6 Best practices for startups to expand internationally

If your startup is enjoying success here in the UK, you might be starting to think about expansion.

You may even be considering expanding overseas, to a new country where there’s a demand for your products or services. This could mean increased revenue, brand recognition and the chance to corner a market before your competitors get there. But expanding a startup will always be challenging, often because you simply don’t have the resources of a larger, more established company.

In this guide, we’ll run through some best practices for startups looking to expand overseas - which you can follow for the best chance of success.

And while you’re gearing up for global domination, make sure to check out Wise Business. It’s a powerful international account suitable for startups and companies of all sizes, especially if you have big plans to expand internationally.

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Why expand your startup internationally?

There are lots of reasons to consider expanding a UK startup overseas, such as:

• Enhanced reputation - elevating your brand to a global level can do wonders in terms of your reputation, boosting credibility, trustworthiness and customer trust.
• Stimulating innovation - the challenge of adapting products, services and processes to suit the unique demands of new markets can be great for stimulating innovation within your startup. It fosters new ways of thinking and can ultimately make your company more agile and resilient.
• Access to global talent - once you launch in a new country, you’ll have the opportunity to tap into a rich, diverse and much larger talent pool. This could completely change the direction of the business, or help you achieve specific targets and projects you simply weren’t able to back in the UK. Without geographical restrictions, you’ll have a better chance of finding the right candidate - even for very specialist skill sets.
• Diversified revenue channels - entering a new market allows your startup to access untapped customer bases and broaden your sources of income. Expanding to regions like the US can massively open up funding and investment opportunities, with potentially huge capital on offer.

Challenges for startups

Alongside the benefits of international expansion, you can expect to face a number of obstacles along the way.

These include:

• Language barriers and cultural differences - if you’re moving into a country where English isn’t widely spoken, you may need to brush up on your language skills - or set aside some budget for translators. You’ll also need to adjust to cultural differences, from the way business is done in the country to the preferences and needs of the local consumer market.
• Complex regulatory landscapes - each country has its own set of rules and regulations, tax and employment laws, and these may be quite different to what you’re used to. Compliance is going to be difficult, so you may need to work with legal and tax experts to help you understand your obligations and do things properly.
• High upfront costs - it’s expensive to launch a business, no matter where in the world you do it. You may be able to draw on existing resources and networks, but you’ll still need to find the funds for initial expenses like office space, hiring, visas and business registration.
• Multi-currency financial management - a new challenge for startups will be managing finances in multiple currencies, which also means navigating exchange rate fluctuations and finding secure, convenient ways to make international transfers.

How to choose the right time to expand as a startup

One of the most crucial factors in the success or failure of startup expansion is timing. You need to be fully ready for the challenges ahead, with all the right foundations in place to succeed.

This is why before you do anything, it’s absolutely essential to assess your company’s readiness for expansion.

Key questions to ask include:

• Is our product, service or technology globally applicable, and is there demand for it in the overseas markets we’re targeting?
• Is the UK business financially stable enough to support the expansion?
• Can operations be scaled internationally?

There may also be a range of additional factors nudging you towards overseas expansion, so that it feels like the next logical step for your startup.

For example, market saturation in your domestic market, or a rise in demand from international customers. You may have spotted a particularly tempting opportunity in a particular country, where there’s demand for your product/service alongside favourable economic conditions and low competition.

6 best practices for startups to expand overseas

To succeed in your expansion plans without overstretching yourself or compromising your UK business, you’ll need to do lots of preparation.

Below, we’ll run through 6 of the best practices your startup should aim to follow as it takes its first steps in a new overseas market.

1: Carry out extensive market research

The key to success when expanding internationally is market research - as much of it as you can possibly do. Extensive analysis will help you understand your new customer base, demand, local competitors, the socio-political landscape in the country and any legal or regulatory barriers. It can also help you avoid costly mis-steps and missed opportunities.

Work with local experts wherever you can, taking advantage of as much help, advice and support as possible.

2: Speed up and smooth market entry by leveraging local partnerships

Forming and leveraging local alliances and business partnerships will be crucial for a small business breaking into a new foreign market. This will help you tap into local knowledge of the country or region’s market dynamics, help you comply with regulations and understand local customer behaviours and preferences. Ultimately, this should help you enter the market more quickly, and with fewer bumps along the road.

3: Customise your product/service for better product-market fit

One of the biggest mistakes a startup can make when expanding overseas is assuming that every market is the same. A product or service that worked well back home may fall flat in a different country, simply because there’s a clash with the region’s shopping culture, customer demands or ineffective marketing messaging.

Again, this is where market analysis is essential. It can help you make adjustments and customisations to your offer, for a better fit with the local culture.

4: Build a strong local team

A key strength you’ll have as a successful UK startup is a skilled team, and you can certainly use their talents to aid your expansion.

But it’s also a smart move to leverage local talent, who can help you adapt quickly thanks to their in-depth knowledge of the local market. They can also give you real-time feedback on how things are going, what’s working and what isn’t.

Having a local team can also boost trust and credibility with customers, partners and also regulators in the area.

5: Develop a tailored go-to-market strategy and timeline

As with all things in business, you need to have a solid strategy to succeed when expanding overseas with your startup. Every ambitious project needs a roadmap to guide it, and goals to aim for.

So before you take your first steps overseas, you’ll need to draw up a timeline for your expansion. Set short and long-term goals, to help you keep your plans on track and give the team a structure and clear direction to follow. Just make sure your targets pass the ‘SMART’ test - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound.

6: Prioritise compliance from the start

Your startup is proceeding with its expansion plans and everything seems to be going well. You’re starting to reach customers and attract attention, and both sales and revenue are starting to pick up.

But then you’re hit with a major penalty from the local tax authority or industry regulator, due to non-compliance. This could wipe out all of your gains so far, and put the whole expansion project in jeopardy.

This nightmare scenario illustrates the critical importance of prioritising compliance right from the very start. Take the time to understand your obligations, and employ experts who can help you navigate tax regulations, intellectual property laws, import/export restrictions, data privacy rules or anything else you need to know about.

Grow your company and go global with Wise Business

While you put your international expansion plans into action, you’ll also want to make sure you’re set up with the right business account.

Open a Wise Business account and you can hold and exchange 40+ at once. You can send fast, secure payments to 140+, and get account details to get paid in 8+ like a local.

Whenever you need to send, spend or exchange foreign currencies, you’ll benefit from the mid-market exchange rate, with low, transparent fees.

You’ll also benefit from all of these features with Wise Business:

• No ongoing fees, minimum balance requirements or foreign transaction fees
• Debit and expense cards for you and your team, which you can use in 150+
• Multi-user access for team members, with ways to control and manage permissions
• Pay up to 1,000 people at once with the Wise batch payments feature
• Integrate with your favourite cloud accounting solutions
• Use the powerful Wise API for automation and streamlining workflow
• Take advantage of Wise Interest to make your funds work harder when you’re not using them (capital at risk).

With a truly global account, you’ll be all set to grow your business worldwide.

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Sources used: N/A

Sources last checked on date: 01-Aug-2025