Slides from a SaaStock workshop I did on 9/7/22 discussing the challenges of US expansion for European software startups. Based in large part on a series of blog posts I wrote on same topic on the Balderton Build website.

1. SaaStock Workshop:
Rising to the Challenges of US Expansion
Dave Kellogg
EIR, Balderton Capital
Principal, Dave Kellogg Consulting
Author, Kellblog
9/7/22

2. Introduction
• Thanks for joining us
• I work as an advisor, director, and consultant after 25+ year career as an
operating executive (CEO, CMO) at companies like BusinessObjects,
MarkLogic, Salesforce, and Host Analytics.
• I work as an EIR at Balderton Capital and run my own consulting firm
• I have worked with numerous European companies
• BusinessObjects (France)
• Nuxeo (France)
• Scoro (Estonia)
• Recorded Future (Sweden)
• And many Balderton portfolio companies

3. What are the Top Challenges?
1. Figuring out when to start
2. Hiring the right people
3. Understanding the importance of
sales & marketing (S&M)
4. Adapting structure and process
-- It’s not “just another” subsidiary
5. Avoiding to feel “too European”
See: https://www.balderton.com/build/the-top-5-mistakes-european-technology-startups-make-in-us-expansion/

4. Timing
• Tendency to delay
• Trying to hit thresholds (e.g., $X in ARR)
• Want to move to NYC but better next year
• Wait until we find the right person
• Need critical mass first (e.g., start with N people)
• Wait for more cash
• Rarely looks good on one-year ROI
• Suggest
• Start early, start remote
• If you want to be a global leader, you need to know if you can compete now

5. Hiring
• Europeans tend to misinterpret US resumes
• We embellish in US; need to drill-in to get to reality
• “These people are Gods.”
• No, they’re actually pretty average sales managers
• Costs can be seen as astronomical
• “They’ll make more than the CFO”
• Hiring people who don’t want or understand the job
• Suggest
• Discount resumes
• Behavioral interviewing (“tell me about a time when”)
• Pay up (market salaries)
• Hire from brand-name companies (in early days at least)

6. Understanding S&M
• Thinking “best product” wins
• Forgetting who gets to define “best”
• How their criteria may differ from existing clients
• Reluctance to spend in S&M to “invest” more in R&D
• R&D builds product; S&M builds switching costs (hopefully)
• Tolerating an excessively complicated story
• Americans fear complexity; the French fear simplicity
• Suggest
• Pay up for quality early hires
• The best way to invest in R&D is to invest in S&M (over time)
• Invest early and often in analyst relations

7. Adapting Structure/Process
• Treating the US as “just another country”
• Thinking that moving a founder alone is a enough
• Huge size, regional culture
• Buyers prioritize solutions more than technology
• More competitors/competition
• Market sensing in the US critical – the giraffe model
• Suggest
• Redesign organization as you build (i.e., distributed e-staff best for many)
• Adapt processes for sensing and agility (not “waiting for Paris”)
• Build a US geography strategy (too spread out can be a problem)
• Ensure sales process is sufficiently solution focused

8. Not Being “Too European”
• Being European many not be a weakness, but nor is it a strength
• Recommend neither boasting nor concealing origins
• Primary concerns will be practical
• Support hours
• Quality of technical docs and knowledge base
• Turnaround time on bugfixes and approvals
• Clues can be pretty obvious (e.g., German in the UI or demo data)
• Or all French first-names and accents
• Suggest
• Hire local: limit transplants, avoid hiring local home-country expats
• English only in demos, schemas – anything on the screen
• Build an international management team

9. Conclusion
• Thanks for joining us today
• For more information
• https://twitter.com/kellblog
• www.kellblog.com
• https://www.balderton.com/build/the-top-5-mistakes-european-technology-
startups-make-in-us-expansion/