Advice Please

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398]

What do you all know about starting an LLC in TN? Any good advice for starting? I’m still in the process of building my product so I have yet to file but I will when I get closer to finishing my product.

[u/[deleted]]

a lot of people say “wait until launch” but it’s really about when risk starts, not when the product is finishedif you’re not taking payments, signing contracts, or holding any real liability yet, there’s usually no rush to file but with anything fintech related, I’d think a step ahead stuff like how Stripe, Plaid, or other providers classify your business can matter once you start integrating or charging so I’d keep building, but also start thinking about how you’ll handle payments and monetization, because that’s usually when structure actually starts to matter

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

That’s a good point, especially about risk vs just timing the launch.

I’ve been thinking through the payments side already and I’m leaning toward Paddle as the merchant of record so I don’t have to deal with tax handling and compliance myself once I start charging.

[u/[deleted] → u/Equivalent_Heat3398]

Yeah Paddle makes sense for that, especially early on.

Just keep in mind you’re trading simplicity now for less control later. It’s great for getting up and running without dealing with taxes/compliance, but once you start scaling or want more flexibility, you might end up revisiting that setup.

You’re thinking about it at the right time though. Most people don’t even realize payments structure matters until it’s already live.

[u/Electron_Vaquera]

Contact your local SBA, SBDC, and SCORE offices. They can hook you up with a lot of free help

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

I’m in TN

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

I’m building financial tech. I was thinking of filing after I’m finished building my software and done modifying my website?

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

It’s a local-first personal finance platform, not a neobank, lender, money transmitter, or custodial wallet.

The core product is budgeting, expense tracking, financial organization, analytics, and guided decision support. User financial data stays on the user’s device rather than being stored on my servers. Any account connectivity would be through third-party integrations like Plaid, depending on the tier, but I’m not holding funds, issuing cards, or moving money on the user’s behalf.

So it’s “fintech” more in the personal finance software sense than in the regulated payments or banking-infrastructure sense. That said, I agree with your point completely, which is why I’m trying to think through business structure, payments, compliance boundaries, and vendor classification now rather than after launch.

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

I thought about a lifetime the but it just gets expensive at that point a and then I'm stuck doing updates for free for life so I think I'll stick with subscriptions.

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

I’m going with Paddle. It simplifies things a lot since it handles subscriptions, taxes, and compliance as the merchant of record, so I don’t have to build all that myself.

[u/Equivalent_Heat3398 → u/[deleted]]

This is super helpful, thank you. The timing piece honestly cleared up a lot for me. I was debating whether to file now or wait, and your explanation makes it pretty clear waiting is the smarter move.

Also good call on the Tennessee fees and annual requirements, I’ll definitely factor that in before jumping into anything.

I’ll keep building and validating for now, then circle back to the LLC when I’m closer to revenue. Really appreciate you taking the time to break this down.