We spoke to Matt Oxley, MD of USA expansion experts, USXP about his journey as a serial entrepreneur and the lessons he had learnt along the way about setting up and growing a business in the US.
Matt’s eclectic experience gives him a fantastic insight into what it takes to succeed as a founder – on both sides of the Atlantic.
Matt’s story
Matt spent the last decade in Silicon Valley launching, funding and scaling the B2B SaaS business, Opal, which he co-founded. But before that he cut his teeth founding a wide range of businesses in the UK, including running a record label, producing a music magazine and setting up a dating website! At the age of 26 he did his first IPO and after that founded and ran a couple of agencies before successfully exiting.
While working in the US with his agency he met his two Opal co-founders, and they secured seed money (in both the US and the UK) enabling them to experiment with their product until they hit on something which stuck. Their growth was fast and furious, from Series A to round B funding and beyond.
But the best lessons come not from the easy wins and the triumphs, but from the struggles and the missteps.
Matt believes that one of the big cultural differences between the US and UK is that the US seems to embrace failure. As an entrepreneur your job is to try new things – that’s how you learn. But not everything will work and you’ll fail, that’s all part of the journey towards getting better. If you’re reluctant to fail, you might not try those new things which could turn out to be your next great business.
So, here are some of Matt’s top tips for founders wanting to expand into the US.
1. Don’t overthink it
Just get on a plane! If you spend too much time thinking about it and planning your US journey it’s likely to be wasted effort – any plan you come up with won’t survive first contact with reality.
2. Experience by doing.
Get out in the field and work on founder-led sales, assess if you can replicate your business in the US market (which is likely to be more different than you think it will be).
3. Learn American.
We may speak the same language, watch the same films and listen to the same music but don’t be fooled – the USA is a VERY different place culturally. Respect the environment and be aware that people will think and act differently to you. Be open to understanding what makes people here tick – it will feel alien to your own experience, and you’ll may find some things surprising, politics, religion, sport and even conversations about the weather! But if you want to successfully market your product/service you need to understand the cultural differences.
4. Flexibility is key.
Be ready to be adaptable and prepared for the compromises that will be necessary, events will intervene in ways you can’t even imagine yet!
5. Be prepared to be lonely.
When you move to the US your old social life will be gone, you’ll have to start over and that’s not always easy to do as an incomer. If you are in the US on an entrepreneurs’ visa your partner probably won’t be able to work – think about how will this affect them? If your partner isn’t happy then you won’t be – a conflicted personal life isn’t conducive to what you are here to do, so be realistic.
6. Learn everything you can from the challenges that come your way
You may feel like you are living an MBA module, but these practical experiences will be invaluable for your future.
Matt is now working with us at LegalEdge as a US-focused Founder in Residence, supporting any business looking to expand into the States. You can book a 121 call with Matt here to discuss your next steps to US expansion.
