Notes written after the meeting, not before it
Bcaproposal is a small editorial project about international business as it actually behaves: slower than the brochure, more documented than expected, and considerably funnier in hindsight.
Most writing about cross-border business is produced before the work happens. It describes jurisdictions in the present tense, promises timelines nobody controls, and stops at the moment the certificate is issued — which, in practice, is where the interesting part begins.
These notes are written from the other end. After the notary. After the bank asked its fourth question. After the client explained that the local director is just a formality. Nothing here is theoretical, and nothing is written to sell a jurisdiction.
The premiseWhat this is
- Practical observations on market entry and company formation
- Notes on banking, compliance and the documents behind both
- Commentary on how offers are written and why they fail
- Opinions, clearly marked as such
- Legal, tax or financial advice
- A recommendation of any jurisdiction, bank or provider
- A funnel with an editorial section attached
- A list of countries ranked by how easy they look
Every note is filed to one of five departments — markets, companies, banking, proposals, risk — because that is roughly the order in which international work tends to go wrong. The numbering is chronological. The arguments are not, and nothing needs to be read in sequence.
Nothing here will make it faster. It may make it less surprising.
The methodHow the notes are made
Each one starts as a situation rather than a topic: a file that stalled, a bank that said no without saying why, a proposal that was approved six weeks after everyone had given up on it. The general rule is written afterwards, if there is one. When there is not, the note says so.
Names, numbers and identifying details are left out. Anything that would let a reader recognise a specific client is either removed or changed, which occasionally costs a good anecdote and has never once been regretted.
The detailsColophon
CorrespondenceDisagreement is welcome
Corrections, better counter-examples and stories that ended worse than expected are all read. Requests to publish a guest post about the fastest offshore jurisdiction are read too, briefly.