an affordable service. If any legal trouble comes up, you can "hide" behind your Nevada contact; the courts have supported all but one case of this, I think.Make sure you cover yourself for taxes and all the other paperwork. I have no idea how not being a citizen will affect your tax situation.Be aware that you may be endangering your marriage. Although your wife can support both of you, it would be natural for some amount of resentment to develop if she isn't able to see clear, regular progress on your project, even if she's an amazing person. On the other hand, it may take you weeks of frustration and dedication to produce anything that looks like progress, depending on what you're doing.Be sure that you have the motivation and self-discipline to spend 8 uninterrupted hours per day on your project, at a minimum. You should clock in, and clock out, and otherwise treat it just like a full-time job. Set goals: at the end of the week, you'll have X done. At the end of the day, you'll have Y done.Depending on what you're doing, it can also be one of the most challenging things you've ever done -- maybe even grueling. Or, maybe it'll be easy. Easy would be good, because you'll have enough legal, tax, and business challenges as it is.I boot-strapped a small business, by myself, with no savings, a few years ago. It's not a "startup" in the HN sense, but it's been making money since the beginning, and it's doing really well now. That said, some masochistic streak within me makes me go out and do the hardest things I can find, and this has been the hardest thing I've ever done, by far. The stress from it has resulted in a few minor health problems, and I now have chronic sleeplessness. I have an indescribable amount of gratitude for the help I got recently in the form of a girlfriend that likes me and likes my projects.So, help is good. "Alone" is not fun. Try to have help.