[sofixa]

Remember this the next time someone takes out the "it's so much easier to start a business in the US compared to Europe" nonsense. Yeah, there will be exceptions (cough Germany), but they're not the norm.

Similarly wrong, some people are under the impression that limited liability companies don't exist in Europe, and if you fail with your business, you personally become liable and unemployable and bankrupt.

[pbhjpbhj]

For SMEs: banks, etc., just require personal guarantees so it doesn't matter that your company is limited, most financial risks pierce that veil through to being guaranteed, eg against your home.

[rcbdev]

The UK is the huge exception here. Only other place even remotely close in simplicity are the Baltics.

[sofixa]

It's pretty similar in France (from experience), and from what I've heard, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden. In some other EU countries you can't do it online, but the process itself is pretty easy and you can hire intermediaries online to do it for you (e.g. Bulgaria).