Forming LunchTrak LLC

In middle school, I wrote in a letter to my future self: "Dear 8th Grade Me, if you haven't started a business yet and made millions of dollars I will be very disappointed". Well, three disappointed years later, I'm halfway toward fulfilling the prophecy.

Why An LLC?

Because the PAUSD school district is not allowed to pay students directly, I need to set up an LLC that will receive money and buy the parts for the LunchTrak tags. Actually, I just got a call from Derek today about how the school could directly pay the manufacturers for the parts, though I told him it'll be more fun just to have the LLC do that. I expect the whole formation process to take about 10 days.

Step 1. Naming the LLC

That's pretty easy: LunchTrak LLC

My uncle suggested that I go with LunchTrak, LLC (with the comma), but I don't really like how that looks. He said it's fine either way.

Step 2. Registered Agent

There are two options here: either I could pay for a registered agent service, or I could appoint someone I know to be the agent. The only downside is that the address will be public and I will need to be careful with managing my mail.

I think, for now, I'll appoint my Grandma as my registered agent.

Step 3. Articles of Organization

I'll need to file some basic information with the California Secretary of State. Luckily, the $70 is waived for all new applicants until June 2023. Perfect timing!

Filing online is faster: https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/

Step 4. Initial Statement of Information

The Statement of Information is due within the first 90 days of the LLC formation, and I'll need to resubmit one every other year. Obviously, I'm making myself the CEO 😊. I also made my dad a manager in case we need to sign some legal-bounding contracts.

Step 5. Operating Agreement

The operating agreement is for my personal records only, so I won't actually need to submit anything. It is really only useful in case of legal issues (where founders could reference the Operating Agreement later on). I just used a template my uncle gave me because I don't think I have anything specific to change.

Step 6. Obtaining EIN

Obtaining my EIN for the company was really easy. All I needed to do was go to the IRS website to fill out my application online, and I got my EIN right away. Sadly, they only allow you to file online once in your life, so for my next company, I'll need to learn what the heck a fax machine is.

Conclusion

Great! Now I have a company. I'm really excited about the pilot this summer and I hope it ends up working well. In preparation, I've been reading a book called "The Lean Startup", which is giving me a better understanding of what startups are and how I can learn to build one. It mentioned that startups really are just experiments and that I should collect data as quickly as possible so that I can make quick decisions and move my business forward. I think the summer pilot is a perfect way to get validation on the product and see if it has the potential to be a full-blown company. In the meantime, I am currently working on ordering the 75 devices from PCBWay, and I'll update this blog with my progress.

Side Note (new website!): https://lunchtrak.com

Keywords for SEO (maybe?): LunchTrak, LunchTrack, Lunch Track, Lunch Trak, Wireless Lunch Line, Fast Lunch Line, Speed up slow lunch lines.