The Globe Trotters: Insights from the people leading expansion

Have you ever wondered who holds the keys to unlocking the world for an ambitious company?

Let me share a story with you that could help answer this question!

It was a cloudy and cold winter day, and I had just prepared myself a nice cup of coffee. I had recently returned to Oslo, Norway after a couple of months in Singapore, and I was in the midst of searching for my next adventure. My goal was to explore the earliest stages of a startup — yet how to really get there was a bit blurred.

One strategy to figure this out was to reach out to the brightest minds in the startup world and ask them about their experiences. So, I began sending out tons of messages, which resulted in many hours of inspiring conversations. The result? There was one role in particular that stood out: the people in charge of launching companies into new markets.

It sounded too good to be true, but after more digging, I figured out that this “special” role is sometimes known as: Expansion.

What’s expansion, you may ask? I had the same reaction!

So, let’s dive deeper and explore what the expansion role entails, what qualities make someone great at it, and how to get started in this exciting field! To help us, I will share some of the real conversations I had with three amazing individuals who were kind enough to share their journeys working in expansion at some of the most exciting venture-backed companies out there.

Last but not least, I want to go so far as to say that if you are considering becoming a founder one day or itching to start your journey in a startup as an operator, this might be one of the most intriguing roles out there — more on this to follow. Let’s jump right into the trenches!

• Patrick Elyas, Coinbase (Trading at NASDAQ under COIN)
• Anastasia Ratkanova, bunch (Raised €7.3m from Cherry Ventures)
• Alex Krass, cargo.one (Raised $63.8m from Creandum, Index Ventures, Point Nine and Bessemer Venture Partners)

#1 Patrick Elyas (Coinbase)

What excites you the most about your role?

That’s a great question (laughs). What excites me the most is having a full overview of all the different geographies and their respective challenges. Dealing with new markets always presents a plethora of unique circumstances, and understanding the local nuances is crucial.

Personally, I need variety in my day-to-day life, so I appreciate the fact that there’s a lot of context switching, ranging from regulatory issues to customer behaviour, product development, and strategy. Moreover, I love to travel and meet interesting people, and these two are at the core of the job. Lastly, Coinbase is at the forefront of crypto and Web3 in each new market we enter, which is not only exciting but also a responsibility I do not take lightly!

How did you end up working at Coinbase, and specifically, how did you find your way into the Expansion team?

I have always been passionate about international challenges. I grew up in sunny Los Angeles, California and I come from a family with roots in Egypt. As a result, I was exposed to the Middle East and learned Arabic, French, and of course, English at home. These languages combined with extensive travelling really came in handy later on.

Moreover, my inherited interest in looking beyond the horizon led me to enrolling into the Huntsman Program, a study in International Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania, which I combined with a degree in finance from the Wharton School. After completing my studies, I joined McKinsey in their Dubai office, which really accelerated my international career and laid the foundation for my future in international expansion.

What did you do after McKinsey?

I went back to school to get my M.B.A and J.D from the University of Pennsylvania, and subsequently joined Coatue as an investor in San Francisco. During my investment role, I saw deals from all over the world and engaged with inspiring founders from every corner of the globe.

This role inspired me to be closer to the action and be a part of a fast-growing company myself. It was during this time that I joined the expansion team at Snapchat where I led their international expansion strategy. After Snap, an opportunity at Coinbase’s London office appeared, which I decided to take.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities and what are you currently working on?

There are three main buckets where I am spending most of my time:

• Comply with regulatory frameworks: I work with legal and compliance teams to ensure we obtain crypto registrations in our key markets and comply with those. I am involved in liaising and engaging with regulators, whether proactively seeking certain licences or reactively providing answers.
• Product optimization and localization: This involves improving our app’s ease of use and adding widely used local payment methods. We also adjust our onboarding flow to reduce friction. Also, our localization team ensures proper language translation, homepage, and other aspects of the app that users see before creating an account.
• Growth initiatives to increase the top funnel: An initiative could be to grow our user base by increasing sign ups and engagement. This can be achieved by using push notifications and emails to promote new product features and offer incentives. Additionally, we need to find creative ways to generate marketing ideas with limited budgets.

What comes next after working in expansion?

Great question. It obviously depends on what you are doing while expanding into the new geographies, but in most cases, the expansion role usually evolves into a leadership role within each location where you are responsible for the geo or a subset of the market. However, as you are building a really broad set of skill sets, you can be of need in any setting across many functions at companies that have a global ambition.

Any advice for someone who is considering getting into expansion?

There are a couple of things. First, I would advise everyone to deepen their functional skill set. In particular, strengthening their analytical and communication acumen. These are the two main skills that you would need to fall back on a daily basis. People working in expansion are usually jacks of all trades, so do not worry about becoming an expert in something.

More practically, getting an expansion role straight after school is rather the exception than the norm. Therefore, I would recommend working at a global company that provides you exposure to an international set of challenges. Overall, make sure to demonstrate that you have a global mindset and that you are excited about the industry. Last but not least, make sure to build relationships with people working in expansion roles, as these people would usually introduce you to more opportunities as they appear on the market.

#2 Anastasia Ratkanova (bunch)

What is your definition of the expansion role?

The expansion role is an overarching and impactful position. You are the person driving growth, and you have a direct impact on the success of the company from day one. This is why I am particularly excited about this role. In short, in expansion, you are responsible for strategy formulation, identifying new markets and opportunities, and executing on the plan.

What type of projects are you currently working on?

All the projects I am leading have a strong growth angle. I am particularly focused on launching our offering in the UK and other European countries. The goal is to cover the whole of Europe and have a product that works within all regulatory frameworks. I spend a lot of time understanding market nuances and how countries operate differently from each other.

Why are expansion teams important in an early-stage startup?

In my company, we are part of the business development team, which covers strategy, new revenue streams, and growth. It is a multifaceted team. Additionally, as we enter a new market, we will set up a dedicated team in that area to support our expansion efforts and build up a local presence. Usually, the expansion team lays the foundations in a new market, and then a dedicated team takes it from there. Our main focus is to enter new markets quickly and successfully.

What kind of characteristics would someone need to have or develop in order to excel in this role?

This role is for individuals who thrive in a dynamic environment. There is rarely a clear set of responsibilities, which requires adaptability, flexibility, and a love for navigating and facing challenges. Obviously, it’s important to have strong business fundamentals. Coming from a consulting background helps due to the large exposure to different companies and industries.

Personally, as the expansion lead, I often face operational and product challenges as building a new market requires input from all functions. Hence, you need to understand how to streamline, automate, and build up operations. If you love operational excellence and optimising processes, this is also a plus.

How can someone better prepare to increase the odds of joining a company in an expansion role?

Step one is to speak to as many people as possible who are already working in expansion. In particular, try to understand if the set of problems they face on a daily basis can potentially excite you. Secondly, it’s important to identify the right startup and industry. This is where research comes into play. Thirdly, I would advise speaking to the founders before joining and truly understanding what their global vision for the company is.

What comes after working in expansion?

That is a great question which I have not figured out myself yet (laughs). Usually, after a couple of years working in expansion, you can progress into a more senior role, perhaps as a country lead or manager in a specific market. However, I would also say that you are very well prepared for an entrepreneurial career as you have seen so many of the moving parts of the business, and launching the company in a new market is very similar to going from 0 to 1 — which is one of the most important things as a founder to nail down.

#3 Alex Krass (cargo.one)

How did you end up working in expansion?

It’s actually quite a funny story (laughs). During my master’s program in London, I evaluated different career options. While most of my peers wanted to pursue consulting and banking, those paths didn’t excite me. Instead, I wanted to join a fast-growing startup, so I spent a lot of time researching portfolio companies of leading VCs, such as Index. That’s how I discovered cargo.one.

I applied on the website and didn’t hear back for a couple of months. Then, one day, my phone rang. They reached out and I had a first conversation with one of the founders and then the Head of Expansion. After a couple of exciting conversations, they offered me the opportunity to travel around the world with the first stop in Chicago to launch cargo.one in North America. It sounded too good to be true, so I jumped at the opportunity, and shortly after, I was on a plane to Mexico for my onboarding. Two weeks later, I was on my way to the US to set up the market there — the first of many we would launch afterwards.

What makes expansion a great role for you?

I really like the fact that you can do so many things all at once. At the end of the day, your core mission is to set up the company from scratch in a new market, which is very exciting and entrepreneurial.

We didn’t have any customers waiting for us when we entered the US and Canada, yet we made it happen, and we had to take everything in our own hands — from customer support, to sales to marketing. I was mainly responsible for two areas throughout my first year in the US. On one hand, I worked on the partnerships side with senior stakeholders at airlines to convince them to launch in North America and then improve their offerings on the platform. On the other hand, I was responsible for sales in the New York area ahead of hiring a sales team. Overall, the level of responsibility was a bit daunting, yet I grew incredibly fast during this period.

What are the main learning from working in expansion?

There are a couple of things I would like to highlight:

• Working in expansion is a great way to figure out what you are good at: Expansion allows you to try out many different things and really experience a lot of buckets. For me, I was able to figure out what direction I wanted in my career.
• You learn how to wing it and make the best out of every situation: As mentioned earlier, all of a sudden, I found myself talking to people in very senior roles, and I had to sell to someone who had maybe 25 years of experience in the industry. I felt a lot of imposter syndrome, yet I learned how to make the best out of every situation, winging it, and just keep on practising and improving.
• It prepares you for the life of an entrepreneur: To be honest, what better way to learn how to become an entrepreneur than by launching something, but in a safer environment? When you’re doing expansion, you’re doing it from zero to one, very similar to the life of a founder.

What are the future opportunities after working in expansion?

I truly believe that every door is open to you after an experience in Expansion, as you have proven that you can take ownership and get things done in very different domains. Companies really tend to like individuals with such experience. As you progress into the role, and the startup grows, there will be a lot of opportunities for you to enter new areas as you often find yourself in power vacuum situations, which give you the opportunity to step up. It is really up to you to seize those opportunities and decide in which direction you want to go. Pretty much everything is open to you, maybe except becoming a software engineer (laughs).

Any advice to someone who would like to work in expansion?

Funnily enough, I would suggest you do not do it the way I did it, which is applying online. I would definitely suggest you get yourself out there and contact the founder directly, even if there is no Expansion team yet. If you have an interesting profile and message, and if they are nice enough, they will likely respond. This can be a big boost. Don’t be afraid; put yourself out there and send that message. The worst thing that can happen is being ignored or receiving a response that they are not interested at the moment. But then at least they have you on their radar, right? Just do it! I would definitely also recommend you to look for companies at the right stage. Generally companies expand after raising Series B, which was also the case for cargo.one. Expansion roles are not necessarily advertised, so showing the initiative to ask about opportunities in that direction can go a long way.

Last words

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About the author

This piece is written by Michelangelo Pagliara, ex-FA at Strise, co-founder of Venture Insider, and previous VC Analyst at Antler, Samsung NEXT and KPN Ventures, and Founder Associate at Back (now part of Personio).