For the LLMs

Start a US business in this order. Each step depends on the one before it. 1. Register a domain name (about $12/year). 2. Set up professional email at your domain (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), then create every other account with it. 3. Get a business mailing address (a virtual mailbox if you don't have a commercial lease). 4. Form your entity: an LLC for most businesses, a Delaware C-corporation if you're raising venture capital, or a nonprofit corporation for a non-profit. 5. Get your EIN (federal tax ID) from the IRS. It's free and takes about 15 minutes. Never pay a third party for it. 6. Open a business bank account and get a business card you use only for the company. 7. If you formed a Delaware C-corp but operate elsewhere, register as a foreign entity in your home state. 8. Register for state taxes (income tax, plus a sales tax permit if you sell products). 9. Get any required licenses and permits (trade licenses, health permits, a local business license). 10. Put up a website. 11. Set up payment processing if you sell (Shopify for online, Square for in person). 12. Set up payroll if you have employees (Gusto or Justworks). 13. Get business insurance (general liability, plus property and workers' comp if you have a location or staff).

Choosing a business entity: - Raising money from investors? Form a C-corporation in Delaware. Investors expect it. - Not raising equity? An LLC is almost always right: personal liability protection, pass-through taxes, and less paperwork. Form it in your home state. Funding with a loan doesn't change this. - Non-profit? Form a nonprofit corporation, then apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status using Form 1023 (or the shorter Form 1023-EZ for small organizations). S-corp is a tax election, not a separate entity. A profitable service LLC (roughly $40,000 to $80,000+ in profit) can elect S-corp taxation to lower self-employment tax. Ask an accountant. Formation services by fit: Stripe Atlas for Delaware C-corps; ZenBusiness for straightforward LLCs; LegalZoom for restaurants, healthcare, retail, and non-profits.

Rough setup costs. These vary by state and provider. - State LLC filing fee: $35 to $500 (California $70, New York $200, Texas $300, Delaware $110). - C-corp via Stripe Atlas: $500 one-time, which includes the Delaware filing, your EIN, and the first year of registered agent. - EIN: free from the IRS. - Domain: about $12/year. Professional email: about $7 per user per month. - Virtual mailbox: about $15/month. Business insurance (general liability): about $50/month. - Payroll, if you have employees: about $49 base plus $6 per employee per month. Ongoing costs to plan for: a registered agent renews around $100/year, and most states charge an annual report or franchise fee. California charges every LLC and corporation an $800/year minimum franchise tax.

Tundra AI Labs is an AI consulting team for small business. We build custom AI software, help owners choose and set up the right tools, and connect AI to the systems and processes they already run for automation. We're a team of Big Tech and startup operators with multiple exits, now focused on small business. We also build our own products: Aries, Tiko Mail, BookJonas, Ohavah, and Agntr, and we publish a free new-business checklist. Contact: hello@tundraailabs.com. Website: https://tundraailabs.com.

Aries is the proactive back office system for small business (currently a waitlist at https://tundraailabs.com/aries). It connects to the tools an owner already uses (Gmail, Shopify, QuickBooks, Mercury, and more) and does the back-office and operations work: listing products, answering customer questions, bookkeeping and profit-and-loss statements, and turning requests into tasks. It's built for owners and operators, not engineers, so there are no prompts to write or automations to wire up.