Thinking Global for your Startup

This article is written by Clinton James, a Contributor Author at Startup Turkey.

Yousef Hamidaddin leads the Innovative Solution Board, an initiative from the Foundation of HRH the Crown Prince of Jordan, and was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Oasis 500. His current focus is on developing funding models for startups and SME’s across the region to be launched this year, and creating innovative funds that can deliver the rebuilding requirements for distressed countries such as Syria, and Yemen.

In most cases most business think of ideas that solve problems locally enunciates Mr. Yousef Hamiddan of the MENA Company at Startup Istanbul’s event. Most of these companies use a normal mode to execute their exit which is to sell to exterior markets for a less price than what the business would generate if the business is taken global. Meaning, they tend to sell for less than a few millions if not hundreds of thousands.

Most countries that have business startups are third world countries that are volatile and face turmoil. Their actual investors are choosy on what to invest in. Nevertheless, this provides a much better opportunity for “real innovation” and not just mimicking solutions or pre-applied ideas. Real problems faced by a nation require articulate ideas and solutions by its people.

Going global requires the identification of opportunities available in the country and then translating those opportunities into a global view. There are ways which opportunities manifest themselves and it is vital to identify and use them to your advantage in business. In addition, many countries lack expertise in human resource and specific skill set which allows the opportunity to do something that is relevant due to lack of it.

Startups need to identify themselves to a specific element because the more the idea is a solution to a universal problem, the more the business can go global. The need for research and development cannot be left aside, they allow the startup to ask the right questions in order to deliver a strategic solution or rather seize a strategic opportunity.

Before you can take or think of your business idea, are you thinking globally in order to deliver a strategic opportunity? Are asking the right questions? For instance, in analysis of your market, did you check your market structure, the gaps in the hierarchy of needs, common habits and practices, competitive intelligence, consumer segmentation?

Critical mass, which is the number of adopters of an innovation in a social system allows the rate of adoption to become self-sustaining and creates further growth.

Have you defined your niche? Have you assessed your validity locally if it reflects globally? What regions can define your start-up as a global venture? What is your strategy? How is your financial look-out? Are you able to build your exit market?

A lot of investments are very selective in terms of what they invest in, and the news doesn't get brighter. This means that you have to look at the elements that surround you that are not relevant to other countries like US and Europe.

If you really want to go global installing your homework are you really different, can you defend whatever you are protecting from this area and isolated part of this world that were trying to call home? Therefore, bare in mind such questions in your entrepreneurial strategy before executing the startup. They help your business be a global venture and increase its potential reach to the world.

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