A few months ago I got a text from a good friend of mine that went something like this:

“Hey do you have a checklist of everything I need to do to start a new company?”

I immediately texted back:

“Haha. Of course I do. I’ll send you the link!”

What follows is the checklist I used when I was starting FarBridge, and I’ve been sharing versions of this list with friends ever since. None of this is rocket science, and none of it is a trade secret. Having gone through the process many times, I finally wrote it all down.

Once you’ve decided “ok yes, let’s start a new company”, here are the steps you’ll need to take, in roughly the order you’ll need to take them:

• Come up with a code name for the new company (ideally one that you won’t be embarrassed to share)
• Make a brand new Gmail account and use it for all new company business and accounts (example: NewCompanyCodeName@gmail.com)
• Make a spreadsheet and track EVERY DOLLAR you spend on the new company during this phase
• Make a list of company name candidates
• Do research and initial trademark search to find a name that’s available (you can pay for a more in-depth search later)
• Pick a formation company name — it doesn’t have to be your forever name
• Pick an entity type — LLC, C Corp, S Corp, etc. (ask your attorney and accountant for details)
• Pick a state for formation (Delaware C Corp is standard if you’re raising money, an LLC is likely OK otherwise)
• Get a PO Box or decide on a physical mailing address to use (note that a PO Box can’t be used for everything unfortunately)
• Get a phone number (I like to use Google Voice, there are other good options for virtual phone numbers)
• Make a list of all true founders / co-founders in the new company, and figure out the ownership percentage for each founder
• Decide what percentage of the common stock to allocate to employees and advisors (again your attorney will have advice)
• Make a short list of all advisors, people who will be helping early on but not paid a salary
• Decide what percentage of stock options to allocate for the advisors (be sure to save some for other employees)
• Decide who will be on the board of directors (if corporation)
• Select attorney to represent this new company
• Negotiate formation fees with attorney
• ACTUALLY CREATE THE COMPANY ENTITY
• ^^^ Your attorneys likely have a package / template for this part. ^^^
• Write contracts for founders to transfer existing IP into new company (for tax purposes)
• If doing an LLC — create an operating agreement for all managers/members (your attorney should have a good template)
• Write and sign employment agreements for founders and day-one employees
• Make a plan and note for repayment of all pre-bank account spending, or reimburse day one
• Once you have your company formed, get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS (assuming you’re based in the United States).
• Open a bank account (will likely require an actual mailing address, not PO Box)
• Put initial money into bank account
• Get a debit card and credit card — and at this point stop spending your own money, and pay company expenses using these cards
• Hire a bookkeeper and accountant for the new company
• Give the bookkeeper digital access to the bank account, decide on accounting software
• Decide to directly employ people, or use co-employer
• Setup your payroll system (bookkeeper should have recommendations)
• Decide on employee benefits, and setup your plans
• File trademarks for company / product names
• Buy a domain name for the company (using company code name email address of course)
• Set up the new company email (Google Workspace gets you Gmail for you and your team, which is easy to start with)
• Set up a one page website for the company (doesn’t have to be fancy)
• Create social media accounts on key platforms for company name
• BOOM! You have a company!

It occurs to me that most of these tasks are good topics for an entire blog post or two. Let me know if there’s a step you’d like me to elaborate on… or if there are steps on your personal startup to-do list I missed!

P.S. Here’s a headshot so this article has a preview image on social media. Mmmmm… coffee…