For many businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, or Europe in general, expanding to the U.S. is framed as a single strategic move: enter the American market. But once you're inside, it becomes clear: the U.S. isn’t one market—it’s dozens. Yes, the dollar is the same. Yes, there's one federal government. But when it comes to business operations, taxes, hiring, compliance, and even customer behavior, each U.S. state behaves more like its own sovereign nation. This is one of the most common—and costly—surprises….

Expanding into the U.S. comes with incredible opportunities—but also unique challenges when it comes to hiring. In this episode of the TaxStudio Podcast, Jason Booth and Jordan Tucker discuss what international companies need to know before making their first U.S. hire. From benefits like healthcare and retirement plans to the true cost of hiring and the impact of state-by-state rules, this conversation helps demystify one of the biggest steps in U.S. expansion.

SaaS taxation in the U.S. is far from uniform—what’s tax-free in California could be fully taxable in Texas or New York. For tech founders, this patchwork of rules can mean mispriced products, missed filings, and unexpected tax bills. In Part 2 of our series on operational risks, we explore how inconsistent SaaS tax treatment, rigid compliance calendars, and your choice of U.S. headquarters location can dramatically impact your growth, compliance costs, and investor readiness.

Chromatic didn’t follow a textbook U.S. expansion story. With global roots and a distributed team, they faced early-stage challenges around cash flow, R&D tax rules, and staying compliant across states. This case study walks through how Chromatic built internal clarity, scaled to $15M+ ARR, and relied on TaxStudio to help manage complexity behind the scenes—without slowing momentum.

Discover the top operational risks tech startups face when expanding into the U.S.—from missing customer location data to scattered hiring and misunderstanding nexus rules. Learn how to avoid costly compliance mistakes and build a scalable U.S. presence. Perfect for SaaS founders, app developers, and international tech companies seeking expert guidance on U.S. expansion.

Some mistakes are fixable. Others are expensive, damaging, or—in some cases—legally indefensible. These are the three critical missteps we consistently see international businesses make when entering the U.S. market. Avoiding them isn’t just good practice—it’s foundational to operating responsibly and reducing long-term risk.

What looks simple on the surface can be surprisingly complex in the U.S. market. In this part of our series, we unpack three areas international founders often underestimate—multi-state compliance, penalty mitigation, and transfer pricing—and explain how small oversights can lead to big consequences.

Discover three things that are surprisingly easy when expanding your business into the U.S.—if you have the right structure, state, and advisory team in place.