hrivers

Mode doesn’t do any private data warehousing, it just connects to your own hosted data

I don't know much about the rest of the process, but it looks like the name checking part is slightly less convenient in CA: "A free preliminary check of the availability of a name can be requested by mailing a completed Name Availability Inquiry Letter (pdf~62KB) to the California Secretary of State's office in Sacramento. Email or online inquiries cannot be accepted at this time."

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/name-availability.htm#chec...