Read the full script of Module 4, Episode 7 of the Global Growth Master Class below. Want to get certified on global expansion? Simply click here to access the complete course today.

Jan van Casteren, the founder of Flexport's European business, credits the company's success in Europe to its adherence to the Four Commitments for Successful Global Growth, as supported by the headquarters. These commitments enabled the organization to establish a strong presence in the European market and achieve growth.

Resource Alignment

Flexport approached its expansion into Europe with clear goals and executive alignment. The company was aware of the global nature of the freight forwarding industry and the need for a presence in Europe to attract and serve larger clients. The executive team held off on expansion until after the Series A funding round was completed, to ensure sufficient funding was available. The local team in Europe was highly committed to the expansion, with offices growing over time to include various departments such as sales, client success, operations, legal/regulatory compliance, procurement, recruiting, finance, human resources, product, and design.

The Flexport Europe team was given specific goals but no set budget during market entry, leading to resource allocation being driven by customer needs. The team was granted headcount by the executive team to build solutions to meet those needs, with a focus on finding company-market fit, gaining commercial traction, and serving existing clients whose operations were underserved in Europe.

Trust and Autonomy

The success of Flexport in Europe was partially due to the relationship between Jan van Casteren and the company's COO, Sanne Manders. Jan and Sanne had a prior working relationship from their time together at Boston Consulting Group in Amsterdam, which helped Jan join Flexport and gave him an executive sponsor at headquarters. Meanwhile, Sanne had already established trust with Jan, a crucial aspect of strong relationships between local teams and headquarters, which is explored further in a later module. Despite giving Jan ample freedom to build the European operations, headquarters still set some guidelines for what was localized and centralized, with the product being centralized.

Communication and Clarity

Jan's communication with Flexport's HQ evolved over time. Initially, he focused on sharing commercial updates with the COO, Sanne Manders. But as the European operations grew, Jan's communication expanded to include other members of HQ and the global team. He provided regular updates to the executive team, shared input on important decisions such as hiring and investments, and explained the reasoning behind these decisions.

Jan also facilitated regular face-to-face meetings between the general managers, the head of Asia, and himself to promote team building and communication. A Google Sheet was created to prioritize product change requests from each region, leading to the hiring of a technical program manager based in Europe who reported to the global product team's leadership at HQ. This arrangement was crucial to the role's success, as it provided a direct link between the local and global teams.

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It's worth noting that Jan's experience with Flexport's global expansion mirrors the typical trajectory of successful growth. At the start of their European market entry, Jan mainly communicated with the COO (Sanne), who served as an executive champion. Over time, communication expanded to involve more members of the global team and became more formal, such as through the implementation of "GM Weeks" and the appointment of a technical program manager.

Today, Flexport has a well-defined process for entering new markets, with clear guidelines and decision-making steps in place. The communication structure has also evolved and all three regions (North America, EMEA, and APAC) participate in weekly problem-solving sessions with Flexport's global functions, each seen as equal partners.

Global Agile Methodology

Flexport gave Jan the ability to employ an agile approach to attain compatibility between the company and the European market. This involved revising numerous aspects of Flexport's business strategy and operations. While the product was tightly controlled by the headquarters and centralized product team, most of the modifications were focused on the other aspects of the company's playbook.

These revisions included partnering with another company for UK operations initially and adapting policies to local requirements (such as providing cars to German salespeople, which is uncommon in North America but considered a valuable perk in German business culture). The combination of proper resource allocation, trust and independence, clear communication, and the use of a global agile methodology were crucial factors in Flexport's success in Europe and across the world.

NOTE: Don't miss out on the next episode! If you want to continue learning about global expansion strategies and dive deeper into the course material, simply click here to access Module 4, Episode 8 of the Global Growth Master Class.