Episode 32: From 0 to 90M Downloads - Strategies for Growing an Audience in Global Markets
In this episode, we are excited to welcome Omar Zenhom, the Co-Founder and host of the award-winning $100 MBA Show, a top business podcast with over 90 million downloads. He’s also the Co-Founder & CEO of WebinarNinja, named one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in 2018.
Omar is a former educator and university manager-turned-entrepreneur. Today, he applies his passion for teaching and learning to the business world. In this conversation, we talk about Omar’s strategies for entering new markets and reaching customers, tips for giving timely and culturally sensitive feedback, examples of effective localized marketing campaigns, and why there's no such thing as "over-communication" in a remote workplace.
Listen, subscribe, and leave a review now on Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets at https://www.zedra.com
Get your copy of our Wall Street Journal Bestselling book, GLOBAL CLASS, a playbook on how to build a successful global business. https://www.amazon.com/Global-Class-Fastest-Growing-Companies-Globally/dp/1637742185
SHOW NOTES:
1:36 - Omar’s family history, starting from his parent’s immigration from Egypt to the US
2:42 - Omar’s career as an education and transition to the world
6:41 - The most common misconceptions about Dubai and Omar’s stories about overcoming cultural differences there
12:09 - WebinarNinja’s expansion story and why it’s important to do “localization discovery” and dive deep into learning the culture
13:47 - Why the results of the customer interviews became the key to the marketing and sales strategy
17:36 - The Global Class’ Business Model Localization Canvas
22:19 - How to not “water down” your marketing when you expand to other markets
24:54 - Keeping the company culture tied to the core values
31: 11 - WebinarNinja’s core value of “We are the number one live teaching tool” and how that set the tone for serving underserved communities
37:18 - How WebinarNinja implemented the Global Class Mindset vs Legacy Mindset
41:19 - Omar’s answer to the “3 pieces of advice” section: Advice to someone interested in building a career around an international business, to an executive expanding a business to new markets, and to his younger self