One of the most valuable benefits of being part of the London Mayor’s ‘Go To Grow’ International Business Programme is the opportunity to hear world-class business leaders share their experiences, expertise and advice, and the bar was set high at my second ‘Meet the Mentor’ breakfast by Max Kantelia, Chairman of Aeriendi, whose presentation focused on ambitious scale-ups’ expansion into Asia.
With a current portfolio of investments including businesses based in Singapore, Oxford and New York, Max has 25 years’ experience of building professional services and technology firms in Europe, the US and Asia and, now based in Singapore, sees himself as a “Global Londoner” – a description that those of us in Rocketseed’s London office would like to identify with!
At Rocketseed we are always looking for clients and partners in new international markets and Max’s advice on expansion into Asia was truly eye-opening; debunking commonly-held misconceptions (“Asia is NOT the United States of Asia”) and highlighting the need to understand fully (“Never skimp on market research”) the political, regulatory and business environments of each individual country, as well as offering some cautionary tales of the pitfalls to avoid.
From the strategic decisions of initial office location and critical market share targets to the cultural nuances of patiently-nurtured relationships (“People do business in Asia with people they trust”) Max’s advice has really got me thinking.
Click here to read Max’s key advice in full and I’ll be posting more of my ‘Go To Grow’ experiences here over the next few months.
