The webinar on "Going Global" will tackle the topic of internationalization in the context of Start-ups and SMEs.
After an introduction on general definitions and frameworks, there will be a focus on the main motivations behind the internationalization decisions.
In particular, questions as why and why not internationalizing and when to do it will be answered and some practical advice on how to and who may
help with internationalization processes will be discussed.
Path to Traditional Pub - BookFest 2024 presentation - 03-23-2024.pdf
Nuvolab Seminar for Accelmed 2014: Going Global - Small Business Big World
1. GOING
GLOBAL
small
business,
big
world
Accelmed
Accelera0on
Programme
December
15
2014
2. Summary
¨ Introduc0on
¨ Interna'onaliza'on
for
Startups
¨ Local
vs
Global
¨ Going
Global
¨ Summary
3. What
is
Nuvolab?
Nuvolab
is
a
business
accelerator
and
a
catalyst
of
change
dedicated
to
all
the
reali'es
in
the
(Italian)
entrepreneurial
ecosystem.
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4. Summary
¨ Introduc'on
¨ Interna0onaliza0on
for
Startups
¨ Local
vs
Global
¨ Going
Global
¨ Summary
5. What
do
we
mean
by
interna0onaliza0on?
• Interna'onaliza'on
is
the
process
of
recognizing
the
influence
of
interna'onal
ac'vi'es
on
the
future
of
the
company.
This
process
is
then
followed
by
ac'ons,
i.e.
by
establishing
partnerships
and
conduc'ng
transac'ons
with
interna'onal
organiza'ons.
• More
specifically,
interna'onaliza'on
comprises
the
planning
and
implementa'on
of
specific
products
and
services
that
can
easily
be
adapted
to
foreign
markets
and
cultures.
6. Why
is
it
important
to
look
abroad?
• Desire
to
grow
• Increase
in
performance
and
recogni'on
• Unsolicited
foreign
orders
• Domes'c
market
satura'on
or
limita'ons
• Capital
Availability
• Poten'al
to
exploit
a
new
technological
advantage
• Different
geographies
have
different
needs
and
complement
each
other
in
presen'ng
a
wide
range
of
gaps
• Opportuni'es
to
build
market
presence
7. What
makes
interna0onal
strategy
so
important?
• The
process
of
interna'onaliza'on
brings
about
opportuni'es
for
small
and
medium
sized
enterprises
(SMEs),
but
also
some
risk.
• A
clearly
defined
strategy
will
help
focus
on
the
aims,
target
business
segments,
explore
the
unique
selling
points,
achieve
the
best
market
posi'oning,
minimize
risks
and
overcome
difficul'es
while
con'nuously
assessing
success
and
investment
levels.
• The
Interna'onaliza'on
Strategy
must
take
into
account
the
company’s
economic
ability
to
incorporate
strategic
and
opera'onal
change.
• Interna'onaliza'on
is
a
strategic
development
whereby
opera'onal
planning
leads
to
successful
implementa'on
of
interna'onal
ac'vi'es.
8. Interna0onaliza0on
for
Start-‐Ups
Why
should
a
Start-‐Up
consider
interna5onalizing
when
it
is
only
just
beginning
and
ge;ng
established
in
the
home
country?
• We
live
in
a
global
society
with
local
differences.
• Start-‐Ups
are
agile
–
it
is
easier
for
them
to
try
something
new
and
to
adapt.
• It
is
easier
for
Start-‐Ups
to
focus
and
subsequently
easier
to
make
adjustments
to
their
business
models.
• Start-‐Ups
tend
to
be
early
adopters
of
social
presence.
9. Interna0onaliza0on
framework
INDUSTRY
ENVIRONMENT
• Rivalry
among
firms
• Barriers
to
entry
• Bargaining
power
of
suppliers
• Bargaining
power
of
buyers
• Subs'tute
products/services
FIRM
RESOURCES
&
CAPABILITIES
• Financial
resources
• Physical
resources
• Technology
• Reputa'on
• Func'onal
capabili'es
• General
management
capabili'es
NATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT
• Poli'cal
• Economic
• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• Legal
• Na'onal
culture
• Cluster
condi'ons
10. Interna0onaliza0on
Process
• Go-‐to-‐market
strategy
• Marke'ng
collateral
• Web
presence
• Media
and
PR
strategy
• Methodologies
and
templates
• Business
Development
Ac'vity
Plan
• Conferences
• Networking/associa'ons
• Targeted
introduc'ons
• Publica'ons
and
PR
• Demonstra'ons
• Proposals
and
contracts
Opportunity
tracking
• Customer
rela'onship
management
• Project
management
• Risk
management
• Case-‐study
and
best
prac'ce
harves'ng
• References
• Follow-‐up
business
STRATEGY
&
PLANNING
LEAD
GENERATION
ENGAGEMENT
11. Interna0onaliza0on
Requires
• Localiza'on
–
Customizing
your
product
to
fit
the
market
you
are
serving
• Transla'on
–
Ge^ng
it
into
the
right
language(s)
for
the
new
market
• Building
a
local
presence
–
Gaining
trac'on
in
the
new
market
12. Small
Business
Global
Start-‐up
Key
elements
favoring
global
start-‐ups
• Dispersed
human
resources
• Interna'onal
sources
of
venture
capital
• The
existence
of
a
global
demand
• The
lack
of
a
geographically
protected
market
• The
necessity
of
worldwide
sales
to
support
the
venture
• The
poten'al
to
avoid
later
resistance
to
interna'onaliza'on
13. Ambi0ous
Startups
Face
a
“Double
Chasm”
as
They
Go
Global
The
Double-‐Chasm
Challenge
1. The
Market
Chasm
• The
early
majority’s
percep'ons
of
the
innova'on’s
risks
2. The
Cultural
Chasm
• Lack
of
experience
of
the
venture’s
leaders
in
each
new
country’s
local
culture
• Lack
of
trust
in
the
“foreign”
company
and
its
leaders
among
adopters
in
each
new
country.
14. Small-‐Business
Global
Culture
Characteris'cs
of
decision
makers
affec'ng
development
of
a
global
culture
• Perceived
psychic
distance
to
foreign
markets
• Interna'onal
experience
• Risk
aversion
• Overall
a^tudes
toward
interna'onal
strategies
15. Summary
¨ Introduc'on
¨ Interna'onaliza'on
for
Startups
¨ Local
vs
Global
¨ Going
Global
¨ Summary
16. Level
of
Analysis
• Emerging
/
Developing
Markets!
• Global
Languages:
English,
Chinese,
Spanish,
Arabic
• Cri5cal
Factors:
Educa'on,
Mentorship,
Capital
• Capital
Availability:
Incuba'on,
Seed,
Series
A
• Posi5ve
Macro
Environment:
Smartphones,
Tablets,
Payments,
Logis'cs,
Growing
Middle
Class,
Distribu'on
Pladorms
• Wealthy
Global
Users,
Shoppers,
Travelers
17. Should
you
interna0onalize?
• Consider
both
your
home
market
and
the
interna'onal
market
• Gather
more
informa'on
before
inves'ng
in
interna'onalizing
• This
will
save
you
'me
and
money
in
your
expansion
efforts
18. Why
You
SHOULD
NOT
Go
Global
you’re
a
5ny
liHle
startup,
you
don’t
speak
the
language,
your
local
market
is
big
[enough]
Why
Stay
Local?
(Because
it’s
HOME)
• You
don’t
speak
English
(well
enough).
• Your
solu'on
doesn’t
travel
well
/
you
won’t/can’t
localize
it
well.
• There’s
not
as
many
startups
compe'ng
for
your
local
market.
• Your
local
market
has
50-‐100M+
users
(ex:
Japan,
Germany,
Brazil)
• Your
local
market
customers
are
RICH
(ex:
Saudi
Arabia,
Japan)
• You
have
customers
/
revenue.
• You
have
a
great
living
situa'on,
family,
kids,
etc
19. Why
You
SHOULD
Go
Global
you
live
in
a
small
country,
local
investors
are
too
conserva5ve,
don’t
write
[enough]
checks
and
give
u
crappy,
low
valua5ons.
20. Benefits
of
Becoming
Global
Entrepreneurs
Par'cipa'ng
in
mul'ple
regions
reduces
risk
of
recession
at
home
Access
to
global
customer
base
maximizes
learning
&
innova'on
Compe'ng
with
global
compe'tors
on
their
home
turf
manages
risk
Access
to
global
suppliers
of
world
class
technology
&
talent
helps
to
innovate
&
grow
Access
to
global
capital
markets
helps
lower
your
cost
of
capital
Higher
Upside
Poten'al
Lower
Downside
Risk
21. Summary
¨ Introduc'on
¨ Interna'onaliza'on
for
Startups
¨ Local
vs
Global
¨ Going
Global
¨ Packing
List
¨ Conclusions
22. Things
to
consider
–
Company
level
• How
much
'me
can
you
afford
to
invest
in
the
expansion?
• Is
the
whole
company
commiled
to
this?
• Are
you
financially
in
a
stable
situa'on?
• Short
vs.
Long-‐term
approach
• Strategy
(what
works
in
your
country
might
not
work
in
another)
• Pricing
&
Sales
23. When
To
Think
About
Interna0onalizing
• When
we
are
wri'ng
the
business
plan
• When
we
form
our
founding
team
• When
we
pick
our
company
and
brand
names
• When
we
pick
our
headquarters
loca'on
• When
we
pick
our
capital
sources
• When
we
iden'fy
the
target
market
• When
we
pick
our
most
important
customers
• When
we
select
our
strategic
partners
• When
we
pick
our
suppliers
&
talent
• When
we
analyze
our
compe''on
• All
of
the
above!
24. When
to
Actually
Interna0onalize?
REVENUES
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Scale
VALIDATIO EFFICIENCY
SCALE
Scale
interna'onally
only
amer
you
are
sure
you
have
validated
your
BM
and
reached
efficient
PMF
at
home!
Look
for
example:
hlp://youtu.be/
esBg5JRLk6w?t=5m40s
TIME
SUSTAIN
CONSERVATION
IDEA
DISCOVERY
N
Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6 Phase 7
Start
Launch
Build
Chasm
Maturity
Source:
elabora'on
based
on
Four
Step
To
Epiphany
(S.
Blank),
Startup
Compass
(Stanford)
e
Startup
Lifecycle
(F.
Des'n)
26. Premature
Scaling
–
Some
Research
finding
1. 74%
of
high
growth
internet
startups
fail
due
to
premature
scaling.
2. No
startup
that
scaled
prematurely
passed
the
100,000
user
mark.
3. Startups
that
scale
properly
grow
about
20
'mes
faster
than
startups
that
scale
prematurely.
4. 93%
of
startups
that
scale
prematurely
never
break
the
$100k
revenue
per
month
threshold.
Download
the
full
report
at:
hlp://goo.gl/lU1eOl
27. Prerequisite
–
Domes0c
Product/Market
Fit
• Examine
your
trac'on
and
success
in
your
domes'c
market
• If
you
don’t
yet
have
success
in
your
domes'c
country,
inves'gate
why
• Work
out
those
product/market
fit
issues
in
your
home
country
before
introducing
the
complica'ons
of
an
overseas
market
• To
assess
the
level
of
product/market
fit:
o Survey
your
customers!
28. Responding
to
PMF
findings
• If
you
find
a
Low
Product/Market
Fit
amongst
your
customers
• Then
interview
more
customers
• Learn
which
minimum
set
of
features
are
most
important
to
them
• Highlight
this
feature
set
and
communicate
it
to
the
users
clearly
29. Things
to
consider
–
Product
Level
• First
have
a
solid
reason
(and
preferably
more
than
one)
to
go
to
the
interna'onal
market
o Built
on
informa'on
gathering
covered
earlier
• Same
business
model
will
not
automa'cally
guarantee
success
in
the
foreign
market
• Do
quick,
low
cost
experiments
to
test
each
aspect
of
the
business
model
• Adjust
business
model
quickly
for
the
foreign
market
30. Interna0onaliza0on
plan
Study
with
your
team
to
get
clear
on
your
ini'al
“hypothesis”
about
each
of
the
following
areas.
• What
specific
country
to
enter?
• What
is
the
specific
entry
mode?
Direct
Sale?
Partnership?
Sales
Representa'ves?
Buying
a
local
company?
• What
is
the
specific
marke'ng
approach?
• What
are
the
specific
changes
we
have
to
make
to
our
product?
• How
will
you
finance
interna'onaliza'on?
Own
resources
enough?
What’s
the
back-‐up?
EU
grants?
Investor?
Loan?
Local
incen'ves?
31. How
to
Assess
Global
Markets
1. #
of
targeted
people
by
geography
2. %
Internet
usage
(web,
mobile,
smartphone,
etc)
3. $
Avg
GDP
/
$
online
spending
/
disposable
income
Online
spending
/
language,
geography
=
(#
people)
*
(%
internet
users
)
*
($GDP)
4. %
Growth
rates
of
popula'on,
internet
users,
GDP!
5. Currency,
country,
culture,
etc.
6. Online
distribu'on
pladorms
(search,
social,
mobile,
video)
7. Online
payment
methods
/
credit
card
usage
8. Physical
goods
delivery
/
logis'cs
9. Social
media
usage
/
behavior
NB:
3
markets
in
1:
rich,
middle-‐class,
internet
poor
32. Global
Markets
• US/Can/UK/AU
(400M+):
big
market,
not
much
growth
but
lots
to
spend
• Europe
(400-‐500M):
not
much
growth,
many
languages,
high
GDP
• China
(1B+):
lots
of
people,
growing
internet
usage
&
GDP
• La'n
America
(500M+):
Brazil,
Mexico,
Argen'na,
Colombia,
Chile;
LOTS
of
growth
• India/Pakistan
(1.5B+):
lots
of
people,
growing
mobile/internet,
strong
growth,
English
language
• South
East
Asia
(600M+):
Indonesia,
Vietnam,
Thailand,
Philippines;
strong
growth
• Middle
East
/
Arabic
(500M+):
growing
mobile,
lots
of
future
growth
• Africa
(900M+):
growing
infrastructure,
lots
of
future
growth
33. Selec0ng
the
Country
• Choose
a
country
where
o Changes
necessary
in
the
product
and
business
model
are
minimal.
o Market
is
similar
to
your
home
country
and
where
your
product
is
already
ge^ng
some
trac'on.
o The
ecosystem
is
favorable
to
your
sector
• Or
that
is
based
on
your
familiarity
o Ideal
-‐
You
have
several
years
work
experience
you
are
familiar
with
the
local
culture
and
the
whole
sales
process
already
o OK
-‐You
may
have
connec'ons
in
the
foreign
market
o OK
-‐
There
is
informa'on
that
convinces
you
that
there
are
some
opportuni'es
there
35. Selec0ng
the
Country
–
Resources
Below
are
some
useful
resources
you
should
check
out
when
choosing
the
country/area.
Doing
Business
Report:
hlp://www.doingbusiness.org/data
(worldbank)
Paying
Taxes
Report:
hlp://www.pwc.com/gx/en/paying-‐taxes/index.jhtml
(PWC)
Startup
Ecosystem
Report:
hlp://www.slideshare.net/Telefonica_Digital/startup-‐eco-‐14012013
TIP:
When
selec'ng
the
country,
besides
demand
side
factors
(presence
of
clients)
look
also
for
supply
side
enablers:
(industry
specific
clusters,
networks,
research
ins'tu'ons,
country-‐strategic
sector)
36. Developing
vs
Developed
markets
• You
might
assume
the
largest
or
most
developed
market
should
be
your
first
foreign
entry
• If
you’re
in
a
country
where
technology
and
the
market
tend
to
lag
behind
o Before
trying
to
enter
a
more
developed
economy
it
may
be
beler
to
go
to
other
countries
that
are
more
similar
to
your
own
or
where
the
market
tends
to
be
just
a
year
or
two
behind.
• Occasionally,
if
you
have
a
very
strong
technical
team
and
a
very
unique
product
o You
may
decide
it
is
best
to
go
to
a
more
developed
market.
37. Network
Network
Network
Seek
advice
from
companies
that
have
already
entered
the
market
and
are
willing
to
share
war
stories
38. Importance
of
local
partner
• Partner
already
has
the
sales
channel
• Partner
may
be
looking
for
some
technology
that
doesn’t
exist
in
the
market
• Hire
local
staff
who
have
interna'onaliza'on
experience
before
doing
some
on-‐site
experimenta'on
• Local
distributors
have
informa'on
on
local
culture
and
on
local
consump'on
habits,
on
local
compe''on
and
on
the
local
rules
and
regula'ons
that
are
essen'al
for
a
successful,
cost
effec0ve
and
risk
minimizing
foreign
market
entry.
39. Who
can
help
you
with
your
interna0onaliza0on
• Virtually
any
country
has
public
agencies
dedicated
to
helping
local
businesses
interna'onalize
(outbound).
• These
agencies
usually
take
care
of
showcasing
local
firms
abroad
and
can
serve
as
matchmakers
with
foreign
partners
• To
name
a
few
examples:
• Italy
(ICE,
Promos)
-‐
France:
(Ubifrance,
Coface)
-‐
Spain:
(ICEX)
–
Norway
(Innova'on
Norway)
• And
virtually
any
country
has
public/private
agencies
dedicated
to
helping
foreign
businesses
investments
for
accessing
their
local
market
• USA
(USMAC)
–
UK
(UKTI)
–
IE
(Enterprise
Ireland
)
–
etc.
40. Localizing
–
Test
your
prototype
• Transla'on
is
only
the
first
step
to
crea'ng
a
localized
prototype
• Watch
out
for
other
changes
in
the
user
experience
or
to
the
business
model
41. Localizing
–
Marke0ng
for
User
Acquisi0on
• What
marke'ng
strategy
should
you
experiment
to
get
your
ini'al
customers?
• Is
there
any
local
influencer/social
media
that
may
help?
• Try
to
contact
those
who
are
influen'al
in
social
media
and
see
whether
they
can
try
your
product
and
write
something
about
it.
• Create
a
localized
landing
page
(es:
launchrock)
• Ini'ate
Facebook
campaigns
or
some
local
social
networks.
• Search
engine
marke'ng
is
buying
adver'sing
online
• Search
engine
op'miza'on
is
free
if
you
can
get
your
search
result
to
be
higher
in
the
Google
search
results.
• Start
from
the
least
costly
experiment
and
try
one
by
one
quickly.
42. Becoming
Global
Entrepreneurs
on
a
low
Budget
• Read
about
exemplars
in
different
cultures
• Discuss
with
classmates
and
alumni
how
things
differ
in
their
home
region
from
yours
• Prac'ce
becoming
mul'lingual,
then
mul'cultural
• Think
global
at
every
step
of
your
business
plan
process
• Cruise
the
web
outside
your
home
country
• Talk
to
successful
entrepreneurs
about
their
global
experiences
• Look
to
government
agencies
who
can
help
• Align
yourself
with
global
investors
• Visit
entrepreneurial
hotspots
around
the
world
43. Summary
¨ Introduc'on
¨ Interna'onaliza'on
for
Startups
¨ Local
vs
Global
¨ Going
Global
¨ Summary
44. IMPORTANT
You’re
not
going
to
be
able
to
grow
globally
without:
1. A
Great
Product
2. Money
in
the
Bank
3. Knowing
How
to
Market
45. Summary
–
Packing
List
1. Solid
Technology
+
Scalable
&
Repeatable
Business
Model
o Pick
a
technology
and
business
model
that
scales
and
makes
sense
in
new
markets
2. Landscape
Analysis
o Poten'al
Partners
o Target
Demographics
o Companies
that
failed/succeeded
before
3. Funding
o Growing
interna'onally
is
expensive
o You
only
get
one
shot
at
launching
in
a
new
city
o Raise
money
from
connected
angels
or
VCs
in
the
city
you
want
to
launch
in
o Or
have
really
thick
bootstraps
4. Localize
your
Marke0ng
o Does
your
startup
name
translate?
o Your
Messaging
+
Company
Mission
Need
to
Translate
o Humor
doesn’t
always
translate!
5. Yourself
(0me
+
travel=money)
o Events,
Speaking
Opportuni'es
o Skype
with
local
partners
and
customers
46. Summary
-‐
WHAT
o A
Start-‐up
with
a
solid
technology,
a
great
team
and
a
scalable
business
model
at
home
wants
to
expand
its
business
abroad
47. Summary
-‐
WHY
o The
world
is
evermore
interconnected
&
shrinking
o Access
to
global
sources
of
capital,
talent,
customers,
partners,
suppliers
o Growth
&
untapped
opportuni'es
48. o Think
early
about
being
a
global
company
-‐
develop
a
global
culture
o Growing
interna'onally
is
expensive
o Premature
scaling
#1
cause
of
death
o Go
interna'onal
only
if
you
have
validated
and
op'mized
your
product/BM
to
fit
the
demands
of
local
customers
REVENUE
S
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
TIME
CONSERVATI
SCALE
SUSTAIN
ON
Scale
EFFICI
ENCY
VALIDA
TION
DISCO
IDEA
VERY
Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6 Phase 7
Start
Launch
Build
Chasm
Maturit
y
Summary
-‐
WHEN
49. Summary
-‐
WHERE
o Choose
the
country
based
on
Landscape
analysis
o Analyze
demand
factors
(new
customers
that
may
want
your
product)
and
o Supply
factors
(presence
of
industry
clusters,
research
ins'tu'ons,
universi'es,
capital
availability)
o Na'onal
Specific
Factors
(taxes,
ease
of
doing
business,
public
grants,
etc.)
50. Summary
–
HOW
o Create
an
interna'onaliza'on
plan
o Choose
Entry
Mode
(JV,
Sales
Representa've,
Direct
Entry,
Acquisi'on
of
a
local
compe'tor)
o NETWORK
(Alend
events,
talk
to
people
who
did
it
before
you
in
order
to
Find
a
Local
Partner)
o Localize
your
marke'ng
(Translate,
hire
local
marketers,
PR,
try
to
get
featured
in
local
press)
o Watch
out
for
other
country
specific
changes
required
to
your
product
&
Business
Model
51. Summary
–
WHO
(Can
Help
you
get
there)
o Specific
Na'onal
(and
EU-‐level)
agencies
can
help
you
take
your
business
on
the
interna'onal
arena
o Outbound
Agencies
aim
to
showcase
na'onal
companies
abroad
and
match
the
with
poten'al
clients/partners
o Inbound
Agencies
aim
to
alract
foreign
business
to
their
na'on
mainly
through
financial
incen'ves
and
regulatory
compliance
support
o Many
small
private
ecosystem
actors
(angels,
accelerators,
evangelists)
are
willing
to
help.
EXPLORE
52. Thanks
for
your
0me
&
afen0on
Ref:
Alberto
Loddo
@albertoloddo1
@nuvolab
www.nuvolab.com
alberto.loddo@nuvolab.com
alberto.loddo