US expansion for NZ, Australian and UK software companies
Help for New Zealand, Australian and UK software companies entering the US: the first segment, pricing for the market and the right first hires.
We help software companies from New Zealand, Australia and the UK enter the US: picking the first segment, pricing for the market, hiring the right first people and setting up the sales motion that runs it all. Daniel leads it himself. He's built revenue teams in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US, stood up the US go-to-market motion at SuiteFiles, a New Zealand software company, and is now based in Birmingham, Alabama after 23 years in New Zealand.
You can run it as a fixed-scope project that ends with a US entry plan, or on a monthly retainer where we lead the US revenue motion with you until you're ready to hire full-time.
What we help with
The first few decisions shape everything after them, so that's where we start.
- Picking the first segment. Which kind of US customer to go after first. We start from your best customers at home (who bought fastest, stayed longest and got the most from the product) and look for the US buyers who most resemble them. One segment you can win beats a list of everywhere you could sell.
- Pricing for the market. US pricing and packaging decided on purpose: what the plans are, what goes in each, how discounts work and what an add-on costs. Your home price list with the currency changed is a starting point at best.
- Hiring the right first people. Who your first US hires should be, in what order, and what good looks like in each role. We can write the roles, run the interviews with you and onboard the people you hire.
- Positioning for new buyers. Checking that your positioning, website and sales materials make sense to a buyer who's never heard of you.
- The sales motion. How US pipeline gets generated, what the sales stages mean, how the weekly forecast works and how the US numbers get reported to your board.
- Partners, if they fit. Whether a channel or partner program is a sensible way in, and which partners to start with.
Who it's for, and when it's too early
It's for software companies with traction in New Zealand, Australia or the UK that want to crack the US without paying for every lesson twice. That means a team that knows who buys at home and why, and a founder ready to spend time on the first US deals.
It's probably too early, or the wrong kind of help, if:
- You're still working out who buys at home. Get the ideal customer, the sales stages and discovery right first. They're cheaper to fix in a market you already know.
- You're raising money for the move. We don't invest money, raise funds or broker capital. You pay us for leadership, advice and support.
- You want the US taken off your hands entirely. Founders should stay involved in early deals, even with a sales leader in place, and your first US deals are early deals.
If we think it's too early for you, we'll say so on the intro call.
How an engagement runs
Every engagement follows the same path, so you always know what we're doing, why, and when we'll step back.
- Intro call. Where you are, what's in the way and whether we're the right fit.
- Diagnose. We dig into your pipeline, team, process and numbers at home, work out which parts should carry over to the US and which need rethinking, and agree a written plan with outcomes you can measure.
- Build and run. On a project, that means settling the first segment, the pricing and the hiring plan with your team. On a retainer, we get stuck in alongside your team, leading the US sales motion, hiring, fixing and reporting, with regular check-ins against the plan.
- Hand over. When you're ready for a full-time US leader, we help you hire them, write down what we built and step back.
Most of it happens remotely, with time on-site when it makes a difference.
Who you'll work with
Daniel leads every leadership and consulting engagement himself, so you won't be handed to someone junior after the first meeting. He's English by birth, spent 23 years in New Zealand and now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, which means he's made the move himself as well as helping a company make it.
He's a two-time Chief Revenue Officer with 20+ years leading B2B tech sales and revenue teams. At SuiteFiles, where he's been CRO since 2022, he's doubled ARR at a PE-backed SaaS platform and stood up the US go-to-market motion. Before that, as CRO at Nomos One, he took a post-restructure fintech from operating losses to operating profit.
He wrote Curiosity: How to Be Human When Selling in the Age of AI, and the approach in it is simple: get interested in people, be honest with them and help them decide well. He's used it in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US, give or take the accent.
Project or retainer
US expansion runs as a fixed-scope project or a monthly retainer.
- Project: a set scope, timeline and fee, ending with a written US entry plan covering the first segment, pricing, first hires and how the sales motion will run. It's part of our revenue consulting work.
- Retainer: ongoing, part-time leadership of your US revenue motion, billed monthly and scaled to what the business needs. It works like our fractional CRO service, pointed at the US.
A full-time US leader is the right hire eventually. Until then, fractional leadership gets you the experience without the long search or the long-term cost.
Common questions
Can you help a New Zealand or Australian software company expand into the US?
Yes, and UK companies too. Daniel has built revenue teams in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the US, and stood up the US go-to-market motion at SuiteFiles, a New Zealand software company. We help you choose the first US segment, set pricing for the market, hire the right first people and get the sales motion running, either as a fixed-scope project or with ongoing leadership on a monthly retainer.
Where should a software company start when it enters the US?
Start with one segment. Pick the kind of US customer that looks most like your best customers at home, and that your team can reach and win, then price and hire for that segment. Spreading a small team across every region and industry at once is the expensive way to learn. Get one segment working, then add the next.
Should our first US hire be a full-time sales leader?
Eventually, yes, once you know what the job needs to be. Until then, a fractional leader can settle the first segment and pricing, get the US pipeline moving and show you what the role involves, without a months-long search or the salary, benefits and equity of a senior hire. When you're ready, we write the role, run the interviews with you, onboard your new hire and hand over.
Do you invest in companies expanding into the US?
No. We don't invest money, raise funds or broker capital. You pay us for leadership, advice and support, and the growth comes from what we build with your team. If you're raising money for the US move, you'll need other help for that part, and we can get on with the go-to-market side alongside it.
Do you work remotely or on-site?
Both. Most of the work happens remotely, with time on-site when it makes a difference. We're based in Birmingham, Alabama, and work with teams across the US and further afield, so we can work with your leadership team at home and your first people in the US as part of the same engagement.
How much does help with US expansion cost?
It depends on how you engage. A fixed-scope project, such as a US entry plan, has a set scope, timeline and fee agreed before we start. Ongoing leadership of your US sales motion runs on a monthly retainer, scaled to what the business needs, and you can dial it up or down as you grow. We don't publish prices, because the right scope differs from one company to the next.