The UK: Your Passport to Global Growth?

Portland Tech Leaders Share Their Personal Insight on Global Expansion…

Urban Airship’s Cofounder, Michael Richardson, opened their doors to fellow tech community leaders Brian Stein (Puppet Labs), Bonnie Page (Smarsh) and Mary Jane Erdman (Elemental Technologies) to discuss their personal experiences of journeying from local start-up to global organization.

The panel discussion took place over locally brewed beers and North West wine on April 16th.

 What did we learn?

Amongst many key points, we learned not to underestimate how important it is to send the right person overseas who understands your business inside out. Equally, identifying the right person overseas who has the right mix of local knowledge and commercial experience is vital.

Priya Guha, British Consul General in San Francisco, highlighted some of the reasons the UK can be a passport to global growth within her welcome note.

Brent Bullock, on behalf of our co-sponsors Perkins Coie, gave some background to their experiences in helping US clients expand overseas and the importance of identifying the right service providers.

The informative discussion was then kicked off by Tim Atkins, Moderator, who explored the Panel’s experiences in going overseas and the cultural and practical differences.

The speakers highlighted the downsides of when you don’t get it right first time – and why trying to handle everything yourself is not always the smartest option.

Special thanks go to Urban Airship, Puppet Labs, Smarsh, Elemental Technologies and our Sponsors, Perkins Coie and UK Trade & Investment.

We'll be back in Oregon soon to find out more from business leaders on the challenges and opportunities they've faced and where they see the future. If you would like to receive an invitation to our events, please contact us.