International Expansion
Preparing to enter new markets. We check which parts of your model carry across the border and which were a product of the local context: connections, reputation, the absence of a competitor.
Common requests:The home market limits growth, Requests come in from other countries, Competitors have gone abroad, The product seems universal
New market. Proven foundations.
Services in this area
1 service
What people come with
Does this sound familiar?
- The home market limits growth, and there is interest in neighboring ones.Situation 01In a new market, what you got for free at home disappears.
- Requests come in from other countries, but it's unclear how to serve them systematically.Situation 02In a new market, what you got for free at home disappears.
- Competitors have gone abroad, and you need to understand whether you have to follow.Situation 03In a new market, what you got for free at home disappears.
- The product seems universal, but that hasn't been tested.Situation 04In a new market, what you got for free at home disappears.
The core idea of this area
In a new market, what you got for free at home disappears.
The self-assessment for this area evaluates how portable your model is: which advantages will have to be built again for money, whether the economics of the first deals have been calculated and whether a stopping point has been set.
- 01Readiness for a new market
- 02Unit economics
- 03Repeatable sales
- 04Tax and legal risk
- 05Cash cycle
How we see it
The logic of expansion usually sounds convincing: it works here, the market there is bigger, so it will work better there. The problem is the word "so".
We start with twenty conversations with potential customers, then one deal by any means, then five deals through a minimal setup. The legal entity, the team and the infrastructure come only after that.
When this area won't help
- We don't build an expansion on the assumption that "everything is the same there".
- We don't recommend a full launch before a series of low-cost tests.
- Legal and tax support in the new market is handled by local specialist partners. We check that this part has been worked out and coordinate the work.
Experience
We do have experience entering foreign markets. The specific markets and client stories are confidential; we discuss them when we meet.
Questions
Where does entering a new market start?
With twenty conversations with potential customers before any investment in infrastructure. An expensive entry doesn't raise your chances; it raises the cost of a mistake.
What usually doesn't cross the border?
Reputation and connections. At home they are an advantage; in a new market they are the words of an unknown company. That changes both the communication and the cost of the first deal.
Do we need a local partner?
A partner solves the problem of access and creates a problem of motivation. Answer in advance why your product will be their top priority.
How do we know the market isn't for us?
Name the result in advance. For example: fewer than five deals in six months with the contact plan fulfilled. Without such a criterion, the test never ends.
Related articles and case analyses
Entering a new market: what to check before you go
Expansion fails on three assumptions nobody checked because they seemed obvious, not on execution.
Which part of your advantage won't survive the move?
Every expansion starts with that question. The first meeting is free.