This Man Helped 45+ Tech Unicorns Scale — Here Are His Top GTM Insights

Welcome to our latest edition! Today, we feature Colin Kleine, Co-founder of Scalerr, who specializes in helping tech companies expand in the APAC region. With expertise in GTM strategies and recruitment, Colin has supported over 170 tech companies. Explore his insights on navigating APAC markets, building partnerships, and leveraging smart hiring strategies for successful global expansion!

Who is Colin? 

Colin Kleine is the Co-founder of Scalerr, specializing in recruitment, GTM advisory, and board advisory services to help tech companies scale globally, with a focus on APAC market expansion. He is also an executive member of Pavilion, a global community for B2B SaaS leaders, and serves as an advisor and investor for multiple startups.

What is Scalerr?

Scalerr is a global consulting firm specializing in helping technology companies scale globally, with a strong focus on the APAC region. Scalerr offers expertise in GTM strategies and recruitment, ensuring companies hire the right teams and implement effective market entry strategies. They have supported over 170 tech companies, including 45 unicorns, in their growth journeys. Scalerr is now scaled into 6 markets, with a global team at San Francisco, London, Singapore, Israel and Indonesia.

Understanding the Nuances of Various APAC Markets

"You need to localize, understand the region, and tailor your approach to the local culture for success."

• Australia:

  • Focus on Rapport: In Australia, business relationships are built on personal connections and reciprocity. It's common to spend a significant portion of meetings discussing personal interests or non-business topics before transitioning to business. This approach fosters trust and accelerates the sales cycle.

  • Selling Style: Australians prefer to buy from people they like and trust. Building rapport is key, and focusing on the human connection can often override a purely transactional approach.

• Singapore:

  • Authority and Social Proof: Singaporean business culture places a strong emphasis on hierarchy and seniority. Decision-makers respect titles and positions of authority, and having an impressive title can help open doors.

  • Direct Sales Approach: Unlike other APAC markets, Singapore allows for a direct sales strategy. However, it’s important to lead with social proof (e.g., showcasing other successful partnerships or endorsements) to gain credibility. 

  • Cultural Nuances: Being punctual and straight to the point in meetings is highly valued in Singapore. Building relationships is important, but efficiency and professionalism take precedence over extensive rapport-building.

• Hong Kong:

  • Emphasis on Authority: Like Singapore, Hong Kong also values authority and social status. Titles and hierarchy play a critical role in business interactions.

  • Cultural Nuances: Hong Kong is a fast-paced market, where decision-makers expect professionalism and clear value propositions quickly. However, establishing trusted local partnerships is essential for long-term success.

  • Channel Partner Reliance: Unlike Singapore, direct sales are less common in Hong Kong. Instead, businesses often rely on channel partners or intermediaries who understand the local market and can help facilitate deals.

• Japan:

  • Long Sales Cycles: Japan is known for its extended decision-making processes. It’s not uncommon to go through multiple meetings (often 30 or more) before getting an initial commitment. This is due to the importance of building trust and ensuring that both parties are fully aligned.

  • Large Deal Sizes: Despite the slow process, Japan offers substantial opportunities for large deals, particularly for foreign companies. It's possible that a business's largest contract could come from Japan.

  • Localization and Partnerships: English is not widely spoken, so partnering with local companies like SoftBank or Mitsubishi Bank is crucial for navigating the market. Cultural sensitivity and localization of products are also essential to succeed in Japan.

• South Korea:

  • Commitment via Localization: South Korea requires businesses to show long-term commitment to the market. This is often done through localization partners who help adapt products, services, and marketing strategies to fit the local context.

  • Cultural Nuances: Like Japan, South Korea values hierarchy and authority in business interactions. Establishing rapport with local stakeholders, often through intermediaries, is important for building trust.

• Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia:

  • Channel Partners and Ecosystems: In these markets, working through channel partners is often the best approach. These partners understand the local business ecosystems and have the necessary connections to facilitate market entry.

  • Localization and Language: Each country has its own language and cultural nuances, making it difficult to apply a one-size-fits-all strategy. Local partners help bridge this gap by providing expertise in navigating regulatory requirements, consumer behavior, and language barriers.

Building Successful Partnerships in APAC: Strategies for Long-Term Collaboration

"Identify the win-win, by adding value to the other person, and that's how you start getting a partner-led distribution."

• Megaphone Partners:

  • Brand Awareness: In a new region, nobody knows who your company is. A megaphone partner has a large, established audience that can bring immediate visibility to your brand. These partners may not generate leads directly but are essential for establishing credibility and recognition. They provide brand legitimacy by associating you with a well-known entity.

  • Examples: Spotify partnered with Facebook early on, leveraging Facebook’s user base to exponentially grow their brand; Samsung partnered with Google to create Android, which helped Samsung gain massive market penetration in Western markets.

• Active Partners:

  • Who to Target: Look for companies that sell to the same target audience as you but from a complementary angle. These partners are more likely to actively refer business and collaborate.

  • Win-Win Strategy: Both companies benefit from increased brand awareness and leads in each other’s markets, which can help raise their valuations and reduce cash burn.

  • Examples: Colin mentions that this strategy worked for Deel, a fast-growing SaaS company. They teamed up with 6-10 partners before entering a new market, using referral agreements to get traction without spending large amounts of cash.

• Collaboration:

  • Lead Referrals: Set up mutual referral systems where both companies pass leads to each other. This helps both businesses gain traction in foreign markets.

  • Examples: Colin mentions that when entering new markets, companies should aim to have around 6-10 partners before launching. This creates a robust system of co-promotion and lead generation, giving both companies more market reach with minimal upfront cost.

  • Internal Champions: In larger organizations, finding the right "champion" inside the company (e.g., a partnerships manager) is crucial. This person can help push your agenda within their own company and collaborate with other departments (e.g., marketing) to enhance the partnership.

How Startups Can Expand Globally: Partner-Led Growth and Smart Hiring Strategies

"What you want to do is scale lean, get the traction and validation first."

• Partner-Led Approach First:

  • Why Focus on Partners First?: Colin emphasizes that in today’s economic climate, throwing significant cash at a new market without early traction is too costly and risky. Instead of hiring a team immediately (which can cost you millions), startups should first build traction through local partnerships. These partners already have established networks and understand the local market, which can considerably shorten the startup’s learning curve.

  • Volume of Partnerships: Colin suggests aiming for 6 to 10 local partners to maximize chances of success. It’s a numbers game—some partners may not deliver, while others may become crucial allies. This spread minimizes risk and increases the likelihood of finding partners that are highly engaged and effective.

  • Why This Works: Partners can help the startup gain credibility in the local market, which is crucial for a new entrant. They can also provide resources and networks that would otherwise take years to build. 

• Boots on the Ground:

  • When to Hire Locally: Colin advises that once the startup has started to see traction (e.g., inbound leads, partnership-driven sales), it’s time to consider hiring locally. However, hiring should be done strategically and cost-effectively.

  • Expansion Manager: Instead of hiring an expensive and experienced managing director, Colin suggests hiring a young expansion manager (aged 26-36), who is familiar with the industry but still hungry for career advancement. This person should already have experience in a similar startup, so they know the local market and the playbook. They are cost-effective and motivated to prove themselves, which benefits both the startup and the individual.

• Incentivizing Partners to Bring in Billion-Dollar Connections:

  • Monetary and Non-Monetary Incentives: To incentivize partners to bring in their high-value connections, Colin emphasizes the importance of structuring compensation to make it worthwhile for both parties. Startups can offer a combination of cash retainers, commission on deals closed, and equity shares. For example, a modest cash retainer ensures the partner values the relationship, while success-based incentives encourage them to leverage their best contacts.

  • Equity and Revenue Sharing: Offering partners a percentage of lifetime revenue from deals they help close is a powerful motivator. This way, they have a vested interest in seeing the startup succeed long-term. Such an arrangement ensures that the partner is continuously working to bring in high-quality leads.

  • Example of Success: As Colin highlights, one of his mentors negotiated a deal where he earned lifetime recurring revenue on all business in APAC. This motivated the mentor to close 14 deals and helped the startup break into the region without spending exorbitant upfront costs. This kind of incentive structure is ideal for engaging partners who have high-value networks.

Common Mistakes Startups Make When Entering a New Market: 

"They over hire too quickly, or they hire people on really, really inflated salaries... burning a lot of cash until your sales catch up."

• Not Localizing the Go-to-Market Strategy: Startups often try to replicate their home market strategy (e.g., the U.S.) without adapting to local preferences. Asia is diverse, and what works in one region (e.g., Indonesia) won’t necessarily work in another (e.g., Hong Kong).

• Not Localizing the Product: Startups fail to tailor their product to local languages, pricing, and features. For example, launching in Japan with an English-only product will likely result in failure.

• Over-Hiring and Inflated Salaries: Startups often hire too many people too quickly or offer inflated salaries, burning through cash before generating enough revenue to sustain operations.

• Hiring the Wrong People: Mistakes include hiring people with no experience in the relevant tech sector or hiring from large corporations (e.g., Oracle, SAP) where employees are used to extensive support systems, not startup environments.

• Failing to Be Capital Efficient: Startups overspend on hiring when they should focus on offering equity and incentivizing employees through the company's growth story rather than high base salaries.

We hope Colin’s insights on scaling tech companies in the APAC region have offered valuable lessons on localizing go-to-market strategies, building strong partnerships, and avoiding common expansion pitfalls. His focus on capital efficiency, smart hiring, and leveraging local expertise serves as a roadmap for startups aiming for global growth. Stay tuned and subscribe HERE for more expert advice and strategies from leaders transforming the tech landscape.