The US is the obvious next market. It’s also the most expensive to get wrong.
At some point, growth in the UK will slow or you’ll see demand from other countries. International expansion is exciting, but it’s also where startups burn through cash fastest when they don’t plan properly.
The most common mistake is trying to enter multiple countries at once. Pick one. Prove the economics work there. Then expand. Spreading thin across three or four markets simultaneously is how well-funded startups go broke.
Almost every UK founder thinks about the US first. The market is huge, but so are the costs. You need local sales presence (don’t try to sell US enterprise from London). You need to understand US buying cycles, procurement, and expectations. And you need legal and tax advice before you commit. A US subsidiary is expensive to set up and run.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) offers free market entry support for UK companies, including trade missions, market intelligence, and introductions. London & Partners runs international expansion programmes. Both are underused by startups.
Your first hire in a new market should be someone who knows that market. Not someone from your London team who’s willing to relocate. Local knowledge of buyer behaviour, pricing expectations, and business culture is worth more than product knowledge, which you can teach.
Can you close deals in the target market using your existing team and tools? If yes, that’s a signal to invest. If you can’t close anything remotely, hiring locally won’t magically fix it.
What good looks like: A founder who tested US demand by closing three deals remotely, used DBT’s free support to understand the market, then hired a US-based sales lead once the unit economics were proven. Methodical, not impulsive.
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