How to do business in AmericaLessons learned

Xavier Wartelle14 Mai 2012

About the Presenter• 27 years dealing with the US• 17 years living in Silicon Valley• French American Citizen• Background:– CEO Subsidiary Thomson-CSF– Started 5 start-ups in high tech– VP Sales, Marketing, CEO, COO…– 15 acquisitions or funding events

Xavier Wartelle

Agenda

• Size matters• Marketing• Sales• Pricing• Quality• Management• Strategy• Funding

Size matters

France USA Market

Population 60 m 300 m X 5

Company over 500 employees

1,824 17,509 X 10

Number of employees

2,7 m 58 m X 20

Number of establishments

1,1 m X 50?

Capacity of investment

X 100 ?

Why Marketing is important

Size of country makes face-to-face meetings difficult

Be clear by emails, web site, confcall

People don’t have time Stick to the essentials

Lots of competition means better customer service Explain your value prop.

Nobody wants to deal with foreign startups Reassure them

Crossing the chasm

How to pass it:– Vertical focus (attention niche size)– Build trust with key customers– Reassure them with top- notch support– Start by selling non-mission critical components

Geoffrey Moore Technology Adoption Cycle

Sales• Typical Sales person– $200K+– Needs strong support from Marketing and SE– Not a business developer– East/West Coast– 50% of sales recruitment are failure– Watch out for pipe dream

Cost $ Impact on Business

Model

Sales

• No Product Dump!• Start with an agenda• Establish a dialogue• Find the needs, never let go of

the needs• Ask questions• Time check• Be ready for objections

Pricing

• Bring value = show me the

• Typically price = 15% of the value• Top line or bottom line?• Can you make money selling directly a $20K

product?

Quality

Emails, web site, brochure

Product quality

Customer services and tech support

Management

• Scaling the company means scaling the management and its board

• Stock options is a key issue• Could mean stepping down• Remote management is difficult. You need trust.

StrategyComing to the US is not just opening a new sales office• High potential• High cost• High risk• Stronger competition• Redefine value prop• Redefine go-to-market• Impact on product management

Revisit Global Strategy

Funding

• Silicon Valley VCs – invest $25m in a company– to build a $100m revenue company– that will exit at $250m

• Minimum Market $1B• Bring a differentiated solution to a repetitive and

important problem• Founder background• Management background• Barrier to entry and IP