New Markets? No Problem! Samuel McGuirk Of Ontruck On Scaling New Markets

When navigating scalability, for startups there is never a “one size fits all” solution, especially as you prepare your startup to enter into new markets. Entering your business into unchartered territories will often call for adaptability and flexibility to meet the needs of the local market. Having led global operations at Just Eat managing teams across Italy, France, Ireland, Canada, and Spain and now overseeing UK operations at Ontruck as they continue expansion across Europe, Samuel McGuirk shares his best practices for scaling your startup to new frontiers, and some common pitfalls to avoid.

#1 Go Global But Think Local

As you begin to scale globally, it will be critical to give careful consideration to your strategy per market you enter. Each market will have unique needs to be addressed and as such, you will need to ask yourself various questions. What is the local purchasing power? Should we price locally or regionally? Will we sell B2C or B2B?

Having a strong cultural fit and developing bespoke, localized solutions will be key to your per market success. Take time to look at businesses and fellow startups who have done this successfully, and most importantly, take stock of the lessons learned from those who have faced roadblocks in the past. Enlisting the support of country ambassadors who have expert insights to each market will also have a major impact as this creates a dynamic model where the scalable product becomes the platform and the local talent ensures it fits the market and drives customer satisfaction, which can be subjective.

During my time at Just Eat, I was responsible for globalizing the operational function in the centralized operational leadership team. The key part for me was to have the ability to get boots on the ground in each market, as a business based on food and dining it was critical to understand the nuances per market. What languages should the menus be in? What are the cultural norms and attitudes around food? Even within each country, food per region is a major source of pride, and elements such as these must not be overlooked.

#2 Coordination 2.0

In rolling out a global strategy, it is essential to give consideration as to how you will manage teams across global locations and timezones. This will call for major management with a new focus on internal communications. On one side, technology tools can have a great impact in guaranteeing this – Slack, Google Suite and Asana are all excellent yet simple means for maintaining synchronized and coordinated collaboration. Regular video conferencing contact is also crucial and should be scheduled to help teams from becoming fragmented or divided overseas.

Another aspect beyond tools to consider is company culture. As you set up offices and commence recruitment in new markets you will want to maintain and sustain your pace of growth and to do so, ensuring that the teams you hire reflect the value fit your company strives for will be a fundamental part of this. People are the most important cog in your startup machine and hiring right makes sure you scale right. A balance of technical skills, self-discipline as well as hunger and ambition to be part of something new and growing should all be priorities for recruiters.

At Ontruck, we put a major emphasis on having regular events for our employees and partners throughout the year. These can be Summer barbecues, off-site workshops and other social activities that not only help us engage with our teams and people and instill confidence, but likewise offer periods of reflection for us to understand exactly what we can do to make one another’s work easier and more efficient. This is critical during moments of scaling where major change is ongoing.

#3 Multiple Markets, One Unified Message

As you set out on branding across your markets, you will need to ensure messaging and positioning remains consistent. Enlisting a team or individual with the role of Brand Guardian can be an effective way of safeguarding this, ensuring that no matter what market you’re in globally, you are delivering a unified message that is communicated clearly to both your user base as well as employees. If you have a number of remote teams or multiple offices in different regions – you must take measures to make sure they each know they’re part of one passionate global team with a clear and unified mission.

Scaling doesn’t take place in a linear format, there are ups and downs and some major zig-zagging, a unified message and vision are essential in keeping your goals and objectives aligned. Just as business offerings need to be sensitive to new markets and environments, so too does branding. At the end of the day, your message and image communicates your value and trust to people, and in new markets you want to be sure this remains consistent wherever you are in the World!

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