Seven Actions to Smooth Your Startup’s Path to Global Expansion
The future is bright.
Going global may be a day two ambition, but there are actions that can be taken from the outset, to smooth the future path of scaling internationally. Here we share seven of them.
It’s rare to meet an ambitious entrepreneur or company founder who doesn’t aspire for their venture to go from local success to global prominence. Indeed, international expansion isn’t just a goal for many, it’s a necessity, especially when local markets cannot provide the sustainable, scalable growth needed to thrive.
After all, even the world’s most populous country, India, makes up only 18% of the global population - meaning over 80% of potential customers lie beyond its home market. And the US, the nation with the largest share of global GDP at 26%, still sees almost three-quarters of the world’s economic activity happen outside its borders.
These realities make international expansion a compelling objective for many entrepreneurs and founders.
While securing product-market fit and success in your home market is a crucial first step, it doesn’t mean you can’t plan for global growth early on. In fact, there are simple actions entrepreneurs and founders can take right from the start in order to set the stage for future international success.
Here are seven actions leaders can take today that will help to smooth the way for global expansion in the future:
1. Cultivate a global mindset from the outset
Whilst you may be focusing on home market needs initially, be aware of the potential future needs of customers worldwide when developing your propositions, products and operations. Build a level of flexibility into the organisation and propositions that will enable you to adapt to the needs of different markets, with minimal friction in the future.
To foster this global mindset, be inquisitive about potential target markets, onboard talent with international experience, be the cultural sponge soaking up every opportunity to learn about a new country.
You can also be more proactive and deliberate in this space too. Such as connecting into global ecosystems through investors and attending an embassy’s trade mission events. Or simply tasking colleagues with exploring and sharing knowledge about specific countries with the wider team, setting them up as “country ambassadors”. These steps will help foster an international mindset and the company's cultural intelligence (CQ).
The importance of developing this global mindset early is backed up by evidence from the Startup Genome report, which states that early-stage startups that go global (more than 50% foreign customers) are on a revenue growth curve that is two times faster than those that do not.
2. Choose a company or brand name that scales internationally
The right company and brand name(s) are vital assets when expanding overseas. Before finalising these names, consider whether they will work globally.
In a recent review of company and brand names within several venture catalyst portfolios, Tarralugo discovered 67% of them were already taken in key overseas markets.
So, when selecting company and brand names we suggest keeping these factors in mind:
Legal trademarks: ensure name availability in future target markets to avoid legal disputes
Cultural appropriateness: avoid names that could be offensive, insensitive, embarrassing or have an alternative meaning in other languages or cultures
Portability: if your name contains a local place or association, consider how well that will work if you open in Stockholm, New York or Singapore
Pronunciation: opt for names that are easy to pronounce in multiple languages
Online presence: verify availability of domain names, both top level and country level, and social media handles
Conducting online research, using translation tools and checking domain registers upfront, can help to easily avoid these potential pitfalls.
While it is, of course, perfectly possible to rebrand, use creative domain names or clever marketing strategies. However, when the time comes wouldn’t you rather focus your energy and financial resources on scaling your business internationally?
3. Build a global ready brand
Closely linked but separate to point two, build brand and marketing assets that can be used globally. While localisation of marketing and the brand is critical, consider - when initially developing these assets - how they will be interpreted across borders. Ask:
How will the logo, tag lines, colour schemes be interpreted in different countries?
Are they reusable?
Do they respect the local sensitivities and cultures of your future markets?
If your brand is seen as aggressive, how will that play out in markets where overt confrontation is avoided?
By thinking with a global mindset from the start, it enables the design of brand and marketing assets that can be used globally, while respecting local sensitivities.
4. Set up scalable systems and processes
When establishing operations and back-office functions, the primary focus will be on enabling success in your home market. However, keep in mind when designing and implementing these systems how they will scale. For example:
Does your accounting software handle multiple currencies?
Can your billing platform issue invoices in multiple languages?
Does your CRM platform handle different country postal address formats or data privacy regulations?
Do these platforms easily integrate with each other so that data flows between them with little, if any, manual intervention?
You may not want to purchase these additional capabilities initially but having the ability to switch them on, rather than having to migrate to a new platform, will make scaling easier down the tracks.
Another consideration is: do your support operations scale? Tarralugo recently engaged with an Australian company setting up in the UK. Its technical, sales and customer support centres were located in Melbourne running 8am to 5pm local time. Meaning there was effectively no support on both Monday and Friday for the UK… and only overnight the rest of the week.
While the evolving capability of AI means timezone, language and task complexity is increasingly being handled by AI agents, at some juncture it still requires human input. Each business is unique but when building your support operations consider where the best location might be for your future needs. Will that location have access to the right talent, skills and language capabilities you will need to service your global client base?
5. Design for the regulatory and compliance high water mark
When architecting your product or service, it is often tempting to go straight to the build phase, ensuring the boxes are ticked for the local laws and regulations along the way. But how do these laws and regulations compare to other jurisdictions you may target in future, or regulations that may be in the pipeline?
A great example of this is the EU GDPR which sets a high standard for data privacy across the European Union. If you know your solution will come under regulatory or compliance frameworks in other territories, from the outset architect for the high water mark of regulation and laws.
A study from the National Small Business Association revealed 40% of small business owners cite navigating rules and regulations as a major barrier to export growth, emphasising the need to design products with regulatory requirements in mind.
By designing your solution and processes to meet these higher compliance standards, you can mitigate costly re-engineering later.
6. Seek talent with international experience
While local expertise is critical in the early stages of establishing a business, leaders should also be looking to hire globally-minded individuals who bring that relevant international experience. Not only will this help when it comes to expanding overseas, but also for cultivating that global mindset. It is amazing to watch the power of osmosis at work when a diversity of experience and ideas collide.
And these team members do not have to be confined to direct hires: when seeking board members, advisors and mentors, consider ones who have relevant international experience in the markets you aim to enter.
7. Company structure and aligning leadership incentives
This is one of the most complex topics and where expert advice is important. Your corporate structure and leadership incentives are critical as you scale.
Depending on your home market and future aspirations, consider where you incorporate and the corporate structure that is set up. For example, would Singapore, Ireland or Delaware be more appropriate with a holding company structure, optimising the management of assets, liabilities and taxes across borders most effectively?
As for your leadership incentives, creating motivating incentive packages is key, however consider where you want the company to grow to.
The leadership team may be brilliant today, but will that still hold true as the business expands into new markets? Will their future contribution to international growth warrant their options in the holding company? It is always easier to give more later, than try to claw back or dilute in future.
While it’s essential not to count your chickens before they hatch, being aware of where you want to be is crucial. By starting with the end goal in mind, you can create systems and capabilities that are right-sized for today but can scale with minimal effort for global expansion tomorrow. This allows your resources and energy to focus on customer acquisition and operational readiness.
What actions will you take today to prepare for your company’s global future?
Technology hasn’t changed the fundamentals of business but it is changing how we create and derive value. Tarralugo’s digital strategy consulting services help you make sense of how to leverage these technological advances in your business. For more information, contact us here.