Choosing the entity and the state
The entity question, whether a corporation, a limited liability company, or a partnership, is usually decided by how you intend to raise money, how many owners there will be, how you want profits treated, and what customers or licensing bodies in your industry expect. The state question follows from it: forming in one state while operating in another creates registration obligations in both, and the state of formation supplies the default rules that govern the company. Neither answer is universal, and the popular choice for a venture-backed startup is often wrong for a two-owner services business. Confirm the tax treatment with your accountant before committing, because that part is theirs.
The documents among the owners
Filing with the state creates the entity; it settles nothing between the people inside it. The operating agreement, shareholders agreement, or partnership agreement is where ownership percentages, capital contributions, decision-making, distributions, and exit terms actually live. Address what happens when someone wants out, stops working, dies, or divorces, and how a price would be determined in each case. Vesting on founder ownership is worth discussing while everyone still agrees about everything. Intellectual property created before the company existed should be assigned into it deliberately rather than assumed to have come along.
After formation
A newly formed company still needs the ordinary pieces: employer registrations if you will hire, the permits or licenses your work requires, a bank account in the entity's name, insurance, and contracts signed by the company rather than by you personally. Keep the business's money and the owners' money separate from the first day, since mixing them undermines the very protection the entity is meant to provide. Bring your plan for the business, the names and roles of the owners, and how you intend to fund the launch. Most of the first conversation is spent on the owners rather than the paperwork.
