Nov 5, 2025

We'd responded to dozens of RFPs but consistently finished second: We learned with each loss and pushed forward. American customers loved our innovation and were more open to working with startups than their European counterparts, yet we couldn't close deals. With half a year before our self-imposed deadline to either succeed or return to France, we had to change tactics. Lesson #1: Sometimes the biggest risk is playing it safe. Most European companies expanding beyond their home markets choose neighboring countries with similar languages, regulations, and business cultures. When Ivalua reached €10 million in revenue in 2011, we chose a different approach, tackling the largest and most competitive market where our competitors were already established. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Why? If we were going to invest in learning new regulations and building new teams anyway, why not go where the biggest prize awaited us? Our timing proved critical over the next five years; market leaders would have been established, and displacing them would've become nearly impossible. Adjacent markets might seem easier, but they often delay competing at the highest level. Lesson #2: Foreign companies must solve trust and credibility gaps. American prospects had genuine enthusiasm for innovation, unlike European buyers, who often preferred established players. This openness, however, created a paradox: U.S. customers were more willing to take risks on startups, but demanded more proof of viability. Two barriers emerged consistently. There was the sustainability question: “You're a small French company, what is your outlook for the next three years?” And the reference problem: It was nearly impossible to find French executives comfortable conducting detailed English conversations. These weren't product or pricing objections, but rather trust and validation hurdles as a foreign startup in a market where relationships and references drive major purchasing decisions. Lesson #3: The breakthrough often comes from reframing the problem. With our runway running short, the situation asked us to rethink the fundamental barriers faced. The first breakthrough directly addressed the viability concern. Instead of arguing over financial stability or growth projections, we offered something no competitor could match: complete source code access held in escrow. If Ivalua ceased U.S. operations, our customers would own the technology and could hire any systems integrator to continue supporting implementation. This transformed the risk equation entirely. Suddenly, working with us carried less long-term risk than with a large vendor. The reference problem required more creativity. After months of failed attempts to coordinate calls between French executives and U.S. prospects, we found a French chief procurement officer with strong English skills and a genuine interest in building rapport with American procurement leaders. We positioned the conversations as benchmarking opportunities where she shared best practices and could learn from her American counterparts. The result: She spent one week visiting some U.S. prospects. I deliberately stayed away from these meetings, giving both parties freedom to discuss our solution honestly. Her authentic enthusiasm, combined with real implementation experience across three successful Ivalua deployments, proved more persuasive than any sales presentation. advertisement We won seven out of eight deals. Lesson #4: Rapid-scale success requires creative workforce solutions bridging expertise and local markets. Going from zero U.S. customers to seven simultaneous enterprise implementations created a new challenge. Each implementation required dedicated consultants, project managers, and technical specialists who understood our platform and American business practices. We needed this expertise immediately, but building it organically would have taken years, which we didn't have. The math was daunting. We convinced French team members to relocate to Silicon Valley on short notice. We proposed assignments that allowed experienced consultants and engineers to live and work in California while delivering these projects, and training new American hires. The response was cheering: 15 people volunteered almost immediately, excited by the opportunity to experience Silicon Valley while advancing their careers. It was intense to manage these major implementations simultaneously while building team capabilities and establishing operational processes. The valuable reward was a proven delivery methodology we could replicate and scale. Each successful project became a reference for the next, creating the momentum that had eluded us. Lesson #5: Strategic position and competitive advantage sometimes require authentic strengths and identity. From day one in Silicon Valley, we decided to present ourselves as a technology company with California presence and global expertise rather than emphasizing our French origins. We updated marketing materials and presentations to focus on our technology and capabilities. This approach proved valuable during our early market entry period, allowing customers to evaluate our solution rather than being hindered by concerns about whether a European company understood their needs. An interesting shift followed. As we established credibility, our heritage became an asset. American companies expanding globally valued our experience managing complex multi-country operations—something domestic-only vendors couldn't offer. A liability transformed into a competitive differentiator. Silicon Valley's global reputation also recast our standing in Europe. French companies that had viewed us as “too local” took a second look once we had California credentials and U.S. references. Takeaway: Unlock worldwide opportunities Success in the U.S. doesn't just validate your solution. It fundamentally changes how the world perceives your capabilities. That credibility shift continues to open doors globally, even as a Gartner-recognized procurement leader for seven consecutive years, after serving hundreds of organizations, including major U.S. public sector clients. Early challenges forced creative problem-solving, which then became methodologies applied worldwide, transforming how we entered subsequent markets. The mountain is real, the climb is difficult, and the risk of failure is substantial. But the view from the summit, and the capabilities you develop getting there, make it the most transformative journey a global company can undertake. Dan Amzallag is co-founder of Ivalua. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Awards is Friday, November 14, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.