Ask HN: Launch app with/without incorporating a company?

[chrisdew]

I'll be launching an app in a few weeks. Most likely it'll sink without trace.

Is it safe to launch an app without incorporating as a company? (In the UK it's ~£20/$30 to provide a firewall between law suits and personal assets).

Y Combinator suggests that you don't incorporate before applying. Have any HN applicants lost their house through this advice?

I understand that HN readers are not lawyers. I'm not expecting advice, just a discussion of relevant topics.

[jeffmould]

IANAL and I am in the US, but I'll play devil's advocate and present the worse case scenario. Your app launches, Big Bad Company comes along and says you infringed on their patent or trademark and sues you. Without the legal structure in place there is a chance you will be held personally liable.

I think YC makes that statement for people who have no live product and are just a team either with an idea or idea in development. What they are trying to avoid is having to make costly changes to your filings once you join YC.

Personally, I would say that if you are that far along, preparing to launch, and plan to make a business out of your app, then file. Spending money now can potentially save hundreds down the road. But again, IANAL.

[chrisdew]

Thanks for your comment, I hadn't really grasped that Y Combinator was for groups that hadn't really started work yet.