244. Cross-Border Startup Expansion -- Lessons from 175 Companies (Stephen McIntyre)

- You recently published research on the expansion of 175 US companies into Europe. I’d like to discuss a number of points from the piece, but first off… what prompted you to do this research and write the piece?
- Part of the report is about timing… ie. when is the right time is for a b2b SaaS company to make the leap and expand into Europe.  Talk us through your findings and conclusion w/ regard to timing.
- In preparation to make that jump, you recently talked about the challenges for “globalizing” a company and that it really starts at the CEO’s desk… what do you mean by that?
- As an investor, how do you prepare a CEO to shift mindset from US-centric to a more global one?
- When a company makes the leap to Europe, what are some of the most common pitfalls/mistakes they make?
- How do the challenges of growing a b2b software company across Europe differ from that of growing it in the United States?
- Is there a particular playbook that you follow when bridging the gap between the US and European markets, if so can you share the broad strokes of what that entails?
- Do you think it’s more difficult for companies to start in the United States and grow into Europe or start in Europe and grow into the States? Why?
- As part of the report, you talk about the difference between sales led expansion versus product and engineering led expansion, what are the primary differences?
- How has COVID affected which expansion strategy to choose, if at all?
- How to build a fully functioning sales force remote from the ground up
- What, if any, tailwinds have emerged for the growth of the European tech ecosystem?