This session will explore the approaches and measures that founders and leadership teams can take to successfully scale their business and expand into new markets. It will be led by Harry Briggs, a founder turned VC with experience both in building his own business with customers in over 35 countries and supporting his portfolio founders in executing their international expansion plans. Harry is an investor in some of the most successful tech startups of recent years including Revolut, The Hut Group, Paddle, GoCardless, Lick, HelloSelf and PrimaryBid.

1. HARRY BRIGGS
Managing Partner
OMERS Ventures
@H4ryB
The Key to Successful
Scaling Across Markets

2. A bit about me ...

3. Some founders I’ve been lucky enough to
work with...

4. My Firefly Journey…
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Idea
Launched
France
Denmark
Japan
+15 countries
#GFC
HB moves
to VC
Sold to PE
USA

5. Lessons learned
Some stuff we did that was … doh…

6. The first rule of international
expansion:
Don’t Do It.

7. Why?
This is why.

8. Why?
Are you expanding to escape your problems?
Or do you actually have something worth scaling?

9. Uber expansion

10. Uber expansion

11. Uber expansion

12. What questions should I
be asking before
expanding?

13. What questions should I be asking before
expanding?
1. Have we got it right?

14. 1. Have we got it right?
2. Have we got it repeatable?
What questions should I be asking before
expanding?

15. 1. Have we got it right?
2. Have we got it repeatable?
3. Do we understand what is different?
What questions should I be asking before
expanding?

16. 1. Have we got it right?
2. Have we got it repeatable?
3. Do we understand what is different?
4. Do we have the team?
What questions should I be asking before
expanding?

17. 1. Have we got it right?
2. Have we got it repeatable?
3. Do we understand what is different?
4. Do we have the team?
5. Is it worth it?
What questions should I be asking before
expanding?

18. 1. Do customers love our product?
2. Are they staying?
3. Do we have a scalable acquisition model?
4. Do we feel good about unit economics?
Questions Measure
Have we got it right in our first market?

19. 1. Do customers love our product?
2. Are they staying?
3. Do we have a scalable acquisition model?
4. Do we feel good about unit economics?
Questions Measure
Organic acquisition %/Referral Rate CAC/LTV
Retention/Improvement of cohorts as
marketplace scales
NPS
Gross Margin %/Contribution Margin, EBIT
Have we got it right in our first market?

20. My learnings

21. More examples …

22. Is our success repeatable?

23. Is our success repeatable?
1. Do we know what levers to pull?
2. Do we know how to be more efficient now
than we were back then?
3. Do we have a scalable acquisition model?
Questions Measure

24. Is our success repeatable?
1. Do we know what levers to pull?
2. Do we know how to be more efficient now
than we were back then?
3. Do we have a scalable acquisition model?
Questions Measure
Playbook/Cost implications/Team
What does ‘great’ performance look
like?
Organic acquisition %/Referral
Rate/CAC/LTV

25. My learnings

26. More examples …

27. Do we understand what is different?

28. Do we understand what is different?

29. Do we understand what is different?

30. 1. What are our non-negotiables
2. Where do we have to adapt?
Questions
Do we understand what is different?

31. My learnings
1. Languages & labels
2. Banned ingredients
3. Slower product development
4. Took focus away from scalable repeatable model

32. More examples …

33. Do we have the right team?

34. Do we have the right team?
1. Do we have the talent required centrally to support this expansion?
2. What do we need to hire locally?
3. Are we structured in the right way for this?

35. Do we have the right team?

36. Is it worth it?

37. Is it worth it?
1. What’s the upside of the expansion?
2. Can we reach a large TAM within our home market? Or does it require
us to expand?
3. Do we have the cash?

38. You don’t have to …

39. But if you can …

40. Go Deeper in your home market? – build vertically vs. horizontally
What are some alternatives?

41. • What is your model for expansion?
Expansion models

42. • What is your model for expansion?
• The role of technology
Expansion models

43. • What is your model for expansion?
• The role of technology
• Centralised vs. not
• Partners?
Expansion models

44. • What is your model for expansion?
• The role of technology
• Centralised vs. not
• Partners
• Capital intensive or not
• Who can help
Expansion models

45. • Where do you have a structural advantage?
• What’s the regulatory climate?
• When do you take on the most competitive market?
Which country first?

46. Lessons from Uber

47. Lessons from Uber
• Develop an expansion playbook and framework
• Understand what’s different
• Build culture carriers
• Keep The Hiring Bar High

48. Some additional
thoughts

49. • The second country is always the hardest
• Write the Playbook
• You’re unlikely to find product market fit in country 2 if you haven’t found
it in country 1
• Sustainable Scale Models – slower but more effective?
• The Team, The Team, The Team
Some additional thoughts

50. Questions?
Harry Briggs @H4ryB

51. Thanks!

52. Join us for the The Diversity,
Inclusion & Equality Brunch
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Speakers We Love: Stage B
P2: Banquet Hall