Ask HN: What are the options to register a legal entity pseudo-anonymously?

[_ot2g]

I am an executive in a company that grew big fast, and my role since has become (public &) very different from what I like to do the most – build things. I have a few fun project ideas that I would like to bring to life in my spare time. As they involve payments, they require a legal entity. What are some of the options that would help me to incorporate either anonymously or at least in a way that the actual owner would not be easily surfaced on the Internet?

[ggm]

The same mechanisms which are going to help you, help scammers. The difference is the intent. So, in law you really do have to be associated by name with your registrations for company name, registration number &c. You can put them behind a legal barrier, but it can be uncovered. This is important.

If your risk is being seen by your employer, then the cost of an intermediary shouldn't be too high. Family trust? You're paying somebody for the incorporation of some entity, to be the holding entity, come what may (ie, nothing is free)

Domain names: easy. Just chose the 'hide registrant' options in the domain registrar.

The hiding wont stop you falling afoul of IPR contractual obligations. If you signed the form, your work may belong to your employer come what may. non-compete clauses too. Deliberately trying to avoid this, by "hiding" is not sensible. It will only increase your burdens in law if it goes there. (it goes to intent)

[_ot2g]

Makes sense. A variation of the family trust suggestion is how I am planning to proceed.

It is more about not putting the company in a difficult position with its stakeholders by publishing anything that is not aligned with our brand.

[qb]

The answer depends on where you live. If you're based in California: you could subscribe to a mailbox service to keep your address off the public record and use a California LLC as the operating company for your business. You need to disclose either Members or Managers. Choose the latter and use a New Mexico LLC as a management company (they are often used for this purpose as they are cheap to form and maintain and you can stay anonymous to everyone but the IRS and your registered agent service provider), et voilà, you're in business without any public link between your identity and your company.

[_ot2g]

Love it!

[nocoiner]

Form a DE LLC (but for god’s sake don’t sign the certificate of formation yourself) and no one will know who owns the entity (other than anyone you tell, of course).

But don’t you have an employment agreement with your employer? An IP assignment? A non-compete? A duty of loyalty? A duty not to usurp corporate opportunities? And I don’t mean a vaguely moral sense of things you should do to be a “team player,” but actual legal duties you owe to your employer.

Talk to a lawyer before you do anything like this. Make sure you’re not offsides.

[Komodai]

DE = Delaware?

Or something else?

[nocoiner]

Yes, DE = Delaware. An owner or manager of a limited liability company formed in Delaware will appear nowhere in any public records, which is why you see with some frequency fairly uninformed articles about how ackshually Delaware is one of the most egregious tax havens in the world. But Delaware assesses franchise tax at the entity level and organization in Delaware has no effect whatsoever on that entity’s tax obligations elsewhere in the US or the world.