Built to Scale: How Europe's Best Scale-Ups Are Winning Globally — with Robbie O'Connor

Robbie O'Connor has spent 17 years scaling some of the most beloved SaaS products in the world — Google, Dropbox, Asana, and most recently Notion, where he led EMEA expansion. Now advising founders and investors across Europe, Robbie brings rare operator wisdom to the questions every scale-up founder is wrestling with. In this episode, Renee and Robbie dig into what it really takes to go from a great product to a global company — and why Europe's moment may finally be here. What we cover: How Notion built a global community before it built a global team — and the fine art of nurturing without over-engineering Product-led growth vs. sales-led go-to-market: when each model works, and the costly mistake of mixing them up Why your first hires cast a shadow that lasts for years The role of advisory boards in helping founders make better decisions — and how to structure one that actually delivers value Europe's historic tendency to "wait for permission" before going global — and why that's finally changing Why global scale isn't something you earn later — it's something you design from day one Key quote: "Global scale is not something you can earn later. It's something you design from day one." About Robbie O'Connor: Robbie O'Connor is a former operator turned advisor and board member, with deep experience scaling Dropbox, Asana, and Notion across EMEA. He is based in Dublin and currently works with European scale-ups and investors navigating international expansion.