The 6 Things I Learned Building a Successful Global Startup

As the COO of Outfund, I've helped to scale our fintech lending business into a major eCommerce investor in the UK, Spain, and Australia. We're also among the top providers of fast, flexible, revenue-based financing to an increasingly diverse range of businesses. Drawing on these experiences, I've crafted this guide specifically for fintech founders aiming to scale their businesses. The focus isn't just rapid growth; it's sustainable growth with a key emphasis on cash positivity.

In today's climate, investors and venture capitalists are pivoting towards business models that demonstrate not just growth, but balanced and sustainable growth. They're scrutinising the relationship between expenses and revenue, demanding a business approach that's as thoughtful as it is ambitious. Here’s how fintech leaders can help match those expectations while scaling internationally.

Balancing standardisation with localisation

When expanding internationally, fintech startups, Outfund included, face a critical challenge: deciding what can be standardised globally and what requires local tailoring. Resolving this issue calls for a keen understanding of local and international laws and consumer preferences. For instance, a universal payment system may seem ideal, but it could neglect the nuanced demands of various markets.

Invest in thorough market research for each new territory, tailoring your services based on what you discover.

Swift decision-making and staying agile

Quick and effective decision-making is a fundamental pillar of success, especially in unstable economic conditions. We learned this the hard way ourselves; after acquiring a competitor and bringing their team on board, conflicting operational cultures emerged. Even though it didn't sit right, the time and effort we'd already put in made us slow to fix things, dragging out a patchy customer experience. In fintech, timely decisions are not an option; they're a requirement.

Schedule regular 'state of the company' (All Hands) meetings to assess whether current strategies are effective, making immediate adjustments as needed.

Technology as a catalyst for growth

A flexible technological foundation is crucial for meeting the unique requirements of each market. Our tech stack is modular; this gives us the agility to modify our services according to market-specific demands, without disrupting existing processes, giving us a competitive edge when deploying additional product offerings.

Choose a tech stack that's modular and scalable, allowing for easier implementation of market-specific requirements.

Metrics are more than just numbers

Key performance indicators such as Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), and Monthly Revenue have been instrumental in guiding our strategy towards achieving cash positivity. These metrics are not mere numbers; they serve as invaluable guides for assessing the feasibility and long-term sustainability of any fintech’s operations.

Dashboards aren't just for your engineers. Keep an executive dashboard to monitor critical metrics like CAC and LTV in real-time.

Comprehensive risk assessment

Before entering new markets we conducted thorough risk analyses that considered various factors, from regulatory compliance to market demand and operational logistics. This comprehensive approach allowed us to foresee challenges and develop proactive strategies for overcoming them. There are other ways to gain these insights too; in Spain we acquired a small local RBF provider which helped us dig deeper into how Spanish businesses handle their bank accounts or react to certain loan agreement clauses. Using this insight, we tweaked how we process bank data and handle repayments in Spain, and made some parts of our loan agreement clearer for our Spanish customers.

Before entering a new market, prepare a SWOT analysis and a contingency plan that outlines responses to potential challenges.

The value of team diversity

The composition of our team, rich in diverse perspectives and experiences, was especially beneficial as we extended our reach. Cultural nuances, such as Spain's relationship-focused business practices, only became apparent because of our diverse team members, enhancing our local strategies.

Encourage team members to share local market insights in a collaborative space, creating a constantly updated knowledge base.

Success didn't just fall into our laps, nor was it a shot in the dark; it came from laying down some solid plans and sticking to them. Stepping onto the global stage showed me that smart scaling is every bit as important as quick scaling, and what really kept us focused was having a good grip on who we were selling to, staying dead set on keeping things sustainable, and being quick on our feet when decisions had to be made. Aiming for nothing less than making a real, sustainable impact globally has made all the difference.