Congratulations on successfully launching your startup the past months and years. Whether your Company is from Europe, Israeli or other great countries, the time comes where you must begin to build a sales and marketing presence in the United States. Maybe you have new investors who require the expansion, maybe you see an opportunity you cannot wait any further.
It can be daunting, many first time entrepreneurs who have done a great job getting their Company off the ground, initial Product - Market fit, hires a few initial sellers, to a multi-million SaaS business. Now you need to expanding to the largest market in the World with a physical presence, yet do not know where talent resides, how do perform a build out, or the sequencing of key roles. Time for feet on the street.
Couple that with building the right profile for these initial US based executives. Some decision areas to consider.
1) Start with an organizational design in mind - today and 18 months from now
2) Identify key roles, prioritization and why?
3) Do you know how you will measure these incoming executives, seems obvious right? Far too often, hiring occurs, and then people try to "figure it out".
4) Cultural fit. The 1st time I worked with an internationally founded Company, I had a steep learning curve on communication methods, language (what do they mean?) and what motivates different cultures.
This is just the start, hiring your first executives in the US will determine how much pace you can move, and the subsequent team underneath! To find your executive hires, retain an Operator Led Search firm who has lived and excelled in this experience.
