why international tech companies fail their us market entry

Copyright 2016 - FireMatter, LLC

Why international tech companies fail their US market entry.

Markets, Products and People.


Tech Scouting and Market Expansion

Engineer (PoliMi), MBA (IMD Lausanne)

IBM, P&G, HP + a couple of startups

Lived and worked in 5 countries

In USA since 1998

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About Me


Why do international tech companies fail their US market entry?

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Copyright 2016 - FireMatter, LLC 4

Market

Product

People

“Fail”

Mistakes of…


Mistakes of Market

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Photo: Gilles Tarabiscuité/CC


Unfocused Targeting

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“Large markets must be dissected into narrowly defined niches that then require extreme targeting.”

Viki Forrest, CEO, ANZA Technology Network

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Unfocused Targeting


Misunderstood Market Dynamics

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• What the market values

• Distribution dynamics

• Regulatory shaping of industry structure

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Misunderstood Market Dynamics


Sample of One (Customer)

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A.K.A. Extreme Market Extrapolation :)


“Many companies come to America because one big customer has called them, but they have no plan beyond that one customer.”

Franz Neumeyer, German Automotive Executive

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Sample of One


Mistakes of Product

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Photo: Steven Barringer/CC


Poor Product Localization

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• Poorly localized features

• Poorly localized pricing

• Poorly localized collateral

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Poor Product Localization


Overemphasis on Technology

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• Vs. value for the market

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Overemphasis on Technology

Technology

Ecosystem

Timing

Support


Insufficient Firepower

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$600 billionsGlobal Advertising Spend



$28 billions 5%

$20 billions 3%

$347

$96

$59432%$190 billions

Per PersonShare


Mistakes of People

2020

Photo: j_arlecchino/CC


Bad Hires

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• The expat

• The third-rate salesperson

• The dozen-gigs, rolodex-waving, interim-exec advisor

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Bad Hires


Slow Reorganization

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Slow Reorganization


Cultural Faux Pas

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“You have to network.”

Nima Adelkhani, CEO, PITME

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Cultural Faux Pas


“They do not take the time to learn how to do business here, in terms of business culture and practices.”

Matteo Daste, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs

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Cultural Faux Pas


“Many international entrepreneurs […] over estimate the value of the transactional aspect of business and under estimate how much of the business in SV is relationship based.”

Fadi Bishara, CEO, Blackbox VC

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Cultural Faux Pas


+1 650 295 0915 [email protected] @matteofabiano

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Thank you!

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why international tech companies fail their us market entry

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