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🚀 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲? 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐈𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥 I often get asked: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞-𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 international expansion? Here’s a 7-𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 we use at Upvisor Global 🌐 to minimize risk and maximize success. 💥 What could go wrong if you don’t follow a structured approach? ❌ Overspending and 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 too fast ❌ Expanding into the 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 ❌ Realizing too late—you need to 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ❌ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 ❌ Losing investor & employee trust ❌ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ❌ Worst case? 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞. 💡 At Upvisor Global 🌐 we’ve guided 500+ expansion journeys—we know what works (and what doesn’t). That’s why we’re offering 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬 + 1:1 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐂𝐄𝐎𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 looking to expand the right way. 📩 Interested? Let’s talk. International expansion is a 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥—𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞. #globalexpansion #startups #scaling #internationalgrowth

Calling All High-Growth Companies: Register Now for the Top 250 2025!  Want to see your company recognized as one of the Top 250 Fastest-Growing Companies in the Netherlands? Don’t miss your chance to participate in our 2025 research! We’ve made it easy to get started: just head over to https://lnkd.in/dJPyyy9q and complete the form. Here’s what you’ll need to prepare: 👉FTEs and revenue figures for the years 2021-2024 👉 Basic info of your business e.g. founding year, location, industry, etc. 👉 Additional info e.g. SDGs, EUR alumni, No. of females in your founding team/top management Our criteria now consider growth in both FTEs and revenue, providing a more comprehensive view of high-growth success. 💡 Why join? Gain recognition for your company’s achievements, build credibility in your industry, connect to other HGFs in our network, and showcase your growth story. ⏳ Deadline for registrations: April 1st Don’t wait—secure your spot in this year’s Top 250 and let your growth speak for itself! #Top250NL #Top250NL2025 #rotterdammakeithappen

Scaling a company is incredibly hard. Even experienced founders face challenges that aren’t obvious until they become real obstacles. Asked by Thimo about patterns we recognise from working with founders scaling #marketplaces, a few mistakes to avoid came to mind: (1) Premature scaling: Early traction can be misleading. Some founders assume revenue traction equals product-market fit, leading them to double down too soon. The result can growing a non-sustainable business model with negative or razor thin margins by subsidising prices rather than creating real value. (2) Marketplaces liquidity: Marketplaces can stagnate when there is a liquidity mismatch (as in demand vs. supply in e.g. product categories), but by the time it’s noticeable, diagnosing the root-cause can be tricky. Companies with insufficient data infrastructure often struggle to pinpoint the mismatch, leading to slow or misguided interventions. (3) Hiring leadership too late: Scale-up founders often tell me that in hindsight, they held onto too much for too long. They waited until cracks started showing before hiring the second layer of leadership and delegating with full autonomy and ownership, making it harder to transition from a scrappy startup to a scalable organisation. While I don't think these are necessarily avoidable per se, it's good to be aware of common pitfalls like these and learn from experienced founders like Julius and Martin. Find the full episode of a founders podcast following the link in comments.

🚀 Born Global Champion Award 2025: Jetzt bewerben! 🌍🏆 Der Born Global Champion Award rückt Startups ins Rampenlicht, die von Anfang an global denken und handeln. Zum 11. Mal zeichnet die Wirtschaftskammer Österreich junge Unternehmen aus, die mit innovativen Ideen internationale Märkte erobern. 🔹 Was macht einen Born Global Champion aus? ✅ Gründung nach dem 1.1.2020 ✅ Mitglied der WKO ✅ Von Beginn an international ausgerichtet (🌍 global from day one) ✅ Erste Exporterfolge oder internationale Marktdurchdringung ✅ Innovatives Produkt oder Dienstleistung ✅ Skalierbares Geschäftsmodell mit nachhaltigem Fokus 💡 Das gibt’s zu gewinnen: 🎤 Bühnenpräsenz beim Pre-Pitching der ViennaUP 2025 (13. Mai) 🌟 Ausstellungsmöglichkeit am Exporttag der AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA 📣 Medienberichterstattung & internationale Sichtbarkeit 🤝 Zugang zu einem exklusiven Netzwerk aus Innovator:innen & Entscheidungsträger:innen 🏅 Teilnahme am Finale des Exportpreises 2025 🎯 Jetzt bewerben! Die Einreichfrist wurde verlängert: Bis 7. März 2025. 📩 Mehr Infos & Bewerbung 👉https://lnkd.in/dgmWEY5B Wir freuen uns auf inspirierende Bewerbungen und innovative Erfolgsgeschichten! 🚀💡 Renate Schnutt, Kambis Kohansal Vajargah, , Global Incubator Network Austria (GIN) , Werner Müller, Henry Lembacher, My Yen Lau, Christoph Pekarek, Men Jia Qiu #BornGlobalChampion #Innovation #Startups #Export #ViennaUP2025 #GoGlobal

🚨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? Vivino 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 🍷 Global expansion isn’t just about demand—it’s about navigating regulations, cultural nuances, and market-specific roadblocks. Take Vivino, the Danish wine-tech giant. As they scaled, they faced a 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭. 📍 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭: 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧 🇸🇪 Vivino faced legal threats from Systembolaget, Sweden’s state alcohol monopoly, which claimed the platform violated strict retail laws. A potential £235,000 fine loomed over them. 🎯 How Vivino Overcame It Instead of fighting the system, Vivino adapted. They: ✅ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 & 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 ✅ 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 ✅ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 (e.g., working with 50+ wineries & 30 retailers in Australia 🇦🇺) 🚀 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭? Impressive 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. Estimated 65𝐌+ users worldwide - Active in 18+ markets $221𝐌 in funding (est.), including a $155M Series D round Estimated e-commerce revenue of ~$489𝐌 in 2023 🔑 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: Regulations won’t bend for you. If your industry is heavily controlled, partner with local experts, adjust your approach, and work with—not against—the system. 💬 Have you faced regulatory hurdles in global expansion? How did you tackle them? Drop your insights below! 👇 PS: Another piece of advice from Heini Zachariassen, Vivino's founder: "𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑈𝑆𝐴 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡." [that's why he moved there with his family from 2013-2020]

There are 4 Fits to scale your startup to $100M ARR. You also need all 4 to exit favorably + 1 more fit. 𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 / 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘁 Users are consistently using the product and coming back. They keep coming in with only organic marketing and channels. 𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 / 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝘁 You have an effective channel to acquire more users. There's a predictable growth that comes from fueling the channel. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 / 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝘁 You have a business model that generates sustainable margins. You can scale without compromising product quality or profitability. 𝟰. 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 / 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘁 Your total addressable market can be supported by your business model. You can scale sales and revenue even as the market shifts. 𝟱. 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿 / 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗶𝘁 Your product can integrate well within the acquirer's ecosystem. Your market overlaps with the acquirer's customer base. Your culture offers the acquirer's need for speed. Which fit have you achieved? 💬 The amazing visual is by Majd Alaily based on Brian Balfour's 4 Fits Framework. i5growth - international growth / i5invest: Investment Fund, global tech M&A arm, team of 100+, offices in San Francisco, Vienna, Madrid, Berlin, Frankfurt; 200+ exits & strategic partnerships with tech leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Qualcomm, Samsung, Nvidia, Naspers, NBC, … #strategy #startups #growth #technology #i5growth #i5invest

Great insights from an international founder duo (🇦🇹🇨🇴 Astris & Colombia) offering a new way of learning and improving language skills via WhatsApp. Happy to be working together 🙌 Go check it out https://parlai.app/87707

German market entry ante portas?

Join Invest in Bavaria - The Business Promotion Agency of the State of Bavaria and Upvisor Global 🌐 with Gernot Schwendtner for this "How to best expand internationally" workshop

🌟 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 to work with ambitious founders like Tim Stuart! For the past several months, I've had the pleasure of supporting him with leadership and scaling strategies for his Dutch hashtag #SaaS company. Here's what Tim had to say about our journey together so far: "𝖦𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝖽𝗏𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝖨'𝗏𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁. 𝐇𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟—𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. 𝖧𝗂𝗌 𝗏𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾, 𝖽𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗎𝗉 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗅𝖾𝖽𝗀𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗀𝗂𝖼 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝗏𝖺𝗅𝗎𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗈𝗋. 𝖨'𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝖦𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖢𝖤𝖮𝗌 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖼𝖺𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝖻𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗌." 🙏 🙏 🙏 Helping founders and CEOs like Tim navigate growth challenges and develop as leaders is what I love most about my work. Watching his SaaS company Docfield scale and thrive is incredibly rewarding! GO GO GROW :) PS: Thanks for thinking about me Christine Hardick & Saskia Bekkers - Rademaker and putting me in touch #lovewhatyoudo 🌟 #dowhatyoulove 🙏 #Leadership #Mentorship #Scaling #SaaS #Startups #GlobalExpansion Upvisor Global 🌐