U.S. Expansion and Fundraising: A Comprehensive FAQ

For many high-growth UK/European tech and life sciences companies, U.S. expansion and fundraising are key steps in the journey. The U.S. offers the promise of massive commercial opportunities and plentiful capital, but doing business and raising money in an unfamiliar, highly competitive environment requires thoughtful advance planning and clinical execution.

Based on our discussions with UK/European startups and scaleups over the past decade, below are over two dozen frequently asked U.S. expansion and fundraising questions (with linked answers).

We intend to make this a living resource for the UK/European tech and life sciences communities and will update it as appropriate. If there are key questions you would like to see addressed here, feel free to send me suggestions at daniel.glazer@wsgr.com.

U.S. Expansion

• When should our company consider expanding to the U.S.?
• How do we determine the optimal U.S. expansion strategy?
• What are the unique U.S. expansion considerations for B2B companies?
• What is the simplest way to expand to the U.S.?
• When do we need to create a separate U.S. company?
• Where is the best place to establish U.S. operations?
• How is hiring employees different in the U.S.?
• How do we provide equity to U.S. employees and how does it differ from providing equity to employees in our home market?
• What does it cost to set up and scale a U.S. business?
• What are the primary legal considerations when setting up and scaling a U.S. business?
• What are the primary tax considerations when setting up and scaling a U.S. business?
• What are the other key administrative and logistical considerations?
• What should we consider with respect to U.S. patents and trademarks?
• How do we manage the risk of U.S. litigation?
• To what extent do we need to work with U.S. lawyers and other U.S. professional advisors?
• What are the key considerations when expanding through M&A?
• What U.S. and UK government resources are available to assist companies with U.S. expansion?
• Where can we learn more about U.S. expansion?

U.S. Fundraising

• What are the key differences between U.S. and UK/EU VC investors?
• When should our company look to raise capital from U.S. VC investors?
• Will U.S. VC investors invest in early-stage UK/European-based companies?
• Does a UK/European-based business need a U.S. parent company to raise money from U.S. VC investors?
• How does raising capital from U.S. VC investors differ from raising capital in the UK/Europe?
• How do we meet U.S. VC investors?
• How do we pitch to U.S. VC investors as a non-U.S. team?
• What should we look out for in term sheets from U.S. VC investors?
• How do we structure a financing round with a cross-border investor group?
• What are the primary tax considerations when U.S. investors invest in non-U.S. companies?
• What is the typical cost of a U.S.-led financing transaction?
• Where can we learn more about U.S. fundraising?

Daniel Glazer is the founding partner of Wilson Sonsini’s London office and U.S. Expansion Group. He can be reached at daniel.glazer@wsgr.com and through Linkedin. The linked articles above do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on for business or legal decisions.