Kyle
These days there are a whole lot of people living in at least dual residencies. When thinking about dual residencies the most common thought is about snowbirds. This group of people is usually older and migrates south to Florida, for the winter, from their normal homes up north. We’re even in a dual residency scenario ourselves right now.
People who live in dual residences have a hard time keeping up with the residency requirements, laws and taxes surrounding multiple places. Florida startup, Residency HQ keeps up with that for you.
Residency HQ bills themselves as the premiere resource for all state to state residency requirements. It’s a knowledge base of information for the types of people described above and for those looking to possibly relocate to another state. Residency HQ will also help users determine which state is the most advantageous to claim primary residence in.
We got a chance to talk with Residency HQ co-founder Mat Franken. Check out the interview below.
What is ResidencyHQ?
In our mobile world, working, playing, living, and learning in multiple states during the year is becoming commonplace. States have become extremely aggressive in trying to collect taxes with audits, inquiries, and overall big brotherish ‘oversight’ in the current environment. If you haven’t had any first-hand experience with this yet, consider yourself lucky. ResidencyHQ.com is here to help those travelers avoid being unfairly taxed by a state that isn’t their home. So simply put, ResidencyHQ is the premier resource for state to state residency information, analyzation, and support.
In layman’s terms, how does it work? (In other words how would you explain it to your grandmother)
Granny, you know how you go to Florida in the winter? Well, you aren’t the only one. Millions of other older folks (snowbirds) migrate each year from their northern homes to the state too.
Your fellow snowbirds were the catalyst for the site concept but there are a lot more people out there that need the same information. Anyone who spends time in states other than their home state, risks being unfairly taxed. Corporate HR Departments, busy executives, professional athletes, students seeking in-state tuition, RVers, consultants, and the like all require a simple resource regarding their tax obligations and/or residency in the states they spend time. ResidencyHQ.com’s site resources offer actionable checklists for all 50 states, allowing your intentions to be clear about where your true home resides, helping you avoid costly audits and crazy tax penalties.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Mathew Franken: Mat is an entrepreneur whose career background is in financial, estate, tax, and residency planning. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, is an active philanthropist and coach, and has founded multiple non-profits and start-ups. Mat runs a private wealth management practice that focuses simultaneously on creativity and prudence in planning. But because he limits the number of clients he serves in that practice, ResidencyHQ was his way of providing state residency information to the masses.
Mark Kirby: Mark is a serial entrepreneur who has developed cutting edge gaming based museum exhibits, like “Be the Dinosaur” and “Be the Astronaut”. His company, Eureka Exhibits, is currently a juggernaut in the museum world, and is backed by some of gaming’s old guard royalty. Mark is a graduate of Virginia Tech, has invested in and founded multiple start-ups, and is a native of Virginia Beach.
Where are you based?
ResidencyHQ is based in Naples, Florida and Greenville, South Carolina.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
Naples barely has a start-up scene, but does have an Angel network and venture forum. Greenville has a growing start-up culture, and is quickly gaining momentum. It also has a start-up incubator which is attracting many more new businesses, as well as a local Angel network.
How did you come up with the idea for ResidencyHQ?
The genesis for ResidencyHQ was the seasonal population in Naples. Florida is very transient, and in this tech driven world more and more people are mobile. States are taking new levels of action to collect revenues, so it made sense to provide a resource for travelers trying to avoid being unfairly taxed. It affects more people than you might initially think, but when it boils down to it, we believe our site could be at the cutting edge of a more migratory society.
How did you come up with the name?
Well, because we cross all demographic segments, it was important our name was simple but also explained who we are and what we do. The heart of our business is state residency, and we recognized no other single resource existed in this space. So, ResidencyHQ it was…
What problem does ResidencyHQ solve?
ResidencyHQ fulfills the growing need for state based tax and residency information with the ever-increasing population of domestic migrators. Being a first-mover at the most basic level (residency) of a newly migratory society could be a real boon for our customers, as well as our company.
What’s your secret sauce?
As luck would have it, the people that comprise this migratory population are the best candidates as new potential state residents. They are the most likely to relocate permanently or semi permanently, which makes them ideal prospects for Real Estate companies, Banking Institutions, Auto and Homeowners Insurance Agencies, Attorneys, CPAs, etc. Every company is trying to capture new money as it enters the state, especially before its competitors. ResidencyHQ’s site resources help provide these entities with the first strike at prospective customers. This can be a huge advantage for any business.
Are you bootstrapped or funded?
ResidencyHQ is bootstrapped for sure!
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
Our greatest challenge to date has been in site development. Taking our business vision and translating it into a functional, autonomous platform was a challenge given the scope of information we provide. And again, different demographics are more or less tech savvy, so we really gave some thought to layout, simplicity, and appearance in hopes to appeal across the broad spectrum of our customer base.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
Anyone who can create, especially a business, has something valuable to share with every fellow business owner, small or large. Small business is the foundation of our economy, and quite frankly, we have admiration for anyone with the, ahem…intestinal fortitude to build something from concept to delivery.
What’s next for ResidencyHQ?
We have just entered our hard launch phase for the site, but we have big plans for the future. We believe our services could become an integral component of job sites or career social networks (where travel or relocation is part of the job requirement), corporate level human resources departments, and even prospecting tools for financial services or national real estate based companies. Our site at its most basic level finds money in motion, which is a resource that most companies see as the holy grail in business.
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