7 tips for the entrepreneur who enters the US market
His Work / / December 26, 2019
Catherine Dorozhkina
Venture investor and fund manager partner Starta Ventures and co-founder of Starta Accelerator, accelerator for technology companies from Russia and Eastern Europe to New York.
Withdraw its start-up in the US market - a dream, perhaps, of any entrepreneur. But, to approach it is necessary to think carefully about everything like any great purpose.
During the three years through our New York program covered more than 70 start-ups in Russia and Eastern Europe. Most of them are facing the same problems, many of which can be solved if you follow the few simple tips. Gathered seven of them, which will be useful to any entrepreneur, think about entering the US market.
1. Decide on location
Every founder of a startup process has its own "Silicon Dream": in my experience, almost any Russian businessman to begin expansion in the US market is planned with the Valley. But we must understand that the move is not a panacea, and there is not a direct ticket to a brighter future for your company.
Now Silicon Valley is full of suggestions, and not on each of them there is a demand.
If you want to go to a particular customer or investor, based in San Francisco, then try to move as possible. But in fact, go to the US market easier, for example, from New York: here and the competition is lower and investors enough.
2. Enlist the support of an immigration lawyer
Moving to the United States - is a difficult and resource-intensive: not enough just to buy a one way ticket. Problems can arise at the stage of obtaining visaEven in tourist B-1 and B-2 because of the current political situation, you can not refuse. And get a work O-1 without an invitation, most likely, does not work.
But the visa list of legal problems are not limited to: you have to register a business in a new country and make it so that in the future no problems with investors.
And yet - is banal to rent an apartment that no credit history you will not give up one, to issue a bank card and open an account for a legal person, which is also like that with the threshold do. In general, a lot of subtleties, which without a deep understanding of local laws and practices do not understand.
All these problems are certainly solvable, but to deal with them much easier if you have a reliable assistant, such as a local lawyer. In addition, a good platform to start in a new market can be a local program of acceleration: there only help to solve the problems associated with the movement in the US, but also give money to run the business on a new market. Accelerator provides coaches for each area of the company, which would have to hire their own cost founders of 100-120 thousand dollars a month - is today an experienced professional salary in the US market.
3. Learn sales. Steep product - that's not all
The majority of Russian entrepreneurs have one common problem: they are cool geeks, inventors are good, but do not know how drive sales and grow your business. Americans, on the contrary, are good in this. Therefore, in the American market you either have to learn perseverance and more aggressive sales (and not to retreat after the words "No, I do not need your Maker"), or to look for a team of local experts (but more on the level of salaries in the market, I have already He warned).
4. Stop blaming others for your failures
You long for "sawed" your product and are finally ready to show it to the world! We come into a new market with the confidence that your project will be able to solve all the problems of potential customers - and then suddenly Hear what the product in which you have invested so much effort, it is not so: from the target audience, ending functionality.
It's unpleasant, but most likely the people who tell you this - if they are the experts from the accelerator or your potential customers - right.
In this situation, the temptation to close and say that everything is wrong and do not understand anything. But this is a direct path to failure. Therefore, it is important to be open to feedback, not to take criticism hostility and make maximum use of the possibility to communicate with his client directly.
5. Recognize that this market you do not know anything
So many Founder of Russia, if the home they already achieve something, there is a star fever. And it is quite natural: they were able to bring the idea to a working business with decent turnover and first exit - that is, did the fact that even at the local level is not all succeed entrepreneurs. However, the US market is very different. He Superconcurrent: entrepreneurs come here from India, China, Indonesia and Europe.
There will have to compete not with several compatriots, and literally the whole world.
Therefore, their "stardom" have to discard more on the road to the airport. Prepare to be that you will again, as at the start, will have to "go to the field" re-learn how to sell, and most importantly - to admit that you do not know nothing about the market or about clients. And this ability to get out of your comfort zone and realize in time that absolutely everyone will have to learn from scratch, in my experience, the key to a founder, who can achieve something in the American market.
6. Grow your client base
Before you go to the US market, your company should at least be some evidence that its product is in demand by the market. That is, before the move will have to accumulate at least a minimum customer base, the amount of money coming into the account of the company by customers. In addition, the product that you're doing, initially must be global if you come up with the Kazakh analogue Uber, display it on the US market does not make sense.
7. Learn English and get ready for the stress
In the US, you'll have a lot of talk, and not just maintain small talk, but to be able interested in talking literally everyone he met - because you never know who might become your investor.
The minimum level of proficiency for this - Upper Intermediate, less active networking in the United States, in my experience, is not enough.
In addition, relocation, new working conditions, a lot of competition - all this incredible stress, which fell on you from the very first day. To not throw started midway better to assess their strengths and capabilities. But if you are ready to fight, do not give up, no matter how difficult the situation may seem, learn from your mistakes and be persistent - that is exactly worth a try.
see also
- How to overcome the language barrier, if you moved to New York →
- 6 useful principles of the American businessman who is not ashamed to adopt →
- 8 useful TED lectures for entrepreneurs →