Velocity Global joined DLA Piper on Tuesday, December 20th, 2016 to host a webinar: Innovative Concepts for International Expansion in 2017. If you would like to view the recorded version of the webinar, please click below.
In this webinar “Innovation Concepts for International Expansion in 2017,” Velocity Global and DLA Piper discussed:
- When to think about setting up a legal entity versus keeping a light footprint
- What innovative companies are doing to accelerate their time to market while keeping costs low
- Easy “low hanging fruit” compliance considerations to address 90% of your expansion challenges
Ben Wright, CEO of Velocity Global began the webinar speaking about navigating uncertainty touching specifically on the points of:
1. Adapting “Agile” for International Expansion
The main concept of the “Agile” approach is to emphasize speed as a critical component to product development. This approach is a learning cycle of turning ideas into products, measuring its effectiveness, and learning from the experience. Ben also discusses the idea of taking a “Lean” approach, when applied to international expansion he mentions:
- Build: Getting people on the ground in your target market is the beginning of your feedback loop.
- Measure: Measure and test assumptions over a 6-12 month plan.
- Is this a good market?
- Is the individual we hired the right fit?
- Is this a solid strategy?
- Learn: Flexibility over security.
- At the end of the 6-12 months plan, you have the ability to adjust. Maybe you didn’t retrieve enough data and you want to continue along the test plan for another 6-12 months. Maybe operations were not successful, you can pull back out from an agile perspective. Or, maybe it was successful. You built, measured, and learned, and now you can double down and invest a lot more in that market.
2. Leverage Sharing Economy Principles:
By leveraging the sharing economy you can effectively apply the agile approach by using a Global Employer of Record.
- Use a local company to employ your desired hire on your behalf
- Local company employs the individual; you retain control
- An international “Employer of Record” scenario
Mike Hardgrove, Partner at DLA Piper, discusses Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPs) planning techniques for companies going multinational that focus on:
1. Simplifying
Mike talks in detail and with examples on how to simplify your BEPS structure upfront, versus having to do a retrofit solution after the fact.
- Reduce off-shore holding companies
- Streamline the org chart
2. Building Substance
- On-shoring IP
- Substantive finance and license companies
3. Reducing Risk and Exposure
- Intercompany agreement review
- Orphan server / employee companies
As always, if you have any questions about any of these topics, please feel free to contact us.
