Dear Forum Members,
I've been a silent reader of the forum for a while and decided to seek advice here after multiple unsuccessful tries, reaching out to various lawyers and agents. I am a EU passport holder residing in Latin America, and I am looking to launch a small scale tech startup that will offer a set of different online services, which are all in the area of processing (and to an extent hosting) user content. It is a legitimate business idea, no adult content, no shady crypto rugpulls, nothing like that.
I am looking for a jurisdication with strong constitutional laws that make it hard(er) for international entities to infringe my users' privacy rights. As from my understanding, Nevis, as well as the Seychelles and to an extent Mauritius appear to be the go-to-solution for these sort of platforms, with notable exceptions being the infamous NordVPN who seemingly incorporated in Panama and Telegram who moved to the UAE.
Looking at this primarily from the privacy perspective, islands like Nevis make sense given that, from my understanding, international entities would seemingly require to go through their local courts to enforce actions against the platform or its users, which for Nevis specifically appears to be a bit of a hurdle. However, over time I've been reading conflicting information on this forum about these specific jurisdictions.
It seems like Nevis et al. might not be the best solutions anymore from an overall incorporation and data sharing perspective. In addition, it appears that recent KYC requirments for all these jurisdictions have increased significantly, making it not only challenging to open the company, but also financial infrastructure. My venture can initially work solely using cryptocurrency if:
1) There is an option to fund the company, and pay for all recurring fees and taxes using cryptocurrency
2) There is long-term potential that with a growing business model and user base, traditional banks will be more likely to accept account openings
3) There are CPAs available that understand their work and can implement such a setup
However, I have been unable to find any agent/lawyer so far that was able to produce a clear plan for such a venture. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but all the information I received so far appears to be tailored to people with a lot of money, trying to make that money disappear. As an example, I was given quotes for opening a Nevis bank account for a Panamenian SA that, amongst others, requires a six-figure deposit and a 10k USD "application fee", which apparently is not a guarantee for account opening.
Tl;dr: I have a legitimate business idea, which I would like to launch in a jurisdiction far away from the Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes, in which it is hard(er) for international entities to "kick in the door and get my user's information", and in which I can employ nominees for the sake of keeping my own privacy (just in case of data leaks, media reporting, etc.). The business idea includes nothing shady, no adult content, no crypto scamming, or similar things. As a matter of fact, I could fairly easily set it up via Stripe Atlas, if I wanted to. I also don't have any intention to hide the finances from any government. On the other hand, I am unwilling to invest six-figure numbers on trying out a few ideas, hence I am looking for down-to-earth, pragmatic solutions.
I understand that this might be a highly unusual request, and I would appreciate constructive feedback on this. I'd be happy for any references to agents, lawyers, and CPAs that can help with the topic.
Thank you.
I've been a silent reader of the forum for a while and decided to seek advice here after multiple unsuccessful tries, reaching out to various lawyers and agents. I am a EU passport holder residing in Latin America, and I am looking to launch a small scale tech startup that will offer a set of different online services, which are all in the area of processing (and to an extent hosting) user content. It is a legitimate business idea, no adult content, no shady crypto rugpulls, nothing like that.
I am looking for a jurisdication with strong constitutional laws that make it hard(er) for international entities to infringe my users' privacy rights. As from my understanding, Nevis, as well as the Seychelles and to an extent Mauritius appear to be the go-to-solution for these sort of platforms, with notable exceptions being the infamous NordVPN who seemingly incorporated in Panama and Telegram who moved to the UAE.
Looking at this primarily from the privacy perspective, islands like Nevis make sense given that, from my understanding, international entities would seemingly require to go through their local courts to enforce actions against the platform or its users, which for Nevis specifically appears to be a bit of a hurdle. However, over time I've been reading conflicting information on this forum about these specific jurisdictions.
It seems like Nevis et al. might not be the best solutions anymore from an overall incorporation and data sharing perspective. In addition, it appears that recent KYC requirments for all these jurisdictions have increased significantly, making it not only challenging to open the company, but also financial infrastructure. My venture can initially work solely using cryptocurrency if:
1) There is an option to fund the company, and pay for all recurring fees and taxes using cryptocurrency
2) There is long-term potential that with a growing business model and user base, traditional banks will be more likely to accept account openings
3) There are CPAs available that understand their work and can implement such a setup
However, I have been unable to find any agent/lawyer so far that was able to produce a clear plan for such a venture. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but all the information I received so far appears to be tailored to people with a lot of money, trying to make that money disappear. As an example, I was given quotes for opening a Nevis bank account for a Panamenian SA that, amongst others, requires a six-figure deposit and a 10k USD "application fee", which apparently is not a guarantee for account opening.
Tl;dr: I have a legitimate business idea, which I would like to launch in a jurisdiction far away from the Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes, in which it is hard(er) for international entities to "kick in the door and get my user's information", and in which I can employ nominees for the sake of keeping my own privacy (just in case of data leaks, media reporting, etc.). The business idea includes nothing shady, no adult content, no crypto scamming, or similar things. As a matter of fact, I could fairly easily set it up via Stripe Atlas, if I wanted to. I also don't have any intention to hide the finances from any government. On the other hand, I am unwilling to invest six-figure numbers on trying out a few ideas, hence I am looking for down-to-earth, pragmatic solutions.
I understand that this might be a highly unusual request, and I would appreciate constructive feedback on this. I'd be happy for any references to agents, lawyers, and CPAs that can help with the topic.
Thank you.
