Startups don’t fail on tax.
They lose value on structure.

Most founders treat tax as a compliance problem.
Something to worry about once the business is “real.”

That mindset is costly.

In practice, tax is architecture.
And architecture is hardest to change once the building is standing.

The most consequential decisions are made early:
•⁠ ⁠where the holding company sits
•⁠ ⁠how founders and ESOPs are structured
•⁠ ⁠where IP lives
•⁠ ⁠how early capital is characterised

At incorporation, these feel harmless.
Later, they define funding speed, valuation confidence, and exit feasibility.

By the time a startup is:
•⁠ ⁠raising offshore capital
•⁠ ⁠hiring globally
•⁠ ⁠commercialising IP
•⁠ ⁠speaking to acquirers

tax questions move from background noise to deal risk.

Cross-border startups feel this first.

Remote teams create permanent establishment risk.
Offshore IP raises withholding and exit tax issues.
USD funding brings treaty scrutiny.
ESOPs fracture across jurisdictions.

At that stage, restructuring is rarely clean.

Capital is in.
Shareholders have competing interests.
Regulators test substance, not PowerPoint decks.

That’s why early-stage tax is not about optimisation.
It’s about designing for optionality.

Structures should be built to support:
•⁠ ⁠multiple funding paths
•⁠ ⁠international expansion
•⁠ ⁠investor comfort
•⁠ ⁠clean exits

without painful rewrites.

This is how we advise founders at Saby+Partners.
Get the foundations right early.
So the business can move fast later.

In startups, early decisions scale faster than revenue.

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𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲? 🩺
I design startup structures that investors trust and acquirers don’t fear.

Disclaimer
This post provides general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Individual circumstances vary, and you should seek personalised advice before making decisions.