Building Latchbolt #1

In my previous post I talked about starting a new company, Latchbolt. This is a quick post about the various services and tools I used to get set up. And the costs involved.

First, a list of the services I set up. Details follow.

  • Stripe Atlas: Incorporating and registered agent
  • Mercury: Business checking account and credit card
  • Google Workspace: Email, Drive (leave all the Gemini bullshit off)
  • GitHub: Team plan, one license
  • Notion: Where I put words about things
  • Buttondown: The best email platform
  • Apple Developer Program: To publish apps to the App Store
  • D-U-N-S Number: Required for setting up an organization in the Apple App Store
  • Cloudflare: Using the Images and R2 products so far
  • Namecheap: So many domains

How Much Did it Cost?

So far I’ve spent $1,315.19 on the setup and operation of Latchbolt. About $800 was one-time setup costs. The largest single cost was $500 for Stripe Atlas. The remaining $515 is made up of monthly or annually recurring costs.

I’m tracking expenses in this spreadsheet if you’re interested.

Incorporating with Atlas

I used Stripe Atlas to create a Delaware C Corporation. The full company name is “Latchbolt Inc.” This couldn’t be much easier. I followed all of the defaults and suggestions. I’m the Sole Incorporator and shareholder. I filed my 83(b) election as soon as it was ready.

Something I’ll change once business gets going is the company address and phone number. I just used my personal address and number to get set up. There’s plenty of options for both of those.

It only took about 2-3 days for this process to complete. It was great.

Funding the Bank Account

Once I had the corporation in place, I could create a bank account. When I set it up, I transferred $1000 into it from my personal bank account. That helped speed along the process. It didn’t have to be that amount, it just felt like a good round number. Even though it’s all my personal money right now, I wanted to start using the company account for expenses as soon as possible.

Going forward, when I need to put more money into the account, it may get a little squishy. This is a business, so technically, Tyler Gaw shouldn’t just transfer money into the checking account willy nilly. This is common though so I have options, like a low/no interest loan from me to Latchbolt. I’m not worried about it right now.

Domains

The .com is available, but I’m not ready to fork over $3000 or more right now. .tech feels fine. I also have latchbolt.ai because early on I was thinking about some type of AI product, but that didn’t pan out so I just have it redirecting.

D-U-N-S / Apple Developer

When I put apps in the App Store, I want the listed developer to be Latchbolt Inc. To do that, you have to set up an Apple Developer account as an organization. To be able to do that, you have to have a D-U-N-S number. Something I didn’t know existed. Applying for a number is easy. Just give company details via the web form.

If you’re applying for a D-U-N-S number, heads up, they will likely call the company number. Mentioned above, I use my personal number. But, I block all unknown numbers because my phone is a daily hell of spam calls. So missed their call to verify the company was a real thing. Which, they then proceeded to end the application. Luckily they sent a follow-up email and I was able to verify everything that way. Another nudge for me to get a dedicated company number.

So far, so good. This process has become very easy to do. Granted, this is the most bare-bones corporation possible, but still I’ve been impressed by how smooth things have been.

If you have thoughts about this post, email me@tylergaw.com or ping me on Bluesky.