Successful European market entries completed since 2011 — across industrial, specialty chemicals, logistics technology, and business services sectors. Average first-year revenue: €24M.
We have taken over two failed market entry attempts before completing successful ones for the same client. In both cases, the failure was not bad luck — it was a specific, identifiable design error that could have been caught in the planning phase. We look for these errors before they become expensive.
Using the channel that worked in the home market without validating whether the target market's purchasing behaviour supports it. Different markets buy the same product differently.
Attempting to sell before the regulatory approvals are in place — or in the wrong order. In industrial and chemical markets, regulatory sequencing can make or break a timeline by 12–18 months.
Entering with the price architecture from the home market without understanding the competitive positioning, willingness to pay, or cost structure of the target market.
Planning for the steady state without adequately resourcing the 12–18 month transition period when revenue is building but the cost base is already fully committed.
We stay involved through first revenue — not just through the go-to-market plan. The plan is the easy part.
Building a credible view of the addressable market, the competitive landscape, and the positioning that gives your offer a genuine reason to win — not a generic value proposition copied from the home market.
Selecting the right channel for the market and identifying the specific distributors, resellers, or strategic partners that have the access and credibility to open doors that a cold entry cannot.
Mapping every regulatory requirement in sequence — what needs to happen before what, how long each approval takes, and what can be done in parallel. We have done this in 14 countries. The sequencing is where most entries lose 12 months unnecessarily.
Running the commercial launch — the first customer conversations, the pricing validation, the pipeline build, and the operational setup — with our principals embedded until the first revenue is in and the team can sustain it without us.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary
Sweden, Denmark, Finland
Southern Europe engagements in progress
After two unsuccessful independent attempts to enter the Polish industrial chemicals market, we redesigned the go-to-market from channel selection to pricing architecture to regulatory sequencing. The client had written off Poland as inaccessible. It became their fastest-growing market within two years of launch.
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