In this episode we are excited to welcome Jerry Luk. Jerry is the co-founder and president of Firework, which empowers businesses to better engage with customers through video. Prior, Jerry was one of the Head of Mobile Business Strategy at Edmodo, Co-Founder and CTO of Presdo and was an early LinkedIn employee and creator of LinkedIn Mobile.    

In our conversation, Jerry offers insights into LinkedIn's global success, looking back on the growth of mobile technology, explains why in business today the opportunity is outside of the US, why it's best to think of the progression of an expansion on a spectrum for testing new products and expanding instead of making leaps between vastly different markets and the importance of building a diverse team but while fostering common beliefs and universal core values.    

Get your copy of our WSJ/National Bestselling book, Global Class, a playbook on how to build a successful global business, along with free pre-order bonuses at https://www.globalclassbook.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast

In this episode we are excited to welcome Marvin Liao. Marvin is a partner at Diaspora Ventures and GAMEGROOVE Capital and previously was a partner at 500 Startups, where in total he has invested in over 400 companies. Prior, Marvin played a major role in the international expansion efforts (in APAC and EMEA) at Yahoo!    

In our conversation, Marvin shares why it's crucial to build an internal network and trust to be successful in new markets, the pitfalls of too much localization and autonomy, the importance of 2 way innovation, why bad economic times are great opportunities to expand in international markets and viewpoints on how investing in fast growing companies is getting more global.    

Get your copy of our Wall Street Journal Bestselling Book, Global Class, a playbook on how to build a successful global business.

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast

In this episode we are excited to welcome Joanna Harries, Senior Vice President of Global Expansion at Endeavor, the world's leading organization working with high impact entrepreneurs. Prior, Joanna held other growth executive roles at the organization and was a brand manager at Unilever.   

In our conversation, Joanna offers great insights about taking a decentralized approach to localizing for new markets, but having the playbooks and structures, how to foster an owner's mentality and create a community of trust, how to develop local-to-local knowledge sharing (not always requiring HQ) and building a global mindset within your family.  

Get your copy of our #2 Wall Street Journal Bestselling book, Global Class, a playbook on how to build a successful global business at https://www.amazon.com/Global-Class-Fastest-Growing-Companies-Globally/dp/1637742185   

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com    

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast

In this episode we are excited to welcome Nick Halla, former Senior Vice President of International for Impossible Foods, a company transforming the global food system through animal free meat and dairy foods. As one of the company’s early employees Nick served in a number of other roles including as Chief Strategy Officer. Prior, Nick worked at Cogenra Solar and as an R&D Engineer for General Mills.

In this episode we are excited to welcome Frédéric Mazzella, Founder, Chairman and Former CEO of BlaBlaCar, the world's largest carpooling platform. Frédéric is also an active investor, startup board member and Co-President Entrepreneur of France Digitale.

In our conversation, Frédéric speaks to us about how to think big but act small at the beginning of global expansion initiatives, how to create a business name with global appeal, building a community of trust within an organization, successful strategies like how to "build for 2 markets," and how to hire a talented, internationally-minded local team who connect with your company culture and how to listen to them and leverage their local market expertise.

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at  https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at  https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here:  https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book

In this episode we are excited to welcome Bianca Martinelli, Partner at Brazilian venture capital firm Alexia Ventures, Co-Founder of International Mastermind, a global network of professionals focused on international expansion. Previously, Bianca was the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at global entrepreneurial community Endeavor and Vice President of International Expansion for digital marketing and CRM platform company RD Station.

In our conversation, Bianca talks about the importance of having strong company values that can be universalized to have global appeal, how HQ can be an enabler of global growth and trust building instead of a command-and-control mechanism, how it is crucial to create internal systems for unifying knowledge and facilitating strong communication, why iterating and embracing failure are key in succeeding with global expansion and how to architect your company to go global when you are ready, among other topics.

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets @ https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here: https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book

In this episode, we are excited to welcome Alessio Alionco, Founder and CEO of Pipefy, a work management platform that allows companies to streamline and automate business processes. Prior, Alessio was the Founder & CEO of Acessozero, a local commerce marketplace, and CEO of JR Consultoria.

In our conversation, Alessio talks about: the importance of thinking global from the beginning instead of just on the initial market, the importance of prioritizing people first and building a diverse team with unique perspectives, the role of agile when localizing a business, and much more. 

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here: https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book

In this episode, we are excited to welcome Heini Zachariassen, Founder and Former CEO of Vivino, the world's largest wine app. Prior, Heini was the CEO of BullGuard, and a board member of NORRIQ and Faroese Telecom. He is also the founder and host of Raw Startup.

Heini is now building Vota, the Michelin Guide for the people—community-driven restaurant ratings without ads or sponsorships: http://www.vota.org

In our conversation, Heini talks about a number of topics including the importance of hiring a strong team and how the roles and expertise of the team need to change as an organization grows in new markets, building a decentralized organization, the tradeoffs of localization in markets and when to make changes to your business model and when not to, the future of global business, as well as the benefits of coming from a small country.

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here: https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book

In this episode, we are excited to welcome Claudia Makadristo, Head of Africa Expansion for MetaMap, a fast-growing digital trust and reputation infrastructure layer that enables other service providers. Prior, Claudia was Head of Partnerships and Regional Manager for Seedstars.

In our conversation, Claudia talks about the importance of building relationships in emerging markets to understand local dynamics - especially with government regulators, introducing your company the right way, why you don't want to underestimate local competitors who fully understand the local market well, the importance of having a solid local team to navigate local nuances in a market and why it's crucial to understand the sensitivities and differences within a market, leading with empathy so you can effectively interpret your product or service for the new market.

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here: https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book

In this episode we are excited to welcome Marcello Schermer, Head of International Expansion at Yoco, a South Africa-based fintech startup helping SMEs accept payments and get data-driven insights. Prior, Marcello was Managing Director of Seedstars and strategy consultant at Detecon Inc. 

In our conversation, Marcello talks about the importance of immersing yourself in a new market to understand how trust is built, why it's crucial to build a cross-cultural team from early on within the whole company and not just within the expansion team, as well as the growing opportunities across the continent of Africa with it's fast growing population and how Africa should be thought of as a source of innovation and not just an opportunity for market entry.  

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com    

Find our entire podcast episode library at https://www.globalclassbook.com/podcast and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth at https://www.globalclassbook.com/

Interested in learning more about our book Global Class? Be the first to get a copy (coming out August 23, 2022), and get a ton of valuable free bonuses for pre-ordering. Learn more here: https://www.globalclassbook.com/pre-order-book