“Treat the United States as if it were China”: this is amazing advice that Yoann Brugiere regularly gives to the firm’s clients Orbiss who are studying an installation across the Atlantic. Translation: expect a culture shock, even if at first glance, the market seems relatively close to ours.
Above all, conquering such a market requires long-term preparation, deep pockets and compliance with a very specific legal, tax and HR framework. “Clearly, you have to have resources to get started here. Those who come just to test the waters leave quickly, because it’s not the right strategy,” he explains. Settled in the United States for more than ten years, he has seen many entrepreneurs fail… but also many succeed in establishing themselves successfully.
“We often think it’s simple…”
If it is just a question of “testing the waters”, the accountant advises rather to stay in Europe and to operate remotely, a practice greatly facilitated since the pandemic. In any case, before actually setting up in the United States, you should have carried out a precise market analysis, “by talking to your peers, to players in your sector, and even to your competitors”.
This preliminary study will make it possible in particular to validate (or not) the business opportunity to get started, but also to determine the most relevant location for its American headquarters. “The United States is not a single country as one might think: it is 50 States, 50 different markets. It often makes more sense to focus on New York first, then expand into other states, bit by bit.”
HR is also an issue often underestimated by French entrepreneurs. “We often think it’s simple, that you can hire and fire easily… except that employees have the same flexibility on their side!” To attract and retain talent, it is necessary to strengthen its arguments, starting with an attractive package including stock options.
“Small details can make the difference”
However, with the question of stock options very quickly comes the question of taxation… “If we do not anticipate it, American employees who benefit from stock options from the French entity risk being taxed the day they are exercise, which can pose significant HR problems”. Here again, it is necessary to take the lead, by modifying BSPCE’s plans to adapt them to American employees – an opportunity also to reflect precisely on the company’s HR policy. “These are small details, but they can make a difference in recruitment”.
“The longer we wait, the greater the tax risks”
In any case, tax and legal issues benefit from being taken into account very early on, to avoid any disappointment. “When the founders settle in the United States, the taxation of the subsidiary is linked to their taxation. We cannot go back afterwards… The longer we wait before asking tax questions, the greater the risks”.
The situation becomes even more complex when it becomes a question of raising funds from American investors. In most cases, they will refuse to invest in a foreign holding company. It is then necessary to carry out a “flip”, an operation which consists in moving the parent company of the company to the United States, which has consequences for the historical investors and involves mobilizing jurists, lawyers and accountants from both sides of the Atlantic. “It requires a lot of resources, in time and money,” warns Yoann Brugiere. But the conquest of the first world market justifies it.
2023-05-17 08:03:13
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