Ventech & Hervé Brunet’s Guide to ‘Launching in the US’: To Do(nt)s — Part 2
Dreaming about launching in the US market, but worried about getting lost in the crowd? Hitting a wall in your startup’s ‘Americanization’ efforts, and not sure why? Ventech alumni Hervé Brunet has some (more) pointers.
In the previous post of this series, we discussed (1) the implications of differences in organizational structures and (2) the importance of reallocating responsibilities on your success in launching / scaling in the US.
While evolving and adapting your team is integral in a successful Europe to US startup journey, your success as an entrepreneur in the US is equally tied your product — and of course, the perfectly curated story to sell it to US customers.
Bringing us to part two of our discussion: Hervé’s tips for evolving and adapting to the wants and needs of the US market — and figuring out how to identify them in the first place.
As Hervé explains, it’s hard to know a market without knowing the market.
Despite the strength of and opportunities in the United States, the existence of some amount of American ethnocentrism (“the view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled with reference to it…” ) is a potential challenge for non-American entrepreneurs launching businesses in the US.
Clearly adaptability is key here, but without knowing the market, it’s challenging to how exactly to adapt.
Hervé’s advice? Think local.
Step 1: Rethink product fit and positioning
Long before you launch (9 month, in the case of Hervé / stickyADS.tv), assess and map your product fit for the US.
When doing so, look externally as much as internally — find a sounding board / third-party (per Hervé, a consultant) who
(1) Understands the local market ,
(2) understands your product market, and
(3) is not emotionally / financially invested to your business.
Once you’ve identified this local, on-the-ground consultant, dig in and re-think your positioning / strategy: no matter how good it is, or how well it has worked in your home market, your product needs to be tailored to the US market.
Expect to build from scratch to re-create your pitch and your intro, and keep in mind that business drivers in the US are not necessarily those you are used to. In effect, the average US customer / partner is more focused on the ‘what’ and the ‘so what’ of your product than the ‘how’. The focus here is on how the end user can benefit — adjust accordingly.
On top of this potential shift in ideological positioning, the average meeting in New York runs 30 minutes — of which a maximum of five or ten minutes are truly allocated to you and selling your product….
The bottom line — rework your messaging so that it is:
- Crisp
- USP-oriented, not product-oriented (Hervé assures that clarity around your USP is more crucial in the US than any other market, given aforementioned cultural differences / market expectations)
- Easy to understand
- Tangible
- Results-driven
After your messaging is appropriate for your new market, it’s time to think about the strength of your brand, which leads us to…
Step 2: Identify and strategically seek a local player to open doors
Find a high-profile, local partner (albeit in the form of an individual relationship with local executive / VC, or a business partnership in the form of a strategic partnership with a US industry leader) to open doors for you.
In the early stages of your US operations, your brand notoriety will likely not be your selling point. As such, ‘borrowing brand’ from a widely-known, well-respected local player can help you open the doors necessary to operate your business at scale. (FYI: In Hervé’s case, he spent nearly a year focused on building his partnership with Comcast / Freewheel.)
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Thank you to Hervé for the time and the tips, and as always, let us know if you have any thoughts / ideas / questions !
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