Why My Company Is Leaving America
America has yet to determine what kind of relationship it wants with Web3 companies
The world is more than America, so I’m leaving since its hostile to Bitcoin / Web3. Personally, South Africa is my home. Professionally, Estonia is my new headquarters.
How is this possible for an American born citizen to move to South Africa yet have a company in the EU by way of Estonia? For starters, Americans can get visas to a myriad of countries which can eventually lead to full citizenship then Americans can be dual citizens or renounce American citizenship to opt in for the new country of choice. Secondly, an American expat, meaning an American that lives abroad, can lead or work for American companies while abroad. The advent of remote working has made this possible. For example, I had a two year contract with the Stacks Foundation and the last few months of it I spent in South Africa. If an American has residency in a foreign country, things can get tricky regarding tax status, etc. While it’s possible for foreigners to own and run an American company, it depends on many variables. As an American that will eventually leave the US, it’s not feasible for me, at this time, to have an American entity in my future roadmap. Especially considering that my main industry is approached in a hostile manner by entities such as the SEC and more.
While many of my American companies have been dissolved, I believed it would be beneficial for me to have a limited liability company, also known as an LLC, for my consulting business which serves as more general purpose while I am still in America. My other entities will move overseas. With that said, how did I land on Estonia as HQ?
Religion and history were my favorite subjects in high school, so I learned how to do research. If America is acting hostile to my industry, what nations are friendly to it? I discovered many nations that were open to it, in theory, but not necessarily in practice. With this said, I narrowed down my list and ultimately ended up praying on it. I found peace with Estonia, so I dug deeper and discovered Estonia is the best option.
Estonia was the first country in the world to offer e-Residency, or electronic residency.
Once accepted, e-Residents have thousands digital government services available. This includes companies in the Web3 industry. It’s a breath of fresh air because everything is streamlined and straightforward. There is nothing complex about it unlike America, which feels more like a money pit with napalm in the atmosphere if you’re attempting to establish a Web3 company. The US is not Web3 startup friendly.
Estonia is the only European Union (EU) member nation that has nearly 99% of its services digitally available for citizens and residents in a scalable, frictionless way. Once an e-Resident, it's easy to run a global company completely online. From taxes to compliance, it's all done within clicks. e-Residents can start a company within one day. More than 100,000 people from 150+ countries have established over 25,000 new companies due to this program. I am excited to announce that I am among the growing number of foreign nationals establishing a company in the EU via Estonia.
The world is more than where you are based. Due to the internet, it’s possible to go further than imagined and with programs like what Estonia has pioneered, the future is bright. I am thankful to alive in this time, because I think about how different life could have been for me 400 years ago in America. Even having the ability to read, write, hold a passport, start a business, etc. Generations later, I’m global in a second.
I look at my life and marvel at how fortunate I am. Life is not perfect, but surely blessed. It’s wild to say I live on Bitcoin, have a global reach with my personal brand, aid nontechnical founders in starting their journey as a NoCodeDev, preparing to move abroad, and have a global business that I can run 100% in a digital manner.
The future is now. Remember, flourish where you are or go where you can flourish.
Another great article. Thanks for sharing with the world what God has blessed you with!
Yep the e-residency is still flying under-the-radar because it's such a different model, I hope Estonia's banking system stays crypto friendly.