We know Texas from everyday life, not from rankings
Mount Bonnell is a limestone hill on the west side of Austin, high above the Colorado River where it widens into Lake Austin. On a clear evening you can see the river bend away into the hills and the city light up behind you. It is where our name comes from, and it says something about why we are here.
Sebastian grew up in Freiburg and left Germany in 2000. He built businesses in the UK and then in America, and the practice that began in the UK in 2006 came to the USA in 2008 and to Texas in 2011. Austin has always reminded him of Freiburg: a green university city, full of students.
So when we talk about Texas, we are talking about the place where we live and work. We drive the same roads you will drive, deal with the same summers, and know which parts of the story are true. Come and see us in Austin.
That evening I understood for the first time that light can be a reason to stay somewhere.
West of Austin, the land opens up
Drive west out of Austin and within half an hour the city gives way to the Hill Country: limestone hills, live oaks, clear rivers, ranch gates and long roads that lead nowhere in particular. In spring the roadsides turn blue with bluebonnets. On a summer evening the light goes gold, then pink, and the heat finally lets go.
Europeans often feel strangely at home here, and there is a reason. German settlers founded New Braunfels in 1845 and Fredericksburg in 1846, and the names they left are everywhere: Boerne, Schulenburg, Pflugerville, Luckenbach. Fredericksburg still has a main street of independent shops, bakeries and beer gardens. Gruene, close to New Braunfels, looks like a film set for a western, except that it is real. Wimberley sits among creeks and swimming holes, and Georgetown, just north of Austin, around one of the prettiest town squares in Texas.
For a family, the Hill Country is the weekend. For a founder, it is the reason a hard week in the office still feels like a good life.
Austin: the capital that never quite grew up
Austin is the capital of Texas and home to the University of Texas, and it has never quite lost its student energy. Live music on any night of the week, food trucks and smokehouses, a lake through the middle of downtown where people paddle past the office towers at lunchtime, and every March the South by Southwest festival, which brings film, music and technology to town.
It is also no longer small. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Austin passed one million residents between 2024 and 2025, becoming one of a dozen US cities of that size. The wider Austin metro area reached 2,620,945 people on 1 July 2025, and its gain of 53,796 in that year was the sixth largest of any metro area in the country.
Technology companies large and small have made the region their home, and the city has grown a deep bench of founders, engineers and investors. For a European company, that means people to hire, partners to work with and customers who are used to buying from newcomers.
Texas and Austin in numbers
Population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates.
| 1 July 2025 | What it means | |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 31,709,821 people | The second most populous state, and the largest numeric gain of any state from 2024 to 2025: 391,243 people |
| Austin metro area | 2,620,945 people | Up 53,796 in a year, the sixth largest gain of any US metro area; up from 2,283,391 in April 2020 |
| City of Austin | 1,002,632 people | Now one of twelve US cities with at least one million residents |
| Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth | 7,904,627 and 8,477,157 people | The two US metro areas that added the most people from 2024 to 2025, both in Texas |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates: national and state release (27 Jan 2026), metro and county release (26 Mar 2026), city and town release (14 May 2026). Read 25 Oct 2026.
Why founders keep choosing Texas
Texas has no personal income tax. What you pay yourself from your company is taxed by the federal government, not by the state. For a founder who moves here with a family, that difference shows up in every pay slip.
Companies pay the Texas franchise tax instead of a classic corporate income tax, and only once revenue passes a threshold. For report years 2026 and 2027, a business with annualized total revenue of $2.65 million or less owes no franchise tax. Above that, the rate is 0.75 percent of margin for most businesses and 0.375 percent for retail and wholesale. Sole proprietorships, and general partnerships owned directly by individuals, do not pay it at all.
Add a large and growing home market, the people a university city produces, and a state government that likes to say yes to business, and you can see why so many companies have chosen Texas. Whether Texas is right for your business is still a question about your customers and your team. How we think about choosing a state.
Texas taxes at a glance
Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Franchise Tax and Texas is open for small business. Read 25 Oct 2026.
Close to Europe, in its own way
Texas is far away on the map. In daily life it is closer than you think.
Nonstop to Europe
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport lists nonstop flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Amsterdam (airport schedule for June 2026), with Paris announced from March 2027. An evening departure from Austin lands in Europe the next day.
A workable time zone
Austin runs on Central Time. A morning call in Austin reaches Europe in the afternoon, so the overlap with your team at home is real, every working day.
Space to live
Within an hour of downtown you find small towns, acreage and Hill Country views. Many families choose a quieter town and keep the city for work and evenings out.
Housing in the USA →The honest part
Austin's growth comes at a cost. Traffic is heavy, public transport is thin, and you will need a car. Interstate 35 through the city has been under construction for years and will be for years to come. Housing in and near downtown became expensive in the years after 2020, and some of the old, quirky Austin has been pushed out with it.
Summers are long and hot, from June well into September. Texans plan around it: early mornings, air conditioning, the lake and the rivers. Winters are mild and the spring is glorious. We would rather you hear all of this from us than discover it in your first August.
Whether Austin is the best city in the USA is for you to decide. Our recommendation for everyone who really wants America is settled: Texas. For our practice it is not one address among many. It is home.
From the first idea to your first Texas summer
Texas is a place to build a business and a place to live. We help you with both sides: which structure and which state suit your plan, which visa fits you and your family, how to bank in America, and what changes in your first weeks after the move.
Austin is best explained in Austin
Sit with Sebastian at our office on Centre Park Drive, then climb Mount Bonnell at sunset and decide for yourself. 8000 Centre Park Drive, Suite 130, Austin, TX 78754. Call +1 512 647 1128. We also meet in London and on Zoom.
Talk to Sebastian →Questions about Texas
Does Texas really have no income tax?
Texas has no state personal income tax. You still pay federal income tax as a US tax resident. Businesses pay the Texas franchise tax, which is only due once annualized total revenue passes $2.65 million for report years 2026 and 2027.
Do I have to live in Texas to have a Texas company?
No. Where your company is governed and where you live are separate questions. Which state suits your company is part of the advice on US market entry.
Is Austin the only option in Texas?
Not at all. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio are large markets in their own right, and the small towns around Austin offer a quieter life within reach of the city. We are in Austin, and we know it best.
How hot does it get?
Hot. Summers run long, from June into September. Most Texans shift their day earlier and spend the evenings by the water. Spring and autumn are the reward.
Can I visit before I decide?
Please do. Talk to Sebastian about a visit to Austin, or start with a free potential analysis.
Does Texas fit you and your business?
Tell us about your plan. We look at location, structure and the move together, so you can judge whether the Lone Star State is the right base for you.