e-Residency - Because Brexit Virtually Doesn’t Matter
Back in September 2017 I went to the Estonian Embassy in London, had my fingerprints scanned and collected my e-Residency card. A few days after that I had a fully registered, EU compliant and ‘turnkey’ company.
I hadn’t set foot in Estonia and didn’t need to unless I wanted a full Estonian bank account (LHV) which I did but more about that later.
Why ?
For those who have followed the machinations of Brexit you will have often seen a very black and white interpretation of the future and yet our way of living and working now transcends a narrow definition of borders and alliances.
It has taken a relatively small and new (independence in 1990) nation like Estonia to recognize that - establishing itself as a true ‘digital nation’.
So as I thought about my post-Brexit strategy I decided I wanted an additional corporate entity (maintaining my UK company) to keep those EU doors easily open and just to avoid the inevitable question from prospective European clients about the post-Brexit situation. And that’s exactly what’s happened.
So the original motivation and objective has been fulfilled but the benefits have gone way beyond that.
E-residency itself is incredibly simple and easy to get your head around once you enter that digital world and have authenticated yourself - to all intents and purposes you are in Estonia so you have access to everything you need which relates to running a business as if you were a citizen. Estonia have been ruthless in making their processes digital and easy.
Xolo is the support company I use. They registered the company, applied for the Bank Account, arranged the appointment, track all the financial transactions, pay taxes, provide advice - all from a very intuitive digital dashboard and app. Email response times are fast and friendly. It’s simply a much more efficient way for a small business to function. It’s designed for the time poor and globally mobile entrepreneur. They understand the needs of their users.
Estonia doesn’t have to figure in your physical plans but I’ve now been half a dozen times for business and leisure. Tallinn feels like a ‘Baltic Zurich’ it’s an energetic, culturally rich and connected place to visit.
I touched upon banking earlier. I wanted a full bank account to prepare for growth but you could easily manage with TransferWise - in fact I also use them with all my currency accounts linked through to my company. I would never have used Transferwise before e-Residency but now it’s the most powerful administrative tool when you want to make things easy for your clients to pay. (Founded by two Estonians !). You can nearly always provide a client with a bank account in their country.
What started out for me as a counter to the implications of Brexit has moved on to being a way of doing business that’s refreshingly efficient and more fun.
About The Author
Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights. Mission Critical is a digital product delivered via his Estonian Consultancy business.
