international-expansion
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Startup Lighthouse found that a pitch was only the beginning
A free European programme brought founders into unfamiliar markets. Its most useful discovery was that introductions work better when both sides have a problem to solve.
YTÜ Yıldız Teknopark puts an overseas address on Turkish ideas
A university can teach you to build a product. Yıldız Teknopark has assembled the offices, mentors and market connections to help you find someone who will buy it.
Sarona Ventures bets on the introduction after the investment
A cheque buys time. Sarona Ventures builds its case around what happens next: customers, distribution partners and the people who can help an Israeli startup sell abroad.
CodeBase bets that founders can be taught
An Edinburgh startup hub became the operator of Scotland’s £42.4 million Techscaler programme. Its next test is whether better connections and practical teaching can turn more young companies into businesses that scale.
Startup Moldova is making introductions worth investing in
A €40,000 deal began with an introduction. Startup Moldova is building the programs, paperwork and international connections that help more founders get to that conversation.
Creative Valley makes innovation ready for its first customer
From student projects to fashion technology and French market entry, Creative Valley works on the awkward gap between a clever invention and a business someone will pay for.
InnovX knows who should be in the room
The Bucharest accelerator connects founders, banks and corporate buyers. Its most interesting move is applying the startup playbook to companies that already have a business.
Start2 Group turns foreign markets into first customers
A Singapore materials startup needed a European customer. Start2 Group helped turn the introduction into a pilot, and the pilot into a contract. Its business is making that awkward middle happen.
Renan Conde and the art of growing up
After seven years in Europe, Renan Conde returned to Brazil to build Factorial’s local operation. The harder lesson came after the hiring: how to turn a fast-growing sales team into a business that could keep its promises.
Tech Nordic Advocates sells the introduction you can’t Google
A Nordic and Baltic startup network turns introductions into a service: mentors, investor access and help entering foreign markets. Its most revealing detail is the price it puts on opening doors.
Focus Academy gives good science a local address
A lab bench can prove a technology works. Focus Academy helps international founders work out who will buy it, what evidence they need, and where to build their business.
World Talents wants your expertise to travel
A Portuguese consultancy connects international entrepreneurs with university labs, startup mentors and research opportunities. Its wager: the most useful thing crossing a border may be what somebody knows.
Alisa Haynes and the Art of Keeping People Together
From EventWorks to Brand Revolution, Alisa Haynes has built her career around a practical question: who else should be in the room? Her answer now spans social strategy, film, merchandise and live events across an international agency.
Marshall Zelaznik and the Business of the Second Bell
A lawyer learned to sell fights without throwing one. After UFC, esports and an exit he could see coming, Marshall Zelaznik returned to GLORY to finish a piece of business that the world interrupted.
WOLGroup and the work between a click and a customer
A growth-marketing agency, an industrial sales platform and a sustainability-minded shop sit in WOLGroup’s orbit. Their common problem: helping a good product find its next buyer.
xEdu gives education startups homework of their own
The Finnish accelerator puts learning science inside the business plan. From Helsinki to Turin and Vilnius, its founders get mentors, classroom questions and a reason to rethink what they are selling.
FinTech Consult Sells the Six Months You Cannot Afford to Waste
A 19-person network in 18 markets helps fintech founders turn a country on a slide into customers, partners and regulatory conversations on the ground. The proposition is refreshingly plain: buy local context before you buy an overseas mistake.
Knife Capital starts with the exit
Visa, Uber Eats and Ticketmaster have bought businesses backed by Knife Capital. The South African investor is building its next chapter around a $50 million fund and a blunt question: who will want to own this company?
Startups.st sells the work behind the startup dream
From a ham-carver marketplace in Cáceres to a European fellowship for women founders, Startups.st turns entrepreneurship policy into programs people can use. Its business is making the introductions, teaching the skills and keeping the work moving.
Level39: The landlord that wants you to outgrow your desk
At Canary Wharf’s Level39, the business plan runs from a hot desk to a bigger lease. Revolut and Datatonic show how that can work; the membership bill shows what founders are buying.
Accelpoint gets startups into the room where pilots happen
The Warsaw accelerator pairs public funding with corporate access. Its real test is whether a promising prototype can become something a bank, insurer or telecom will actually use.
i2i Opens the Doors Between Startups and Industry
Taiwan’s Innovation to Industry turns incubator space, government programs and corporate introductions into a route to market. Its international work gives founders a practical test: who, exactly, is ready to buy?
Endeavor Chile wants successful founders to come back for more
The nonprofit helps Chilean entrepreneurs tackle the awkward business of getting bigger. Its longer bet: today’s founders will become tomorrow’s mentors, investors and door-openers.
QUAY Acceleration wants to make New York less of a cold call
The New York accelerator helps international founders find their footing in America. Its other customers explain the business: governments, universities and corporations that want an accelerator of their own.
ROTSA wants Romania’s startups to think beyond the border
A prototype can be built in Cluj. A market has to be won. Romania’s tech startup association is putting foreign customers, practical mentoring and shared introductions on the same itinerary.
BIC Plzeň puts a business plan to work
In a Czech industrial city, BIC Plzeň connects founders with grant money, research labs and people who know how to sell. Its most revealing work happens between the bright idea and the first useful test.
Techscaler’s £42 million bet: teach Scotland to scale
Free membership, experienced mentors and a ticket into overseas markets. Scotland’s publicly funded startup programme is growing - and learning that helping a company start is different from helping it scale.
Lonca’s pitch: a bank that might become your customer
Kuveyt Türk’s startup accelerator offers grants without taking equity. Its more interesting proposition is a chance to put a young company’s technology to work inside the bank.
ebebek Built a Baby Business by Letting Parents Touch the Merchandise
A Turkish parenting website became a chain of more than 300 stores by listening to what a screen could not answer. Its next test is making that formula pay abroad.
Nataly Kelly Learned to Read the World Before She Learned to Market It
From an Illinois farm town to Ecuador, HubSpot and Zappi, Kelly built a career around one durable idea: understanding people is the work before the work.