Status · Accepted · 2023 (DBA for "Insights by Omkar"), reaffirmed 2026-04 Author · Omkar Jaliparthi
The studio operates multiple product brands under one legal entity. Going forward, additional brands will exist — the astrology API ships under its own product name, the studio itself has a public brand, and further platform products are on the roadmap.
The question: one LLC with multiple DBAs, or a separate LLC per brand?
- Lowest ongoing cost (one state filing, one tax return, one bank structure)
- Liability shield is shared — a legal issue with one brand can touch the others
- Simpler accounting; harder to cleanly sell a single brand later
- Strongest liability segmentation — problems at one brand stay at that brand
- Clean sale surface — each LLC can be sold independently
- Multiplies filing cost, tax complexity, banking, and compliance
- Requires inter-LLC agreements for shared services (engineering, ops)
- Best-in-class liability structure, clean sale paths
- Sized for a different stage — legitimately excessive at solo-founder pre-revenue
- Ongoing overhead dominates at this scale
Option A · One LLC with DBAs. Revisit at revenue thresholds that justify the overhead of segmentation.
- Cost-to-benefit match. At solo stage with no product carrying outsized liability exposure, segmentation's cost exceeds its benefit.
- Operational simplicity. One bank account, one tax return, one payroll (when it exists), one set of compliance renewals.
- Reversibility. A brand can be spun into its own LLC later if circumstances warrant — that's cheaper than living with multi-LLC overhead from day zero.
- Liability concentration is acceptable here. No single product currently carries a risk profile that justifies walling it off from the rest.
A legal problem with one product touches the whole LLC; selling a single brand requires either an asset sale or a pre-sale restructure; and brand-specific books exist logically in accounting but not legally. In exchange: one tax season, one registered agent, one state fee, and new brands launch with a DBA filing ($30–$60 and a notice publication depending on state) rather than a full LLC formation. Brand structure iterates quickly — DBAs can be added or retired without touching the legal entity.
- Brand books are tracked separately in accounting even when legally one entity — supports future spin-outs
- Contracts explicitly name the DBA in use — "Omkar's Holistic Services LLC, doing business as Insights by Omkar"
- Marks and copyrights file under the LLC — the legal owner is the LLC, not the DBA
- No commingling of product-specific liabilities (e.g., each product has its own privacy policy and terms tied to its own domain)
- A product takes on materially higher liability than the others (e.g., consumer financial product, healthcare data)
- A brand reaches revenue or valuation that makes its independent sale plausible
- Insurance coverage becomes impractical under a shared LLC