Tips for foreign founders to succeed in the US

#1

Post by qhoang09 » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 7:19 PM UTC

Hi all, http://www.businessinsider.com/french-entrepreneur-on-what-it-took-for-americans-to-take-him-seriously-2017-11

I shared in that article what it took to get Americans to take us, foreign founders, seriously. I'm talking about our 2 min meeting with Michael Seibel that changed the trajectory of our startup, about why Jason Lemkin trusted us in the beginning and how we hired our first American hire. Obviously, I have only one data point, my own experience, so I'd be happy to hear from you about this particular topic.

Cheers!

Re: Tips for foreign founders to succeed in the US

#2

Post by bkohlmann » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 9:52 PM UTC

Make a product consumers want.

There’s certainly a minority of folks who put nationalism first, but at the end of the day, if you find product market fit, no one really cares where you’re from.

Re: Tips for foreign founders to succeed in the US

#3

Post by ecesena » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 10:55 PM UTC

To me the 3 most important things are:

- Get an American marketer. We can't really speak the language, and we really need that to talk about our product.

- Get feedback on the name we chose. There might be subtleties that we don't get.

- Clearly state your achievements, forget diminutives/modesty, don't take anything for granted. As European at least, we tend to use a language that in the US is perceived as diminishing our results.