Expanding to America: Why Great Products Still Fail | Matthew Sawyer

Send us Fan MailA business can have a successful product, decades of experience and significant investment and still fail when it enters the United States.Why?Because international expansion is not simply a matter of taking what already works and selling more of it in a larger country.In this episode, Peter Boolkah speaks with Matthew Lee Sawyer, author of Make It in America, managing director of USAccelerator and an adjunct professor at NYU and Columbia University.Matthew explains why international companies frequently underestimate the size, diversity and complexity of the American market. He shares the story of a long-established German window company that invested heavily in a US factory but failed to adapt its product, assumptions and operation to American customers.They discuss how founders should choose their first products and locations, understand cultural differences, employ trusted local advisers, secure sufficient capital and adopt a three-to-five-year perspective.You’ll discover:Why a superior product does not guarantee international successHow to select the right products, regions and customer groupsWhy the United States should not be treated as one homogeneous marketThe importance of creating both a market map and a culture mapHow cultural assumptions can undermine a major investmentWhy local customer service may be essentialThe research that should happen before entering a new countryWhy legal, financing and operational costs must not be underestimatedThe importance of trusted local advisersWhy businesses need a three-to-five-year expansion horizonHow American customers can buy quickly but also leave quicklyWhy trusted information matters in an increasingly noisy marketFor established founders, the wider lesson is that international expansion must become an organisational capability not another operation that depends upon the founder personally solving every local problem.ARCHIVE NOTEThis conversation was recorded in 2024. Economic conditions, state and federal regulations, immigration rules, tax requirements and market-entry costs change over time. Obtain current advice from appropriately qualified legal, tax and immigration professionals before making expansion decisions.CONNECT WITH MATTHEW LEE SAWYERWebsite: https://www.matthewleesawyer.com/USAccelerator: https://usaccelerator.biz/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewsawyerBook: https://www.matthewleesawyer.com/bookCONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com