Re-born in the USA: How to take your Australian startup to America

Blair Lucas presenting at the Innovation & Collaboration Centre: Demystifying the US Market

---

The Innovation & Collaboration Centre prides itself on providing up-to-date and practical business advice to our startup community. 

Each month, we’re hosting a lunchtime session with key industry leaders who will impart their business knowledge and expertise.

We have been fortunate to recently host CEO of Acclime Australia, Blair Lucas, who spoke to us about overseas business expansion into the United States.

Blair touched on important taxation tips in the US, legalities and legislation, finances, and banking, employing the right overseas team and where to establish your physical business.

Read on to discover more of his key messages and learn how you can take your business to America. 

How do I start planning for overseas business expansion? 

“I tell everybody to do your homework, and I know this seems really obvious, but where I’ve seen a lack of success has been with companies jumping into a market too quickly.”

“Mistakes can be prohibitive. If you make a mistake on your immigration, or you make a mistake that costs your $45 thousand with America’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you can be in a situation that can really hamper your ability to grow.” 

“So, when expanding your market, ask a lot of questions and make use of free resources from government authorities.”

How does the United States market differ from Australia’s? 

“There’s an assumption that the markets are the same and that is the fascinating thing that a lot of companies here aren’t aware of.” 

“They assume that America is a bigger version of Australia but an example of the real cultural difference is the sales pitch.” 

“Here in Australia everybody is so self deprecating, very mild and meek about what they do but If you [behave like that] in front of an American client, they’ll be like ‘are you selling to me or not?’”. 

“The pitch is an area that a lot of Australian companies don’t understand when they go into [the US] market and then they don’t get the access or they don’t sell their products because they sound too meek.” 

“There’s a lot of little differences that can win or lose in the US market.” 

What common pitfalls arise when establishing a business in America?

“The classic is taxes. Be aware that if you make the wrong move with taxation it can end up costing you a lot.” 

“ For example, doing business directly into the United States… and being deemed a permanent establishment.” 

“You don’t want to have your Australian company being taxed on its worldwide income in the United States so please be careful about how you approach the market from a taxation perspective.”

“In terms of other traps, growing too quickly in-market is a big one. It can be a really costly environment to do business if you go about it in a really aggressive way.” 

“It’s a bit like starting a startup and instead of using the co-working space you go and hire the corner office downtown.”

“You don’t need to do that and all of a sudden you’ve whittled down your revenue…You need to creep into the market and find out how to get in there.” 

“The third pitfall is employment. It is challenging in any territory overseas to find somebody who can represent your company and do the job that you do [in Australia]”. 

“Personality is more important than skill set. If you can find the right person with the right culture and personality within your business then you can train them to do anything”

What is your key message to a small business or startup thinking about overseas business expansion? 

“It doesn’t have to be that hard, it doesn’t have to be complex and it doesn’t have to be expensive.” 

“It’s actually  hugely rewarding, especially from the perspective of the financial return as there’s a huge market [in the US] with huge opportunities.”

“It’s great to be able to say, “I successfully took my company into another region and successfully built another business there.’”

More about Blair Lucas

Blair is a highly experienced founder, director and leader with an inspiring entrepreneurial background spanning many countries.

Now Partner and CEO of Acclime Australia, Blair co-founded the original Australian arm of the business, building it from start-up phase through to exit as a bootstrapped entity. During this growth journey, he created and fostered global sales teams and led the global expansion into new markets. He has also been director of more than 100 companies from over 40 countries and across 20 industries, supporting them to successfully expand into Australia and the USA.

Blair is an engaging and creative speaker, with a unique energy that helps him inspire and motivate audiences from various sectors. He is extremely generous in sharing his successes and insights to help others turn their entrepreneurial vision into reality. He actively mentors graduates entering the corporate world, as well as those wanting to transition from the corporate space to a start-up, and has a particular interest in supporting people in the LGBT community.