A 135-day path from real US demand to a working US operation.

The sequence starts after the fit is clear.

The path in is always the same: the free Assessment first. If my written conclusion is that your case fits the method, we discuss scope and form, and when the engagement is agreed in writing, Day 0 begins. Requesting the Assessment, or discussing the sequence, starts nothing and obligates nobody.

The hiring order.

The sequence manages three kinds of people with different tolerances for early chaos. I enter first, as the builder, able to work before the formal structure exists. Functional staff enter only after the HR platform, benefits, and infrastructure are active, because good people hired into chaos fail or quit, and hiring before the legal safety nets exist creates real exposure. The founder enters last, because the visa case must prove a stable, operating business. The rule in one line: the Operator is the first hire; the founder is the final hire.

Days 0 to 45: Foundation.

Goal: create the operating base before the company adds more US weight.

The work: confirm the findings and priorities from the Assessment; put decision rights in writing, including your approval points and the escalation rules; map every open dependency across entity, banking, finance, employment, service, security, and compliance; and separate what can move now from what needs provider input or more readiness.

By Day 45 you have: a decision rights map, the first weekly scorecard, a dependency tracker, a risk register, and a first view of what is ready to migrate and what is not. The weekly rhythm is running.

Days 46 to 90: Stabilization.

Goal: prove the base can hold real US work without your constant intervention.

The work: run the weekly rhythm on live work; coordinate provider handoffs across legal, tax, finance, employment, and compliance; connect US customer commitments to the capacity behind them; and update the risk register and dependency tracker as friction appears. Friction will appear; exposing it while the stakes are still small is the purpose of this phase.

By Day 90 you have: a working provider map, a customer promise map, an updated scorecard and registers, and a clear picture of what is stable, what is fragile, and what must not move yet.

Days 91 to 135 and beyond: Migration and arrival.

Goal: move stable functions into the US operation, and nothing else.

The work: review which responsibilities are ready to live in the US; confirm decision rights, escalation paths, and provider handoffs for each one; check that support and service promises can be sustained locally; and decide what remains offshore, what stays with licensed professionals, and what is paused.

By Day 135 you have: a migration readiness plan for people, promises, and routines, an updated provider map, and a next-stage operating plan. Arrival means selected work now runs in a stable US routine. It does not mean the company is finished; it means the foundation holds.

Six rules protect the launch.

The sequence is built on dependency discipline. These rules do most of the protecting:

• Do not hire before the employment structure is ready.
• Do not scale customer support before a response rhythm exists.
• Do not relocate the founder or the team before readiness is checked.
• Do not sell commitments the operation cannot support.
• Do not treat the founder's personal effort as an operating model.
• Do not migrate chaos. Unowned dependencies and unclear decisions get fixed before they move, or they become local problems with US salaries attached.

What 135 days means, honestly.

The 135 days are an estimated frame for the method when execution proceeds without material delays. Some work will move faster, some will need more time, and some should wait beyond the sequence. The number gives the work a schedule and a review discipline; it is not a promise that every provider, hire, or customer question resolves by a fixed date. The sequence guarantees no sales, financing, or regulatory outcomes, and the regulated judgments along the way, legal, tax, immigration, and accounting, stay with licensed professionals.

The full method behind this sequence, including the readiness gates, the two tracks, and the complete toolkit, is documented in The Foreign Founder's Guide to a US Launch, free, no email required.