Is It Time to Expand Your GTM Beyond North America?

How to assess when and how to expand your go-to-market strategy globally—without losing focus at home.

DEAR STAGE 2: We’re a series A company HQ’d in NYC and almost all of our revenue is in North America. We have started to receive some inbound leads from other countries and our early research indicates that the product requirements are pretty consistent, in Europe at least. How should we think about international expansion? When is it the right time to start expanding our GTM efforts beyond the US? ~Leaning Global

DEAR LEANING GLOBAL: If you had asked this question a decade ago, my response would have been about focussing on your core market. But in today's connected global marketplace, we’re seeing companies expand internationally *much* earlier in the lifecycle of a company. 

I recently chatted with Marie-Michèle Caron, a Stage 2 Limited Partner, and leader who has personally made the move to open a new market - she truly knows what it takes to take companies global. Read on for her advice on approaching international expansion as a Series A company.

Plan Ahead, But Take Baby Steps

Marie advises to start thinking globally from the get-go. Not selling globally, but planning for the future. “Start thinking global right away - your product definition, roadmap, platform, how you think about sales ops/management has to be global or you won’t be able to serve customers abroad when the time comes."

This doesn't mean you need to launch in 20 countries tomorrow. It means building the foundations that will allow you to go international when the time is right. Think about how your product can and will scale across different markets, languages, and regulatory environments, and ensure you are making long-term decisions that support this goal.

Now, let's talk about timing. Just because you're getting some inbound leads from Europe doesn't mean it's time to open an office in London. Marie advises: "Don't just start shifting marketing dollars and headcount. You can cover the first few customers with extra time zone coverage from your BDRs, Sales, CS."

In other words, let the market pull you in rather than trying to push your way in. When you start seeing recurring and repeatable revenue from a region, that's when it's time to consider putting boots on the ground.

Staffing a Local Team

When you do decide to make the leap, staffing is crucial. Marie recommends sending one of your core team members as the first employee in a new region. “Pick one founder or core early employee to make the move and bring the culture and product knowledge. They need to bring what's already working to the new location. New employees are not going to commit to the mission unless they feel that connection and live the values - this comes from senior leadership."

This person who relocates will typically be in sales or technical sales - someone who can do demos in the right time zone and provide local customer support. They may or may not act as the GM of the region depending on seniority level. Marketing, legal, HR, and product can and should stay at HQ at this stage. 

Here's a key point: treat your international expansion like an independent business. Give it its own P&L and empower your local leadership to own their territory. Set targets together, but let them request the resources they need to hit those targets. If the local team wants to spend 80% of the marketing budget on an event, you have to trust their perspective on the market and not assume the same strategies that worked in the US are repeatable abroad. 

While you give autonomy, you can't let your international office become an island. Marie emphasizes the importance of regular face-to-face meetings: "You have to bring that person back to HQ a few times per year, and make it a priority to go to visit them too. Quarterly in person touch points matter to avoid growing a totally separate business." Remember, as the founder or CEO, the onus is on you - it's your job to maintain alignment between HQ and your international offices.

Preparing to Scale

Once you’ve invested in building a local team, you have to be “all in” on the region. This means getting your entire executive team aligned and committed to delivering across the board. Requirements come in different forms:

• Staffing including time zone and language support

• Localization of the product - both language and feature requirements

• Local legal requirements and compliance (ex: GDPR)

Finally, don't rule out acquisitions as a way to accelerate your international expansion. An acqui-hire can give you a team that already knows how to work together in the market, has a localized product, or has an established partner channel that can accelerate your timeline to scale. 

Remember, the goal isn't just to be in new markets - it's to win in new markets!

Until next week!