# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (startups) on 2026-10-07

## In short

On 2026-10-07, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best business formation services for startups". It named 9 brands; the first six, in order, were Clerky, Stripe, Stripe Atlas, Firstbase, Northwest and Northwest Registered Agent.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best business formation services for startups |
| Asked on | 2026-10-07 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 9 |
| Sources cited | 8 |
| Audience | startups |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-07 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/business-formation-services-startups-2026-10-07
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-07 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> The right answer depends mostly on one thing: are you planning to raise venture capital? That splits the field cleanly.
> 
> **If you're on a venture track (Delaware C-corp, equity for founders, plan to raise):**
> 
> 1. **Clerky** - my default recommendation for VC-backed startups. It's built by startup lawyers and generates the documents VCs and their counsel actually expect: founder stock purchase agreements with vesting, 83(b) elections, board consents, bylaws, safes, and option grants. ~$427 pay-per-use to incorporate (plus DE state fees), or $819 for the Company Lifetime Package with a year of registered agent and expedited filing. The reason to pay more here is that clean cap table paperwork saves you real legal cleanup costs at your first priced round.
> 
> 2. **Stripe Atlas** - best value for speed and simplicity. $500 one-time including the first year of registered agent, then ~$100/year. Forms Delaware C-corps and LLCs, and importantly it handles the **83(b) election filing** - easy to miss and expensive to get wrong. Also the best option if you're a non-US founder, since it's built to onboard international teams, and it comes with Stripe ecosystem perks.
> 
> 3. **Firstbase** - worth a

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clerky | recommended |
| 2 | Stripe | mentioned |
| 3 | Stripe Atlas | mentioned |
| 4 | Firstbase | mentioned |
| 5 | Northwest | recommended |
| 6 | Northwest Registered Agent | recommended |
| 7 | ZenBusiness | mentioned |
| 8 | LegalZoom | mentioned |
| 9 | Rho | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://startupsavant.com/best-incorporation-services-for-startups (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-incorporation-services (vendor)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-firstbase (vendor)
- https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/firstbase-vs-stripe-atlas (other)
- https://www.flowjam.com/blog/clerky-review-2026-complete-guide-pricing-alternatives (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/clerky-alternatives (vendor)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-registered-agent-services (vendor)
- https://guptadeepak.com/startup-offers/guides/stripe-atlas (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/business-formation-services/startups

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.