For many startup founders, the prospect of international expansion can be both alluring and intimidating. This article, co-authored by Daniel Lyons and Gurpriya Bhatia from EY’s Fast Growth team, explores some important considerations when embarking on a journey to scale your business.
So you’ve just completed a funding round and intend to use the money to help launch in a new country? Congratulations on reaching what will no doubt be an exhilarating period for your company! But how do you start? And what are some of the things you need to be thinking about?
1) Is international expansion the right answer?
Scaling overseas is rarely a walk in the park. Even when you have overcome hurdles related to regulation, tax registration, legal structure, hiring staff, securing office space, and finding new customers, the day-to-day pressures and workload for your leadership team managing multiple locations will be dialled up. Especially if they are now spending time travelling between offices....