非美國公司在硅谷取得成功的最佳案例
????進軍大西洋彼岸的向?qū)?/strong> ????麥克洛克林希望,Huddle在大西洋兩岸的成功將激勵其他英國初創(chuàng)公司向西擴展。 ????“從第一天開始,我們就致力于成為一家國際公司,”他說?!拔覀児镜拿致犉饋砭拖袷且患业湫偷拿绹?,這一點也幫到了我們。人們想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為,如果你叫Huddle,你肯定就來自加州。這個品牌的確是成功的重要因素之一。就傳統(tǒng)而言,英國的企業(yè)級軟件公司不太擅長從事品牌推廣,提升品牌知名度這類活動,而我們在這方面投入了很大的精力。” ????與現(xiàn)有的美國公司合作也是Huddle挺進美國市場的推動力之一,麥克洛克林說。 ????“Huddle能夠在美國亮相的重要原因是,我們很早就跟惠普(HP)和商務(wù)社交網(wǎng)站LinkedIn建立了深度合作關(guān)系。這一點對于我們這樣一家總部設(shè)在倫敦東南部的小公司而言尤為關(guān)鍵。這些交易的達成顯然跟我們的產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量過硬有莫大關(guān)系,同時還要感謝阿拉斯泰爾的賣力吆喝。還有就是,我毫無懼色地去跟這些美國大佬探討合作的可能性。” ????英國初創(chuàng)公司千萬不要被硅谷的光環(huán)嚇倒,他說。最好的策略是,了解行之有效的運營方式,悉心學(xué)習(xí)。 ????“許多英國公司不夠自信,缺乏進入美國市場的膽略,”麥克洛克林說?!坝眯挠^察一下美國公司,你就會注意到,美國的頂級商界領(lǐng)袖不僅具有卓越的運營能力,而且很善于表演,比如Salesforce.com的馬克?貝尼奧夫和甲骨文公司(Oracle)的拉里?埃里森。但在英國和歐洲很難看到這種集運營和表演才能于一身的企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。” ????盡管如此,Huddle邁出第一步的地方依然是英國。2008年,全球經(jīng)濟陷入嚴(yán)重衰退之際,這家公司從英國伊甸園投資公司(Eden Ventures)手中獲得了第一筆風(fēng)險投資。尋求美國資本則是后來的事情。 ????“在英國獲得投資時,我們正處在典型的早期階段,”麥克洛克林說?!拔覀儌z當(dāng)時坐在一間屋子里,除了一個測試版的軟件產(chǎn)品和宏偉愿景之外,幾乎一無所有。進行B輪募資時,我們已經(jīng)有了市場號召力,客戶和收入,我們這時候發(fā)現(xiàn),美國投資者的動作要快得多。相較于英國風(fēng)投資本,美國人愿意冒更大的風(fēng)險,下更大的賭注。這種狀況正在改變,但歐洲人向來厭惡風(fēng)險。他們總是一頭鉆進各種指標(biāo)中,恨不能把企業(yè)肢解開,逐一剖析。只有在完成這些工作后,他們才會安心做下來,跟你談投資的事情?!?/p> ????2010年,Huddle覺得自己已經(jīng)擁有足夠大的市場號召力,于是決定在舊金山(還有比它更合適的地方么?)開設(shè)第一家美國分公司。 ????“英國公司在美國運營還是有一些優(yōu)勢的。人們往往認(rèn)為說一口純正英國口音的人肯定比滿口美國腔的人更加聰明,”麥克洛克林笑著說。“這樣說當(dāng)然很不靠譜,但我們可不打算勸說他們放棄這樣的想法?!?/p> ???? |
????A guide for westward expansion ????McLoughlin hopes that Huddle's transatlantic success will inspire other British startups to look westward for growth. ????"From day one, we have always tried to position ourselves as an international business," he said. "It helps the name is quintessentially American-sounding. People assume if you are called Huddle you have to be from California. The brand has really been a big part of the success. Traditionally British enterprise companies haven't been good at branding and brand awareness, and we've concentrated a lot on that." ????Partnering with existing U.S. companies also helped Huddle enter the market, McLoughlin said. ????"Being able to launch the product in the U.S. with significant early partnerships with HP and LinkedIn, especially when we were just a very small company based in south-east London, was key. Obviously a lot came down to the quality of the product but also a lot of hustle from Alastair and I not being afraid to go and have those conversations with these big American players." ????It's important for British startups to not get intimidated by the aura of Silicon Valley, he said. It's far better to take what works and learn from it. ????"A lot of British companies struggle with having the confidence to really put yourself out there," McLoughlin said. "When you look at American companies you realize the very best American leaders have a mixture of operational excellence but also showmanship. Look at someone like Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com and Larry Ellison of Oracle. These are fantastic operators with an element of showmanship which you tend not to see so much in U.K. and European leaders." ????Still, Huddle started locally. Its first venture capital came from U.K.-based Eden Ventures in 2008, when the global economy was retracting. Only later did the company pursue U.S. investment. ????"The investment we took in the U.K. was classic early stage," McLoughlin said. "We were basically two guys in a room with little more than a beta software product and a grand vision. What we found when we came to the B round when we had traction, customers, and revenue, was the American investors were a lot quicker to move. Americans are prepared to take more risk and bigger bets than British VCs. It is changing, but traditionally the Europeans have been more risk-averse. They want to dive in to the metrics and really pick apart the business before they are comfortable talking about investment." ????In 2010, Huddle felt it had enough traction to open its first U.S. office in -- where else? -- San Francisco. ????"Being a British company in America has pluses. People tend to assume because you have a British accent you are more intelligent than someone with an American accent," Andy said with a laugh. "That is massively untrue, but we're not going to dissuade them of that notion." |
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