The Global Market Ain’t All That Easy

If you listen to any start-up pitches, you hear about the $XX BILLION DOLLAR global market. When we were in an accelerator program, we were advised to “use global numbers to make your market look bigger”.

There is just one problem there.

Nearly all of those start-ups throwing out figures for “the global market” know exactly nothing about doing business outside their own country

Although there may be 1 billion Chinese who want to learn English, the only person in our network who knows any Chinese words is my granddaughter who learned a couple on some kids’ show. Don’t even get me started on the difficulty of conducting business in your second language and NOT everyone speaks English in China or Europe or Japan or … I don’t care what experience you had on that tour you went on with the English-speaking guide and the English-speaking hotel staff. Remember, they were taking your money, not giving you theirs.

Then there is the whole issue of actually doing business. There are a million differences that can trip you up.

How often do you pay payroll taxes?

In the US, it’s quarterly. In Chile, it’s monthly, a fact I learned from my accountant just a few days before I would have gotten fined for not paying them.