When companies expand into Europe, many start in the UK or Ireland, and as they gain experience they move into big GDP countries like France and Germany that are more challenging in terms of language, localization, etc. While this approach is understandable, there are many important markets that are left until later or treated as afterthoughts. When taken together, the Nordics plus Benelux make 16% of Europe’s GDP - which is larger than France, and larger than the UK in terms of contribution. At the same time, most of these nations are extremely English-savvy, and require less localization than Germany or France. That doesn’t mean you can take a generic approach, there is a learning curve and some important differences to be aware of, and in this episode I’m really excited to have Paulo Rodriguez as my guest to talk through his experience taking Software into Benelux and the Nordics. Paulo has done this at 3 very well known companies, starting at Google, then Dropbox, and now for Vanta. Please enjoy and share!

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Here's what we cover:

Diversity within Europe and the education needed before starting the expansion process.
The expansion approaches most foreign tech companies taking when they enter Europe, and the most common mistakes
Observations and learnings Paul has made during his experiences taking new technology across Europe. Mistakes and corrections Paulo has made.
Internationalization vs localization and how much of each is needed to tackle the Nordics and Benelux
Some of the most important differences between selling Software in the Nordics/Benelux versus other parts of Europe
Cultural differences that impact buying and selling behavior
The best locations in Europe for getting candid feedback on your product
Striking the right balance between being data-driven and using your own observations about market behavior
Where the Nordics/Benelux should rank in terms of a continental strategy for Europe, assuming the technology applies everywhere
Operationally how to go in - where to put the first employees, where to expand later on.
Anecdotes on selling in the Nordics and differences in body language from buyers.