Company registration, bank accounts and business visas abroad: how it used to work and how it works now

Registering a company abroad used to start with a phone call to whoever your cousin's lawyer knew. "Just wire the money and we'll handle the rest," they'd say when you asked about the price, and nobody explained what "the rest" covered or why it cost that much.

Now the same founder submits one request: target country, company structure, rough timeline. Several vetted specialists reply with offers he can actually compare on price, scope, what's excluded and how long it takes. He picks one, and the specialist gets paid only after he accepts the finished work.

For a founder opening a business account abroad, it used to mean calling banks one by one and writing down three different answers to the same question. Someone would always mention a guy at one branch who could help: an unofficial shortcut that might stop working by the time he got there.

Now he files one request with the country and the type of business. Specialists who actually work in that market tell him what that kind of bank requires from a business like his, so he compares real offers instead of rumors before deciding who handles it.

Getting a business visa meant hiring the consultant everyone else used and paying upfront. Then at the embassy appointment someone might say, "We need slightly different documents this year," and there had been no way to know that in advance.

Now the request goes out once. A few immigration specialists reply with what the process requires today and what it costs, and he picks the offer that fits before anything gets filed, not after.

None of these are edge cases; they're three of the most common reasons a founder ends up having to learn an unfamiliar country's rules.

Finding a lawyer used to mean asking friends and searching online, then calling around and setting up a meeting. Now you describe your task on Lexicomb, specialists send you offers, and you choose.

You also used to need a lawyer in your own city and had to work around their schedule. These days you can live in another country or move between countries and still keep in touch with your lawyer through Lexicomb.

And if you were starting a business abroad, you'd look for a lawyer first, then an immigration consultant, then someone to handle the registration. Now you can find all of them on one platform.

The new way doesn't remove the judgment calls. It replaces one improvised guess with a few offers you can actually compare, and that's the model we're building Lexicomb around.

Lexicomb currently has specialists for Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, with Uzbekistan coming soon. If you're planning a business in one of these countries, describe your task on Lexicomb and compare offers before you choose anyone.

If you're a lawyer or consultant working with international clients, we're building a network of specialists by country and practice area. Registration is free, and Lexicomb doesn't take a commission out of your price. Join Lexicomb as a specialist.