Born Global Start-Ups take the lead

Many Born Global start-ups are successful whereas 90 % of start-ups die before their 5th anniversary. Would the Born Global startups have more chance to make their way to success?

What does Born Global mean?

From the early start of their activity, those start-ups operate outside their domestic market, usually marketing their products or services online. But above all, they integrate an international vision into all their decisions and processes.

Recently, the availability of a new set of digital tools and services has tremendously accelerated the trend.

Last surveys show that almost 2/3 of online businesses sell outside their home markets today.  We define online as accepting online payments.

The use of new technologies is key

• Services for payments
• Business information Softwares
• Digital advertising
• Localization and translation services
• Chatbots
• Customer intelligence Software
• Cloud infrastructures

All make it easier for start-ups to conduct cross-border trade.

They use new communication technologies through professional and social networks. Born Global plays in a more favorable ecosystem where companies can build alliances and partnerships. They start in Co-working offices. The growth within incubators, accelerators. They pitch and access to fundraising  on larger scales.

Selling globally early is also the path to faster growth

The companies that expanded internationally during their first year grew their revenue 40 % more than the one that did not, after 3 years.

Business Intelligence and Customer insight management made available through social networks, web analytics, and big data have been instrumental in the success of top-performing startups.

These technologies and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence have become more capable. We can only expect that international sales will grow. As a result, global natives are not only more international than other kinds of companies, but they also manage to extend their global footprints and competitive advantage with more agility.

Technological advances and innovations propel Born Global. They better understand the  consumers and clients’ behavior. Thus, it can provide a more appropriate response to the demand and usages.

 

The Leetchi case

One good business case to illustrate these new Born Global is the Example of Leetchi (misspelling of Litchi. They are the European leader in crowdfunding and money Pot online.

It is a start-up founded in 2009 located in Paris. It provides a fun and easy way for people to collect and manage money online. The website gives the opportunity to gather money by creating and managing a common pot. Everyone can then contribute to the purchase of a present for an event or a special occasion (wedding, birthday, retirement…).Later, with the creation of Mangopay, an electronic payment API, they made it possible to extend online payment. They built a white label solution available to marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, or third-party payments.  In 2013, it was awarded by a French start-up by Wired.

Leetchi currently runs over a billion in payments

It all started with the choice of the company name. It should sound international, easy to use. But also easy to remember by the users in the 150 countries where the platform operates.  Celine Lazhortes the founder and former CEO reported . She looked around at the example of Apple in the US or Orange in France . Then she selected another free fruit to use to name her company.

Leetchi in the early stage of its development, thinks its strategy global, recruiting employees from more than 20 nationalities.

Rather than making development plans originally based on domestic requirements, they designed the website organization. The content management, the URL organization, the technology partnerships provide a global vision from the beginning.

• Being Born global is not only a matter of thinking, it’s global market.  It is also a question about the whole ecosystem and stakeholders.
• What is the vision or mission? 
• Funding and financing. 
• Marketing and communication.
• Technology
• Sales Chanel
• Partnerships

In many cases, start-ups fail in their international strategy by implementing a domestic duplication methodology. This might no be adapted in many circumstances.

 In Israel, the start-up nation, most of the companies are Born Global. This article will explain how they managed to be the best in class.

Would you need support to design and build your international strategy?

Ipanovia would be delighted to help you.  Please contact us here

We support growth companies, start-ups, scale-ups, and their investors / VC towards a successful internationalization.

Our partner network covers local offices in over 20 countries and offers a high level of diversity, competencies, and experience.

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