The Global Marketing Show

Wendy Pease is President and owner of Rapport International, a translation and interpretation services provider. In this episode of The Global Marketing Show, she serves double duty, serving as both host and guest and sharing her vast experience with helping US companies export.  Did you know that 93% of small international businesses export, while in the US, only 5% of US companies export? The US imports tons of containers full of goods and ships empties back to countries around the world.  Imagine how much revenue our economy would produce if small- and mid-sized US companies started selling internationally! It could, arguably, solve several of the country's fiscal problems.  When asked why they don't export, entrepreneurs and business owners alike say they simply lack the knowledge; they don't know where to start or how to handle regulatory and payment issues.  The US federal and state governments continuously strive to correct this trade imbalance, offering resources to help companies export; trade advisors, in-country attachés, research support, and grant monies are just the beginning of an extensive support network designed to help even the smallest American companies compete on the global stage.  In addition, there are industry organizations, trade centers, chambers of commerce, and service providers willing to help.  In this episode, Wendy lists the 7 main sources of exporting support.   Pick one and reach out.    Links:  Resource Center - https://www.rapporttranslations.com/learning-center  Book – The Language of Global Marketing - https://www.rapporttranslations.com/the-language-of-global-marketing-book  Website: https://www.rapporttranslations.com/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com   

Maria Shepherd is the founder and CEO of Medi-Vantage, which helps companies develop disruptive medical devices and marketing strategies. Every strategy is designed to decrease risk, disrupt existing markets, and drive market share while improving patient outcomes. With clients from Japan, Australia, several EU countries, and the United States, Medi-Vantage has developed a comprehensive approach to global market entry, with services encompassing everything from developing engineering marketing specifications to conducting clinical due diligence for acquisitions.  As a guest on The Global Marketing Show, a Rapport International podcast, Maria shares her best advice from over 16 years of medical device strategy research, covering the commercialization continuum from marketing specifications through reimbursement, pricing strategy, and go-to-market planning. She also provides a roadmap for bringing medical devices to global markets: careful research and strategic pricing built upon a deep understanding of local healthcare systems.  The Complexities of Global Medical Device Pricing  Maria reports that thanks to increased transparency in the digital age, the days of setting different prices for different regions are essentially over. When a medical device is sold at a significantly lower cost in India, for instance, in the US, Germany, France, or Japan, economic buyers can easily access that information.  Transparency has forced companies to develop more sophisticated approaches to market entry in different regions. Some strategies include providing complementary capital equipment with the purchase of disposables or the implementation of subscription models. These approaches must be carefully considered, however, as some markets (like US hospitals) are known to resist certain pricing models. The key is finding a balance across different healthcare systems while maintaining profitability and market access.  Medi-Vantage develops budget impact models to help companies determine pricing and demonstrate value. Maria describes a recent project involving a device to help OB-GYNs make more informed decisions about C-sections. The model factored in:  Current C-section rates (36% in the US versus 24% globally)  Hospital costs associated with C-sections  Potential complications and ICU stays  Impact on mothers and babies  NICU costs  Associated litigation risks  Long-term implications like cerebral palsy  A comprehensive analysis quantifies immediate and long-term cost savings, making it easier for healthcare providers to justify the investment. Such models are particularly valuable when introducing disruptive technologies that require changes to established medical practices, Maria says, adding that:  We quantified all of those and put them into the budgetary impact model because, oftentimes, nobody really sees an alternative to C-section. They don't sit down and figure out, what if we didn't have to do this C-section? Then there are the costs to the mother, of complications, death, extreme impairment, or long hospitalization.  Clinical Due Diligence in Global M&A  Medi-Vantage also conducts clinical due diligence for medical technology companies considering acquisitions. Maria says it's not unusual for a surface-level appeal to fall short of reality, describing a rare instance in which she resisted an acquisition. A new technology promised to reduce a procedure requiring two in-hospital procedures to one hospital procedure plus one office visit, a clear win for efficiency and cost reduction.  During the due diligence process, however, the Medi-Vantage team uncovered significant resistance from both physicians and hospital administrators. The physicians were concerned about losing control of the second procedure to another specialist; hospital administrators worried about lost revenue. The feedback proved invaluable to their client's decision-making process, highlighting the importance of understanding local healthcare dynamics and stakeholder interests.  Advice for Global Market Entry  Medical device companies seeking global expansion face a complex web of challenges that extend far beyond basic market research. Standing out in a competitive market requires working with consultants who have deep expertise in specific medical specialties, she says, and a network of partners who understand both the clinical and business aspects of the device industry.  “It's important to seek out the people who can do the best for you, who understand the medical device specialty,” be it interventional cardiology or gastroenterology, regulatory requirements, translation, or another aspect. This targeted approach helps to prioritize the steps toward market acceptance based on unique workflows and decision-making processes.  The complexity extends beyond clinical knowledge. Market entry strategies must also account for local healthcare systems, reimbursement structures, and regulatory frameworks. “It's not easy,” Maria acknowledges. “You take into account what the reimbursement rates are, what types of insurance plans are available. There are many different factors, but what you want to be sure of is that you've got guardrails in place.”  Communication presents another critical challenge. Even with her own French language skills, Maria insists on working with specialized medical translators for international research. “I would never interview somebody in French and rely on my own French speaking skills,” she says. “I want to be sure that I get every single little nugget.” This attention to detail is particularly important in medical device marketing, where misunderstandings about product specifications or usage could have serious consequences.  While AI translation tools can be helpful for basic understanding, Maria stresses the importance of human expertise in medical translation, particularly for critical communications and research. High-quality translation from subject matter experts should be used for anything affecting revenue, liability, or the company's bottom line. For translation, interpreting, and research, for example, Maria looks for linguists who understand medical terminology in both source and target languages.  Maria's experience in North Africa crystallized for her the importance of understanding local market conditions. Learning the Arabic word “makesh” (meaning “there isn't any”) taught her that assumptions about product availability and market needs don't translate across borders. “In the United States, you can get almost anything, but that's not true in the rest of the world,” she observes. “Makesh is almost the standard.” This insight underscores why thorough market research conducted by experts who understand both the medical specialty and local healthcare environment is essential for successful global expansion.  For companies planning international expansion, Maria recommends a methodical approach:  Find consultants with relevant medical specialty expertise  Ensure all research and communication is handled by qualified professionals with appropriate language and clinical knowledge  Develop market entry strategies that account for local healthcare systems and cultural nuances  While COVID-19 accelerated many changes, Maria notes that these shifts were already underway. Industry leaders like Medtronic and Boston Scientific have evolved beyond traditional multinational models to become truly global organizations with unified branding, marketing, and communication strategies. The path forward is both challenging and clear, she says, adding that success will require moving beyond surface-level market research toward a deep and nuanced understanding of local healthcare dynamics, especially when “makesh is the standard.”  Links: Website: https://www.medi-vantage.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariashepherd/ 

Thorsten Waloschek is CEO of NeoPredics AG, a Swiss digital health startup revolutionizing neonatal and maternal care through predictive analytics. Its first product, BiliPredics, predicts neonatal jaundice progression and is already available in both European and U.S. markets. By analyzing biomarker data, BiliPredics can forecast a baby's bilirubin levels for up to two and a half days after hospital discharge, enabling healthcare providers to make more informed decisions about when to send newborns home.  "The very last thing you want to do is rush back to the hospital within two days,” Thorsten explains. Such returns disrupt crucial parent-child bonding and lactation and can cause unnecessary stress for new families. Hospitals can provide preventive treatment by identifying at-risk infants before discharge, ensuring a smoother transition to home life.  Building upon BiliPredics' success, NeoPredics is currently in development of a similar solution for preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder that affects 2% to 10% of pregnancies globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The exact numbers vary according to geographic region, but on average, the WHO attributes 70,000 maternal deaths and half a million fetal deaths to the condition annually. (Khan B, et al. Preeclampsia Incidence and Its Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes With Associated Risk Factors. Cureus. 2022 Nov 6;14(11). PMCID: PMC9723483, PMID: 36483900.) NeoPredics' technology aims to identify high-risk pregnancies as early as 12 weeks into gestation, prompting proactive medical intervention.  In this episode, Thorsten describes the whirlwind process of building a global healthcare business, particularly when navigating regulatory environments and cultural nuances across different markets.  Strategic Global Expansion  Founded in 2020 in Switzerland, NeoPredics took an early international approach, establishing their U.S. subsidiary just one year later. This quick expansion into the American market wasn't merely opportunistic; it was strategic:  Why the US? Because it's still the single, unified, biggest medical device market in the world. We entered the United States and then went back into Europe, which was the second step because of regulatory challenges. But in the end, it's global. We want to help every newborn baby, young family, and pregnant woman. It's not only about healthcare disparities and racial discrimination; it happens everywhere in the world. Pregnant women and newborn babies are always the least taken care of by the population, no matter where.    In addition to strategic market selection, Thorsten emphasizes the importance of local partnerships, especially for startups with limited resources. "I would never try it on my own," he says about entering new markets. "I would always look for a partner that helps us as a company to enter that market."  Local partnerships will help with cultural Integration, which is integral to global business success. Thorsten describes how different regulatory approaches reflect more profound cultural distinctions; for instance, the contrast between European "black and white" regulatory environments and the more negotiation-friendly American system reflects how each culture conducts business. Thorsten provides additional insight into managing cross-cultural communication, including translation. His approach combines several key elements:  Local language integration. Instead of solely relying on interpreters, NeoPredics seeks partners or consultants who speak the local language and understand the medical industry. This approach ensures both linguistic accuracy and cultural relevance.  Layered translation process. For technical documentation, the company employs a two-step process: First, professional translation services provide a grammatically correct translation, and then local, native-speaking subject matter experts review it to refine the cultural nuances.  Cultural context. For example, Thorsten points out that direct-to-consumer medical marketing, common in the U.S., remains prohibited in Germany, necessitating different marketing approaches in each market.  Navigating Regulatory Challenges  Thorsten explains that regulatory frameworks worldwide were formulated primarily around hardware-based medical devices, creating unique challenges for software-based solutions like predictive analytics. "And suddenly, not suddenly, but for the last 10, 15, 20 years, more and more software is coming," he adds. This disconnect has led to interesting developments in market entry strategies. While Europe was traditionally considered an easier first market for medical devices, that dynamic has shifted, with many companies now finding the FDA process more straightforward for software-based solutions.  Thorsten's best advice is to "Pick a country where you want to get your foot in, where you have your anchor point, and go from there. Don't ‘go into Europe'. That doesn't mean anything. Go into one country in Europe." Listen to the full episode to learn more about balancing technical innovation, strategic market selection, and cross-cultural communication. 

Maria Kondratyev is the founder and CEO of Aeterna Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech startup driving innovation in treating metabolic diseases, particularly in pediatric patients with growth hormone deficiency. The company's technology transforms daily hormone injections into monthly treatments, a crucial step in refining patient care and compliance.  “It is life-changing,” Maria adds. “I gave you an example of gross hormone deficiency, but really, there are a lot of different diseases, including oncology, obesity, and diabetes, where we can use this same concept, and we're going to expand there once we grow a little bit.”  Maria's story is particularly compelling. Born in Moscow, raised in Tel Aviv, educated in Canada, and now leading a company in San Diego, Maria brings a unique perspective to international business development. She discusses how technical terms can vary significantly across languages and educational systems, even between herself and her mom: "My mom was also a scientist, a biologist... She got all of her education in Moscow. But when she speaks to me about things like PCR, which we see in the lab all the time, I have no idea what she means."   Maria and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, an event hosted by Life Science Nation. (Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.) In this episode, Maria describes how an international mindset and cultural intelligence create unique opportunities in the biotech industry.  Building Bridges Across Borders  As the company moved from research to commercialization, Maria's multicultural approach generated inroads into different business cultures, resulting in Canadian commercialization grants and collaboration with Brazilian investors.  Maria encourages entrepreneurs to be open-minded: "Sometimes you're not sure how to talk to a person who was raised in a different environment," she admits. "What means one thing in one culture can mean something completely different in another." Over time, that international mindset evolves into a keen awareness of cultural nuances, creating opportunities that might never have materialized.  The complexity deepens when dealing with scientific innovations that may not have equivalent terms in other languages. With patent translations, for example, sometimes there is no direct translation for new technical terms. In such cases, a professional translator must decide whether to create new terminology, keep the original language, or develop descriptive translations that accurately capture the concept.  The Power of Cultural Intelligence  Maria offers several key insights for entrepreneurs navigating international markets:  1. Rely on professionals even though you speak the language.  Maria speaks four languages (English, Russian, Hebrew, and French); however, in her experience, technical and scientific communication require more than basic language skills. Professional translation services become crucial, mainly when dealing with specialized terminology that might not have direct equivalents across languages.  2. Pay attention to cultural nuances.  Maria has seen how something as simple as smiling – or not smiling – can be interpreted differently across cultures. Once, while dining with Israeli visitors in a Chinese restaurant in Toronto, her Israeli guests initially interpreted the server's serious demeanor as rudeness. "But she's not rude," Maria explains. "It would be rude for her to smile at you because, in their culture, you smile at your very close family or friends. It's impolite to smile at a stranger."  Maria suggests an unconventional but effective approach for those seeking to better understand different cultures: consuming media from target markets. Read literature, read fiction, watch Friends... When I met Brazilian people, I started to research what kind of books they read growing up," she explains. This approach helped her understand the context in which different cultures conduct business.  3. Know your audience.  Maria uncovers distinct differences between academic and commercial environments across borders. In Toronto, she found excellent academic support but limited commercial opportunities. The move to San Diego's vibrant biotech ecosystem provided the entrepreneurial environment to transform academic research into a viable commercial venture.  The transition wasn't just geographically driven; it required adapting to different business cultures. San Diego's collaborative atmosphere, where "you go to a brewery and meet many people who are all starting biotech companies," contrasts sharply with Toronto's more academically focused environment. This cultural shift proved crucial in helping Maria refine her business approach and secure initial funding.  An open-minded approach to cultural awareness and language learning also helps at conferences like RESI, where she met investors from multiple countries every half hour. She says the ability to quickly adjust communication styles is essential, and it helps you learn a lot more when moving from country to country. It is the key to unlocking global business opportunities.  Listen to the full episode to learn more about finding early-stage funding for your biotech innovation, where to look for funds internationally, and the many factors – including translation – that drive the product lifecycle.    Links:   Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aeterna-therapeutics/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-kondratyev-7687951/  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

John Konsin is co-founder and CEO of Prapela, a company pioneering noninvasive stimulation to improve infant breathing and oxygenation. The company's infant mattress technology has already received two Breakthrough Device designations from the US FDA, which expedites clearance for clinical usage. Prapela expects to debut an additional application based on the technology in 2025.  John and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, which Life Science Nation hosted. (Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.) In this episode, John describes three clinical applications for Prapela's technology and outlines the company's global expansion strategy, focusing on providing valuable insight into navigating international markets, regulatory challenges, and cross-cultural communication.  The Science Behind Safer Sleep  At the heart of Prapela's innovation is that 62% of healthy infants experience irregular breathing patterns and oxygen desaturation in their first three months of life. The Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation (CHIME) study monitored over 1,000 healthy infants at home using hospital-grade equipment to track their respiration, cardiac activity, movement, and oxygen saturation levels. Episodes varied in frequency, severity, and duration among babies—some experienced them once, while others showed multiple occurrences.  Most significantly, these breathing irregularities occurred not just in at-risk infants but in otherwise healthy babies, highlighting a previously unrecognized challenge in early infant development. (Ramanathan, R., et al. (2001). Cardiorespiratory events recorded on home monitors: Comparison of healthy infants with those at increased risk for SIDS. JAMA, 285(17), 2199-2207.)  Prapela's infant mattress helps to regulate babies' breathing through a gentle, barely perceptible vibration. The innovation grew out of research by Dr. David Paydarfar, who, in the 1990s, discovered that a specific type of random vibration, known scientifically as "stochastic" vibration, could improve the “pacemaker function,” the neurons in a baby's brain that controls automatic breathing. The vibration is so subtle it moves less than half the diameter of a human hair, making it effective and non-disruptive to sleep patterns.  The Hospital-First Strategy  The company has secured over $8 million in funding through grants and awards, allowing them to maintain control while developing their technology. John says this will enable the company to seek equity investment from a position of strength, with FDA clearance on the horizon and a clear path to commercialization.  Their market strategy began in hospitals, aiming to directly and immediately impact infant care in critical settings. This approach is grounded in decades of successful medical device launches, which built a foundation of clinical credibility before venturing into the broader consumer landscape. The technology has already demonstrated its potential, reducing reliance on supplemental oxygen and minimizing the need for traditional breathing interventions.  John envisions a future where "Prapela Inside" becomes as recognizable in infant care as "Intel Inside" is in computers, starting with the 52 global manufacturers of hospital bassinets and incubators:  [W]e we can make this mattress fit any infant sleep device worldwide. So it doesn't matter if it's an incubator, bassinet, crib, or cot, as they use the term in international markets, right? We can make it fit those products. So, our strategy is similar to that of Intel with the microchip. You'll see a little badge when you buy a computer from Dell or some other company. It says Intel inside.  By positioning their technology as a vital component that transforms standard infant care equipment into advanced breathing support systems, Prapela aims to revolutionize hospital infant care worldwide. Following FDA approval, Prapela plans to pursue regulatory clearance in other markets, initially focusing on Europe, India, and the Middle East. The sequential approach allows them to leverage their FDA clearance while adapting to local regulatory requirements in each new market.  Cultural Intelligence in Global Marketing  John offers valuable insight into cross-cultural communication and marketing. He emphasizes several key principles for successful global expansion:  Language Simplification: English is widely spoken in international business, but vocabulary depth varies significantly. John advocates using simpler terms and friendly communication to bridge language gaps.  Local Market Adaptation: Success in one market doesn't guarantee success in another. Companies must adapt messaging, pricing, and marketing approaches to local market conditions rather than forcing an American-centric approach.  Brand Management: While maintaining global brand consistency is essential, give local managers some latitude in adapting messages to their markets. This is particularly critical when moving from clinical to consumer marketing, where terms like "calmness" might carry different cultural connotations across markets.  He underscores the importance of remaining open to and respectful of local customs and traditions in international business relationships with a memorable story from his early career in Mexico. The general managers of manufacturing operations presented him with a stuffed armadillo. Initially puzzled by the gift, he later learned it symbolized appreciation for his patience and understanding of their culture.  Brand Identity Across Borders  John explains that "Prapela" was carefully constructed from Latin roots to create a unique name that wouldn't carry unintended meanings in other languages. This thoughtful approach helps avoid the pitfalls that some major companies have encountered, such as the famous case of Chevrolet's Nova in Latin American markets, where the name unfortunately translated to "doesn't go."  The company's branding strategy balances global consistency with local flexibility from the outset. It maintains core clinical messaging that resonates with medical professionals worldwide while recognizing the need for nuanced consumer-market approaches. John explains that exercise is particularly important when communicating concepts like infant calmness or comfort, as cultural interpretations can vary significantly.  Listen to the full episode to learn more about Prapela's innovative approach to their technology and market entry strategy.    Links:   Website: https://www.prapela.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkonsin/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Mickael Dang is co-founder of Synakis, a biotech startup developing groundbreaking technology for the treatment of retinal detachment. Still in startup mode, the company is part of UTEST, the University of Toronto's Early Stage Technology Program, which helps deep tech entrepreneurs go from lab to market. Mickael and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, where Synakis was among the highest-scoring companies in the Innovator's Pitch Challenge. (The RESI conference is hosted by Life Science Nation and Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Sciences Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.)  Mickael's journey is fascinating. When he arrived in Canada from France six years ago, he could barely string together an English sentence. Today, we find him at the intersection of scientific innovation, entrepreneurship, and global market expansion, having started Synakis while earning a PhD and serving as President of the Student and Young Investigator Section (SYIS) of TERMIS (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society). He is also multilingual; he speaks French, English, and some Mandarin.  “The PhD is the same concept as being an entrepreneur,” he says. “You need to be very self-driven, very independent as well. You have to come up with your own experiment and come up with the next predicted results. I had this entrepreneurial mindset from the get-go and wanted to do a PhD for purpose, to really get the company out there."  Incubated in the laboratory of renowned biomedical engineering professor Dr. Molly Shoichet, Synakis is developing a revolutionary hydrogel-based technology called SNK125. This innovation promises to transform the recovery process for patients suffering from retinal detachment, a serious condition that requires immediate surgical intervention to prevent permanent vision loss.  Current treatments for retinal detachment involve using silicon oil or heavy gases to push the detached retina back into place. While these methods work, they come with significant drawbacks. Patients experience blurry vision during recovery and must maintain exhausting, face-down posturing for hours, sometimes for months. In addition, the materials used aren't biodegradable, requiring a second surgery for removal. Synakis's hydrogel technology eliminates all of these challenges, while reducing recovery time from months to just days.    The Global Path to Market  Equally interesting is the company's approach to global market entry. Based in Canada, the company has already laid the groundwork for international expansion; in 2019, Mickael proactively filed patents across multiple territories, including Europe, Australia, Canada, and China, to ensure protection of its intellectual property globally. And rather than attempting to tackle multiple markets simultaneously, Synakis will initially focus on North America before expanding to Europe and China. This staged approach allows them to establish a strong foundation in their home market while building the partnerships and relationships required for international expansion.  Throughout, Mickael and his team have been actively seeking partnerships with established industry giants like Alcon or Bausch & Lomb. There are high costs associated with clinical trials these companies – companies that "own the entire market," according to Mickael – have the expertise and distribution networks necessary for successful commercialization.    Funding the Future  Synakis is concurrently seeking seed investment and focusing on several critical milestones: Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) setup, FDA regulatory filing, and preparation for clinical trials. While its primary focus is on North American investors for practical reasons like time zone alignment and ease of communication, they're keeping their options open for international investment, particularly in regions like China, which possess significant market opportunity. Mickael has constructed a targeted and strategic approach to investor outreach. At the RESI conference, for example, he prioritized meetings with specialized investors like ExSight Ventures, who focus specifically on ophthalmology. These are the meaningful conversations with investors that will ask the hard questions and offer solutions.    Looking Ahead  Synakis is currently preparing for its next phase of growth. Plans include moving out of the university incubator, creating new jobs in Toronto, and expanding their product pipeline beyond retinal detachment treatments to include drug delivery solutions for other eye conditions.  Mickael's key takeaways from his Synakis journey are relevant for any company planning international expansion:  Strategic IP Protection: Early patent filing in target markets will protect future opportunities.  Staged Market Entry: Starting with familiar markets before expanding globally can help manage resources and risk effectively.  Strategic Partnerships: Recognizing when to partner with established players can accelerate market entry and provide access to crucial resources.  Targeted Investor Outreach: Focusing on investors who understand your industry can lead to more productive relationships.  Cultural Adaptability: Language skills and cultural understanding are invaluable assets in building a global business.  Going from lab to market can be, as Mickael says it in French, a "casse-tête" (a “head-breaker”), but the right approach, persistence, and strategic thinking can ultimately turn scientific innovation into global market success. Listen to the full episode to hear more about Synakis's journey from university lab to potential global market player, plus more real-world advice for expanding internationally.    Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickael-dang/  Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/synakis/  https://utest.to/  https://termis.org/index.php?q=termis-syis-am     

Emilio Sacristan is the chief scientific officer of Vacere, a company working to eliminate brain damage and death caused by ischemic stroke and vasospasm. The company's CEREFAST™ medical device proved successful in initial human trials, and the team is now conducting multicenter testing in the US via a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.  CEREFAST™ significantly improves blood flow to the brain at the earliest interventional opportunity by stimulating facial nerves during a two-minute, non-invasive procedure. “Time is brain,” explains Emilio, and in addition to almost immediate treatment for stroke, the product has been shown effective for the treatment of vasospasm (a potential fatal result of post-aneurysm treatment), and migraines.  Emilio and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, hosted by Life Science Nation. (Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Sciences Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.)  From “Crazy Idea” to Modern Medical Device  Emilio is also a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalap (UAM-Iztapalapa) in Mexico City. He holds dual Spanish citizenship and speaks four languages (Spanish, English, French, and German) and holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Yet even with such a storied background, Emilio found himself at first skeptical of the whole concept. When his partner first floated the idea, Emilio said “it's never gonna work.”  Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. In the US, at least 800,000 people suffer a stroke each year, resulting in over 140,000 deaths. Worldwide, those numbers reach 15 million and 7 million, respectively. And these numbers ignore the lifelong disabilities affecting the survivors.  As such, the global implications of CEREFAST™ are profound, representing more than just a medical innovation; it signals a potential paradigm shift in emergency neurological care. In many regions, especially those with limited medical infrastructure, stroke patients often receive minimal treatment at the time of the incident and, as Emilio repeats, “time is brain.”  Navigating Global Markets with Linguistic and Cultural Expertise  And just as Emilio and his partner had to jump through interdisciplinary regulatory and engineering hoops to secure approval for human trials, the company's go-to-market strategy was built upon a deeply nuanced cross-cultural understanding and attention to linguistic details. Emilio's linguistic arsenal lends him a significant competitive advantage, allowing him to navigate complex international negotiations, build relationships, and understand subtle communication cues.  Except in China, one of Vacere's primary target markets, where even English-speaking colleagues can be unreliable in their written translation and spoken interpreting. Emilio admits that he works with a professional language services company for dealings in China, adding that he more than occasionally finds himself translating or reviewing documents in one of his three fluent languages, time that could be better spent on the company's core competencies.  “Of course we're going to do this worldwide," Emilio says, starting with expansion into Europe and the start of a migraine study in Latin America next year. When approaching new markets and potential investors, he adds, follow a deliberate and thoughtful cultural playbook, strategically avoiding potentially divisive topics like politics and history, and instead focusing on universally engaging subjects that foster positive dialogue. "Innovation is a topic that everybody likes," he notes. "Everybody has their own definition, but everybody wants to talk about it."  The Multilingual Entrepreneur's Toolkit  For any entrepreneur looking to expand globally, Emilio suggests keeping these skills at the ready:  Strong multilingual communication skills  Cultural intelligence and adaptability  A repository of positive, forward-looking conversation topics  Networking  An open mind for unconventional, innovative ideas  Diverse, international teams  Listen to the full episode for more practical advice on securing international funding, and the language and cultural requirements for successful global expansion and marketing.    Links:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiliosacristan/  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Catalina Vasquez is co-founder and COO of Nanostics Inc., a Canadian biotechnology company that develops and commercializes innovative diagnostic tests. Established in 2017, Nanostics leverages machine learning to generate biomarker-driven improvements to patient care. Its larger aim is to revolutionize personalized medicine through early and accurate disease detection.  Catalina and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, hosted by Life Science Nation. (Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Sciences Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.)   At the heart of the company's origin story is Frank Sojonky, a visionary whose late-stage prostate cancer diagnosis proved a pivotal moment of transformation, both personally and professionally. His life's work became an extraordinary commitment to advancing research to prevent other families from experiencing the same devastating experience.  Through strategic fundraising and a partnership with the Alberta Cancer Foundation, Sojonky's vision took root. His legacy became the cornerstone of what would evolve into ClarityDX Prostate (known as CDX Prostate in the US), a blood test more precise and reliable alternative than existing methods.  The Science Behind the Innovation  At its technological core, Nanostics represents the cutting edge of medical artificial intelligence. The company's proprietary approach harnesses machine learning to integrate complex clinical data with standard and proprietary biomarkers. The result is a sophisticated algorithm that generates a precise risk score, predicting the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer with unprecedented accuracy. So the advantage of ClarityDx Prostate is that it is a software as a medical device. It's an algorithm.  What sets Nanostics apart is its ability to differentiate between aggressive prostate cancer and indolent forms of the disease, meaning cases that are asymptomatic or marked by slow progression. By providing a percentage-based risk assessment, the technology empowers both patients and physicians to make more informed decisions about potential biopsies, which come with “significant adverse effects,” even death. “For the family to find out later on that the patient did not have prostate cancer,” Catalina continues, “that's what we want to avoid.”  Global Validation Through Rigorous International Research  The company's strategy included a comprehensive international validation strategy designed to recruit over 3,400 patients across multiple countries, including Canada, the US, and Europe. This ambitious approach involved collaborations with prestigious institutions like UCLA, Johns Hopkins University, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and Thomayer University in Europe.  As soon as the company launched its clinical trials, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, temporarily halting patient recruitment at multiple sites. Catalina and her team were unfazed, however, and she says:  In reality, after COVID abated it was actually quite easy to recruit for this study because patients really, really wanted to help. So out of a hundred patients, 97-98 of the patients would agree to participate in the study. Because of that, the recruitment was super quick. We were able to recruit 1500 patients in less than a year.  There is a worldwide need for improved prostate cancer screening. The company's recruitment strategy originated in English only, but quickly expanded to attract participants from South America and the Middle East, concurrent with a search for more diverse candidates domestically. Marketing in different regions requires a nuanced understanding of cultural differences in healthcare.  As such, the company doesn't simply deploy a one-size-fits-all solution but carefully adapts its technology and messaging to specific regional contexts:  In Colombia, where men often pursue biopsies out of extreme cancer anxiety, Nanostics offers a way to reduce unnecessary medical procedures  In the Middle East, where cultural taboos can prevent men from seeking medical examinations, their technology provides a less invasive alternative to traditional screening methods  In North American markets, they offer comprehensive models that incorporate multiple standard-of-care diagnostic approaches  Catalina emphasizes that global expansion isn't just about scientific adaptation but also about communication strategies. Marketing materials are meticulously tailored to local sensitivities. In more conservative regions like the Middle East, messaging becomes more discreet, while markets like Alberta allow for more playful, witty approaches.  Expanding Global Reach  Nanostics continues to expand its global footprint, including recent partnerships with:  Protean BioDiagnostics for the U.S. market  OncoHelix, serving the Middle East and North Africa  Prime Diagnostics covering Latin America  Laboratory partnerships across multiple Canadian provinces  Their software-as-a-medical-device model provides remarkable flexibility, allowing integration with existing laboratory infrastructures worldwide, and the potential impact is profound. Nanostics's improvement in PSA testing predictive values could prevent up to 47% of unnecessary biopsies. This isn't just a statistical achievement but a deeply human one – reducing patient anxiety, preventing potential medical complications, and ultimately saving lives.    Links:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catalina-vasquez-994371b4/  Website: https://www.nanosticsdx.com/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Akeem Gardner is the CEO of Canadian biotech startup Canurta, a Canadian-based biotech company that specializes in extracting and enriching rare molecules found in nature and developing them into botanical therapeutics to help patients who are suffering from major neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.  More specifically, botanical drugs rely on a variety of technologies to gather and upcycle plant waste, and Canurta has created processes for creating purified standards and molecules that can eventually go to market:  “But what many people don't know is that the FDA actually gives you a botanical drug development guidance of how you could handcraft or properly formulate molecules from plants to get specific ingredients that target specific mechanisms that can help patients with the neuroprotection that they need to extend their lifespan but also live more healthy lives across a longer lifespan.”  Akeem and Wendy connected at the Redefining Early Stage of Investment (RESI) Conference in Boston, hosted by Life Science Nation. (Wendy recently interviewed Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Sciences Nation, which specializes in fundraising for life sciences companies.)   In this episode, Akeem describes how his company leverages global connections and diverse perspectives to drive growth and innovation, especially for its most advanced program, dedicated to the treatment of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.  Building International Partnerships  Akeem has made it a priority to cultivate international partnerships, recognizing the need for a global patient pool. To facilitate these global connections, he tapped into resources available to Canadian companies: federal and provincial governments subsidize attendance at industry events and make introductions to key organizations. "They create spaces for Canadian companies, so that I just have to get on a flight, get to where the opportunity is, or the event is, and then they help us with matchmaking and making introductions to the organizations that we need to meet," he explains.  Akeem's own diverse background also contributes to his global mindset. Having studied law in the UK before founding Canurta, he is comfortable navigating different cultures and languages, “always so excited about how people are living in different places in the world," he adds.  Leveraging Language and Culture  Akeem encourages his team to embrace existing technologies to mitigate the barriers that language and culture sometimes creates. He lauds the practical uses of generative AI and Google Translate, but only for translating signs or navigating public transportation in foreign countries. Clinical trials, regulatory documents, and sensitive information require professional translation, however, and Akeem relies on his experienced team for translation management so that he can focus on building relationships with key opinion leaders and patients.  He has learned along the way that fostering that focus in other areas of the company is also important. For example, managing cash flow rather than chasing every opportunity that presents itself is key to long-term success, especially during difficult economic times when capital is scarce.  Another lesson Akeem has learned is to trust his own instincts and his team's capabilities, rather than relying solely on advice from outside experts. "Everyone has an opinion, but they're not always experts in the day-to-day of what you're doing," he said. Staying grounded in the realities will help you navigate the complexities of biotech development with confidence.  The Power of Diverse Perspectives  His background as a non-traditional biotech founder has also taught him the value of embracing diverse perspectives. With a background in law and agriculture, he initially grappled with imposter syndrome, feeling that he lacked the scientific credentials of his peers.  Since, however, he has come to see his unique perspective as a strength: "I used to have a lot of imposter syndrome because I'm not a scientist by nature. Or by formal training, I'm a learning scientist now because I'm doing it on the day-to-day," he says. This “outsider” viewpoint also means he can ask fresh questions and challenge assumptions, ultimately driving innovation within his company.  In fact, companies with diverse teams have been shown to increase a company's revenue, drive growth, and heighten retention. Novel problem-solving and varied perspectives contribute to open lines of communication and a healthy working environment.  Looking Ahead: Expanding Globally, Staying Focused  Canurta is in the process of recruiting patients for its registration trials in Australia, Europe, Canada, and the US. By embracing internationalization, biotech companies are leaders in bringing life-changing and life-saving products to the world as it truly looks today, one consisting of vastly differing backgrounds and expectations yet united in the quest for better, more healthful living.  In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to navigate language and cultural barriers, build strategic partnerships, and challenge industry conventions will be key differentiators for biotechnology startups committed to making a lasting impact. Canurta is leading the way, alongside the rest of the Canadian biotech community, and their journey is inspiring.    Links:  Website: https://www.canurta.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akeemgardner/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

In this episode, we hear from Tom Gallagher, CEO of Diversified Automation and a former Penn State classmate. Who'd have thought we'd reconnect all these years later via a podcast? Listen for Tom's real-world insights and career advice shaped by his global business experience.  Tom recently stepped into the role of CEO at Diversified Automation following its acquisition by Leadec, a German powerhouse in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Their newfound, shared vision leverages Leadec's international scale to develop opportunities for innovative and advanced automation in manufacturing and package handling. The companies have worked with Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Chevy, Amazon, DHL, FedEx, UPS, and more.  Tom regrets not having learned German, though he couldn't have predicted the country's influence on his career at the outset. He explains how government-mandated work safety and life balance requirements mean German citizens can only work so many hours a day. During one visit, he and his associates were not allowed back in the building after an evening meal!  His global experience yielded other surprising customs:  When traveling for business internationally, your hosts may expect you to dine and socialize outside the office.    In Germany, people like to walk for fresh air and exercise before and after dinner. His colleagues often pick a restaurant 15 to 20 minutes away to enjoy the time together.  Breakfasts can vary widely worldwide! Some European breakfasts feature an array of meats and cheeses, completely unlike typical American fare. Singapore's charming "Toast" shops offer avocado toast and matcha tea, showcasing the city-state's unique blend of Eastern and Western influences.  Like many in global business, Tom grappled with common concerns: How do you pick the right partners in unfamiliar territories? How can you anticipate trade limitations varying wildly from country to country? He recounts instances where equipment from China was barred entry into Korea and Vietnam, causing unexpected delays. In every case, a good and knowledgeable partner will help to avoid these issues.  Similarly, Tom's experiences underscore the value of expertise in translation, interpreting, and communication across language barriers. He found bilingual professionals with relevant industry knowledge invaluable for technical discussions and high-stakes negotiations. Their nuanced understanding of language and subject matter far outperformed general translators or AI solutions, especially in technically complex fields.  His final, best advice:  “If you have the opportunity to do international work, do not hesitate to say ‘YES!'” You will learn so much through travel, the interactions with local people, the experience of seeing how people live, and exposure to different cultures. Don't worry about failing,” he adds. “You may. That's OK. You will learn from it.”  Links:   Website: https://diversified-automation.com/  https://usa.leadec-services.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-gallagher-5b52934/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Dennis Ford is founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, a sourcing platform for market intelligence and prospect pipeline development for life sciences companies.   An expert in the art of international fundraising, he is also the author of The Life Science Executive's Fundraising Manifesto. In this episode, Dennis shares real-world insight into how fundraising in life sciences has evolved, and why you've got to “go global” to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.  The Four Pillars of Life Science  Put simply, the life sciences industry can be broken down into the “four Ds”: Drugs, Devices, Diagnostics, and Digital Health. Each category has its own timeline and development path – from the lengthy 15-20 year process for drugs to the relatively quick development cycle for digital health solutions. Typically, startup companies need to target 600 to 800 potential investors to run an effective 9-18 month fundraising campaign. This number isn't arbitrary – Dennis has seen even established health tech funds vetting 800 companies just to make three investments in a year.  Similarly, the global life sciences market can be divided into three main regions:  Asia Pacific (including China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Australia)  Europe and the UK  North America (U.S. and Canada)  While there is activity in other regions like Africa and South America, these three markets represent the primary playing field for life sciences innovation and investment.  This new reality means going global isn't an option, it's a necessity. Dennis explains: “There just aren't enough investors in a particular region to allow them to play that numbers game.” Even in rich ecosystems like Boston/Cambridge or Silicon Valley, staying local severely limits opportunities.    The Language Myth  One common concern about going global is the language barrier. Dennis easily counters that notion as an obstacle, explaining that English typically serves as the universal language in the field, particularly among academic and research institutions. Investors, licensing partners, and other stakeholders are often comfortable communicating in English, “and I have not seen in my conferences or any of my trips that me not speaking the native language is a deal killer,” he adds.  Interestingly, while language should never stop you from expanding globally, Dennis discovered an unexpected cultural challenge: the persistence required in following up with potential investors. Entrepreneurs from certain cultures are hesitant to make multiple attempts to reconnect, viewing it as inappropriate or “spammy.” Dennis emphasized that success often comes after numerous attempts – sometimes even on the twentieth contact.  He describes in detail how syndicated investments typically work, with a lead investor taking primary responsibility for oversight and management of the company through regular meetings and milestones. Even with a diverse group of investors from different countries (e.g., Chinese, European, and American investors), the lead investor – often chosen based on geography or similar criteria – handles the day-to-day management while other investors participate at key milestones and funding calls. To facilitate these international connections, Life Science Nation holds RESI (Redefining Early Stage Investment) conferences every few months, providing regular engagement beyond one's local region.  Once a company secures international funding, Dennis advises companies to source investors from different regions because they have “footprints” in a particular region; more than just capital, diversity provides valuable regional expertise, connections to distributors, and insights into local markets when it's time to commercialize.    True Stories Translate  Ultimately, what matters most to investors? While scientific validity is crucial, Dennis explains, investors are equally – if not more – interested in the human story behind the science. He shares a powerful story of an experienced pharma executive who was initially reluctant to share the story of how her son's illness inspired her work. Once she finally embraced the storytelling, she went on to win Australia's top entrepreneurial pitch competition.  Key Takeaways for Global Success:  Start with a comprehensive target list of 600-800 potential investors  Implement a proper CRM system to manage relationships  Develop a compelling narrative that can be told in various time frames (5 seconds to 3 hours)  Don't limit your reach to the local region or even your home country  Prepare for a 9-18 month fundraising journey  Be persistent in follow-ups, regardless of cultural norms  Balance technical expertise with personal storytelling    The Global Life Sciences Opportunity  The life sciences industry has entered a golden age, with innovations emerging from research institutions worldwide. The global distribution of talent and innovation means that neither the best technologies nor the best funding opportunities are confined to any single region.  For entrepreneurs in the life sciences space, the message is clear: thinking globally isn't just about expanding your market – it's about survival. Whether you're developing a groundbreaking drug in Boston, a medical device in Minneapolis, or a diagnostic tool in Singapore, your fundraising strategy needs to be global from day one.  Check out the links below to learn more about global fundraising in life sciences and his book, The Life Science Executive's Fundraising Manifesto.    Links Email: dford@lifesciencenation.com  Book: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Science-Executives-Fundraising-Manifesto/dp/0990325105  Website: www.lifesciencenation.com RESI Conference: https://resiconference.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2775813   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Robert (“Bob”) Sinner is President of SB&B Foods, the largest grower of “identity preserved (IP), non-GMO food-grade” soybeans in North Dakota. In this episode, Bob tells us how his family's 5th generation farm identified a need for soybeans in Asia and how he pursued and won that business.  Bob's father George served as governor of North Dakota from 1985 to 1992. During his tenure, George Sinner resolutely tried to attract Japanese investment into the state, which inspired Bob to help US companies export into Japan to develop relationships and accelerate the creation of new opportunities.  To start, Bob embarked upon a trade mission to Japan, alongside a hired interpreter. Once there, he found mature markets looking for a consistent and reliable supply of soy beans, the agricultural product needed to produce uniform product like tofu and soy milk.  At Rapport International, we encourage our clients to employ interpreters as “cultural conduits” – native-speaking interpreters are valuable sources of in-country information. In that vein, upon his return, Bob enlisted the help of North Dakota State University professor Dr. Sam Chang, originally from Taiwan, who had previous experience working with soybeans.  Together with a visiting Taiwanese trade team, the group conducted sensory testing, a scientific method for evaluating a food's characteristics – taste, texture, odor, and appearance, for example – to determine which product was of the highest quality. After their visit, the Taiwanese group donated the sensory testing equipment to the N. Dakota State University, which is still in use today!  SB&B is now operating in 16 countries, most of them within Asia because of the high per capita consumption of soybeans. Its customers manufacture over 25 different foods – including the Japanese “natto,” a healthy, fermented food that helps with heart and brain functioning.  Bob says their success is due simply to always paying attention to what the customers want and catering to those wants. The best marketing, he adds, is accomplished by:  Being yourself  Staying honest  Treating people like you want to be treated  Knowing your products  Understanding local culture  Building trusted relationships  His biggest, ongoing challenge involves shipping containers. Most containers coming into the US are 40 feet long and carry bulky yet lightweight consumer products into metropolitan areas.  Shipping heavy agricultural products from a rural area to Asia, where they prefer smaller containers, presents a twofold problem. First, containers are parked in US metro areas and require transport to rural areas. Second, the smaller containers Asian buyers want are closer to 20 feet long, half the size of standard containers, because they unload within smaller and tighter spaces. Bob continues to work with US and foreign officials to find solutions.  His best advice to new exporters:  Understand the market  Operate under a set of core values that include integrity, honesty, fairness, and trust  Be patient yet persistent in building trust  Keep educating yourself  Reap the rewards!  Listen to the full episode to learn more.    Links Email: Rsinner@SB-B.com  Website: https://sb-b.com/   LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bob-sinner-a058322a     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Andrew Jason is Director of Ecosystems at Grand Farm in Fargo, North Dakota, which describes itself as “a collaborative network of growers, corporations, startups, educators, researchers, government, and investors working together to solve problems in agriculture through AgTech and innovation.” Gone are the days when farming was synonymous with the image of a forlorn couple, pitchfork in hand, à la Grant Wood's American Gothic. In this episode, Jason explains how AI and innovation has inundated the farming industry as much as it has every other, spurring advancements in international agriculture, especially when it comes to sustainability, data collection, and the use of drones and robotics to increase efficiency and production.  Farming is also near and dear to the host, Wendy Pease, whose father was a professor of international agriculture at Penn State in the 1970s. Then, “high tech” meant setting up a computer to monitor her father's potato research storage facility at Black Moshannon State Park in Pennsylvania. If the temperature dropped, for example, the computer called him at home to alert him. Late one night, Wendy sleepily received a phone call from an old-fashioned computer voice saying: “There is a power outage at the Potato Storage area,” which she found amazing!  Grand Farm sees vast potential in connecting global communities to share ideas and technologies, with the aim of advancing agriculture production. Of late, Andrew has seen a lot of development in AgTech out of Brazil, Ukraine, Europe, Australia, and Japan. In fact, Grand Farm recently announced a partnership with Fukaya City, Japan, whose Deep Valley Initiative is an AgTech thought leader. The collaboration marks a major step toward an international approach to innovation in agriculture.   Every partnership comes with its challenges, and Andrew shares the ones he's discovered that are particular to international connections:  Cultural balancing act: Integrating local cultural needs with Grand Farm's global vision proved tricky. It's a common tension in multinational ventures, yet it can be managed by enabling cross-functional teams to work together.  Navigating time zones: Communication across time differences requires flexibility. Andrew often connects with Japanese partners around 10 p.m. Fargo time, after his kids are in bed. While they've explored asynchronous options like video messages and chat, sometimes a real-time conversation is necessary.  Patience in partnership building: The Japanese collaboration took years to finalize. While there's often pressure for quick results in the US, many cultures prioritize building relationships and trust over time.  Bridging language gaps: In-country contacts helped set up interpreters to facilitate communication. Andrew notes the importance of employing professional interpreters and translators, especially in Japan and other Asian countries.  Finding support: It can be hard to know where to start. The North Dakota Trade Office provided invaluable advice and international introductions. Andrew recommends tapping into your local trade experts for guidance and other free resources.  Learn more about Grand Farm and their initiatives by listening to the full episode. And click here to donate to this worthy organization.    Links:  https://grandfarm.com/calendar/  Website: https://grandfarm.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grand-farm/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Jason - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-jason-09755161/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Navigating cultural differences while building a company culture or consistent brand voice can be challenging, but it is not insurmountable, says Carole Copeland Thomas, a recent podcast guest on The Global Marketing Show (episode 131), especially with support from knowledgeable experts and a willingness to learn.  Carole is founder of C. Thomas & Associates, a full-service speaking, training, & consulting firm specializing in multiculturalism, diversity, and women's issues (http://www.tellcarole.com/). In this episode, she outlines how culture – and cultural differences – affect relationships, and she provides real-world advice on successfully navigating and incorporating those differences into local and larger communities.  Carole has found that the definition of “culture” can be nebulous; when asked, we all instantly know what it means, but it's hard to define. By her description, the concept encompasses the social norms, behaviors, knowledge, arts, beliefs, customs, and habits of a group of people. As an expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for over 40 years, she likes to explain it using the “Iceberg Model of Culture” developed by Edward T. Hall in 1976.   The top of the cultural iceberg stays visible to everyone. It contains the community's fine arts, literature, music, food, games, and dress. People outside the culture see these superficial elements.  The bottom of the iceberg, the biggest part of any culture, hides beneath the surface and influences less quantifiable aspects like:  Eye Contact: In the US, children learn the importance of direct eye contact whereas in Japan, children are taught the opposite, that direct eye contact is considered rude, aggressive, and disrespectful.   Time: Some cultures are strict about time and others allow for more flexibility. In Germany and Denmark, for example, meetings start at the appointed time, yet in Japan and China, it's customary to arrive 15 to 30 minutes early. In Latin American and Latin European countries, flexibility is more common.  Personal Space: People have varying levels of comfort with touching, standing close together, and holding hands with friends. In North America people typically hold each other at “arm's length,” while Europeans tend toward “wrist length” and those in the Middle East prefer “elbow length.”  Gestures: In India, people will shake or “bobble” their head to mean “I hear you” or “I don't know,” or to say “yes” or “no.” The closest conversational response in the US would be simply “hmmm.”   The examples above illustrate only a small number of all the cultural components that might affect company culture and co-worker relationships. Other areas of potential contention commonly include:  Approaches to problem solving  Notions of leadership  Tempo of work  Patterns of group decision-making  Status mobility  Ideas about logic and validity  Conversational patterns  Typically, people understand their own cultural norms yet underestimate how much cultural differences can affect relationships. Listen to the full episode for additional details on these real-world culture-clash situations Carole has managed.  In one instance, a client company's employee hailed from an island in the Caribbean where non-intimate physical contact was acceptable in the workplace, among all genders. Issues arose when others misconstrued the behavior as inappropriate. By helping the team understand the employee's cultural context and setting clear expectations, Carole was able to restore respectful, solid working relationships and a unified company culture.  In another instance, a young manager was hired to lead a team of about 25 people, including a dozen employees older than the new hire. Unbeknownst to the new manager, the older Black members of the team expected the manager to address them as “Mr.” or “Ms.” to show respect for the age difference. Resentment within the team grew, until Carole and the manager uncovered the issue and found appropriate ways for the manager to address the workers. As Carole puts it: in some cultures, age commands respect and in others, it's about one's status or position. Navigating through this can be difficult.  And even with her expertise in cultural issues, Carole has encountered cultural challenges in her personal life. When she became a grandmother, she wanted a special name instead of being called "grandma" like her mother. Since she frequently travels to Kenya, Carole decided she liked “nyanya,” Swahili for “grandma.” Only after years of her granddaughters calling her nyanya did she learn that the familiar name for grandma in Swahili is actually “bibi.” Throughout, her granddaughters were actually using the formal term for "grandmother,” which is also Swahili for "tomato"!  Solutions  In every cross-cultural situation, Carole first aims to build rapport and alignment. She assesses the manager's awareness and willingness to improve relationships and if she can work with the individual, she collaborates with them to enhance the team, starting with fundamentals such as:  Developing rapport individually with each team member. That doesn't mean “getting into that person's business”; she simply finds it beneficial to get to know each person on an individual and professional basis. Carole recommends scheduling time with people for coffee, lunch, or a conversation, with no set agenda. Even if there are 40 people on the team, it is always worth the time to meet with each person.  Reflecting upon the strengths and weaknesses of the team to understand what people contribute. Consider creating a SWOT analysis of personalities to get a bigger picture of the group's dynamics.  Communicating the vision that rallies the team to work together toward shared goals. A shared vision unites people as they focus on achievements together, depend on each other for diverse contributions, and celebrate as they reach milestones.  Ultimately, Carole's best advice for working cross-culturally starts with you:  Learn about your own culture. Raise your awareness about your native culture. We aren't often aware of the way we do things naturally, without thinking, and how those instincts impact the ways in which we approach every situation. Culture is most invisible to its own participants – just consider any stand-up comedian's material about “Americans”!  Keep trying. Network with others to keep learning. Contact colleagues, ask for introductions at local embassies, companies, or associations to get tips about cultural differences and how to navigate them. Interpreters are a great resource for facilitating conversations and often serve as a cultural conduit to assist with communication beyond words, in real-time.  Ask for forgiveness! Reach out, engage, and try, try again. People readily forgive mistakes made by anyone who is friendly and curious.  Carole's experiences are real-world proof that these strategies work to bridge cultural divides and build thriving, cohesive teams and communities. Listen to the full episode for even more excellent advice!    Links:  Website: www.CaroleCopelandThomas.com   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolecopelandthomas/  Iceberg Model of Culture: https://bccie.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/cultural-iceberg.pdf     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Issa Kildani is the founder of Ambrosia Ventures, a life sciences consultancy that provides strategic, regulatory, and quality compliance solutions. He's consulted with pharma giants, yet over the last 10 years has used his experience to guide startups and small companies toward global market entry​​ with his project management, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs expertise.  In this episode, Issa describes taking M Biologics, a pharma company with a manuka honey-based pet pain reliever, into Canada and Brazil. He advises early-stage companies to evaluate global markets and competitors to determine a way to stand out from competitors. Because Michigan is geographically close to Canada, for example, expansion into Brazil instead might be a better strategy. And always validate the market research, even if it's your own.  Interestingly, studies show that CEOs that speak other languages or come from other countries are more likely to export. And M Biologics is a case in point – its CEO, born and raised in Egypt, was Issa's college classmate!    Building blocks for quality and regulatory requirements  For early startups every endeavor must be cost-effective, so Issa has created a regulatory strategy with built-in cost savings. His approach is to streamline and standardize international regulations to reduce redundancies: “instead of doing several independent audits we clump them together methodically,” he says, which in the end saves cost while acquiring customer brand trust, limiting liability, and standing out from the competition.  Issa describes the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as the “international gold standard” for regulatory framework; their requirements are the most stringent and control quality, safety, and efficacy of a device throughout the product lifecycle.  “How I like to approach this, aside from the market credibility of getting the ISO 13485 certificate,” says Issa, “is to take advantage of expanding past that by aligning it with other international standards.” Depending on a company's maturity, Issa will determine whether to take a risk management approach using ISO 14971, adopt a more stringent European MDR/IVDR strategy, or incorporate WHO requirements for less regulated markets.  Issa adds that pinpointing initial markets provides a roadmap for meeting regulatory requirements, which leads to a more comprehensive audit. The process ultimately positions the brand as a serious player in the industry while “enhancing credibility and attractiveness to eventual strategic partners and global distributors.”  It's a key differentiator, according to Issa, unlike the common pitfall of starting with less-regulated markets, which “doesn't help in terms of establishing consumer trust, or even brand reputation.”  Similarly, approach global marketing from a position of solid regulatory compliance to “signal a commitment to quality and safety.” Messaging should emphasize:  Rigorous compliance. A track record of successful compliance boosts a company's reputation.  Consistent interaction with regulatory bodies. Open lines of communication fosters trust with consumers, creating loyalty.  The goal is to create messaging with a global eye view, which then makes adherence to ISO standards for translation that much easier.  “Translation is its own beast,” Issa says. He relies on study groups that mirror target populations to ensure that messaging is “global friendly” – messaging used in the US should resonate in Brazil and the EU, for example. Generative AI can be helpful for gist translations, Issa says, but “there are certain words that aren't easily translatable, and AI won't register that.” So always consult with an expert to ensure accuracy.  Issa speaks four languages! His favorite word, among the lexicons of English, Spanish, Arabic, and Jamaican Patois is “na'eeman,” an expression generally used to denote cleanliness – “I just had a shower, na'eeman” or “I just got a haircut, na'eeman” – but can also stand in for other, unrelated situations, like “I'm late for a meeting, na'eeman.”  “There isn't a real definition or description, that's why I love it so much,” he says, “you can just use it and input it in so many different instances, for ‘that sounds right' or ‘that makes sense'.” Call it the “lah” of Singapore or the Hawaiian “da kine” – IFKYK!    Links:   Website: www.ambrosiaventures.co  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ikildani/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Christy Brown is CEO of Dr. Noze Best, an innovative pediatric healthcare company committed to bringing hospital-grade respiratory devices into the home. After only two years with the company, Christy already has a plan to launch their direct-to-consumer medical device in 10 countries. She's a mover and shaker!  The company's mission is to make sure that every child can breathe – and for parents to feel “confident and supported” when caring for their child's health. Current offerings include nasal aspirators and accessories, and a full product line designed to help children breathe better is also in development.  To launch globally with purpose and intention, the Dr. Noze Best team developed a proprietary tool – the “Complexity Calculator.” The Calculator measures various elements that could affect a product launch in a new country – population and birth rates, economics, legal frameworks, regulatory requirements, and logistics, for example – so the team could prioritize the countries by opportunity and ease of doing business.  At the outset, Christy describes feeling “isolated” by her lack of connections in global trade – she didn't know who to turn to for advice and guidance, or how to find partners. A fortuitous post on an Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) WhatsApp chat group connected us – my brother Scott suggested Christy reach out to me.  Thereafter, the company worked with the US Commercial Service (USCS) in Atlanta to make connections in their initial target countries. Christy raves about the services they received from both USCS Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). With assistance from both agencies, Christy connected with consulates within initial target countries to acquire valuable information about how to enter local markets.  There will be challenges along the way, Christy says. Her team struggled to meet projections when faced with unanticipated and uncontrollable issues and with setting up direct-to-market shipping from their Asian manufacturer, finding capable distributors, and steering the medical device through the various regulatory bodies.  Regardless, her first and best advice for others starting the export journey is simple: “Do it!” Once you do:  Have patience: it can take time for success.  Build a good team: you are only as good as your team.  Stay tenacious.  Find your resources: agencies like the USCS, GDEcD, District Export Councils, and Chambers of Commerce can direct you to meaningful services, support, and in-country connections.  Christy's favorite foreign word is “bonjour”! It's a welcome “hello” in France and other French-speaking countries, she says, and to share the joy in Atlanta she's localized the phrase to “bonjour y'all”!    Links:  christy@drnozebest.com  Website: www.drnozebest.com  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-brown-a54aa0/     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Steve Becker is committed to improving human health by unlocking the power of molecular diagnostics. In the world of medical devices and diagnostics, you might think the latter falls under the purview of the former, says Steve, yet: “from a regulatory standpoint, diagnostics is covered by a lot of the medical device rules.” Unlike medical devices like implants, however, “diagnostics is really the ability to measure your body, whether you're healthy or sick; and if you are sick, what's making you sick. Helping to uncover your health status and what you can do to improve is really the heart of diagnostics.”  In this episode, Steve shares the lasting lessons learned during his stints at Thermo Fisher, Quest Diagnostics, Agilent, and GE Healthcare, where he directed sales, global marketing, business development, and licensing. Learn how to navigate within a constantly changing healthcare business landscape, from the first steps toward launch to the regulatory requirements and cultural differences that can affect development, distribution, and product adoption.   Going to market on one's own is a big task, says Steve – find the right partners to mitigate the commercial regulatory tasks and technical risks. Ultimately, the company whose name is on the product assumes the liability – “they're the ones on the hook” – but relying on specialists along the way improves your chances of a streamlined launch.  During his tenure at Quest Diagnostics, the company built a “global diagnostics network,” pooling the capabilities, diagnostics insights, samples, testing and sharing of leading companies into one place. In the end, Quest brought the first Zika test to market, reliant upon colleagues.  In fact, choosing your initial target audiences can come into play even during development, as “diseases become more localized and companies are made for those markets,” Steve adds. Pay attention to “how to get paid for what you do,” your reimbursement strategy. In diagnostics, for example, ask yourself:  Is it going to measure what we say it's going to measure? (Analytic or clinical validity)  Can we do anything with the information? (Utility)  Interestingly, reimbursement can often become political; for example, in the US it's widely accepted that breast cancer can come with a genetic indicator (the BRCA gene) – and the patient can take prophylactic steps or opt for watchful waiting. In contrast, Steve says that:  In a single-payer system, if you were 49 you could take the [BRCA] test; if 50, no test. The calculation includes risk, quality of life, total cost – someone makes a decision, snapped the line, and that's where it landed.  Add to that differences stemming from culture and tradition, and it makes sense to work with local, in-country partners to navigate your go-to-market strategy, especially with regard to regulatory requirements.  To date, Steve says that European companies would often launch first domestically and then in the US because it was easier, but that's starting to change as the EU changes its regulatory stance.  Regulations are stricter now in Europe, with liability going as far back as the manufacturer – for translation quality, for example. Diagnostic tests are now treated more like a medical device, including review by regulatory bodies, etc. – it's a lot more work but it's a good thing.  Think globally but act locally, Steve adds. You may use the same assay (investigative procedure for qualitatively or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of an element) as in the US but a local company can handle the technology, packaging, regulatory requirements, approvals, and clinical evidence and market under THEIR brand, with their own branding and local language. This happens consistently, across IV diagnostic companies – Abbott, Siemens, Roche, Thermo Fisher – and all of them have to treat each of their launches “locally,” working with in-country regulatory bodies to get approvals.  And vice versa: one of the first Covid tests distributed in the US was manufactured by a Korean company but marketed as a known American brand. In fact, working with companies around the world has interesting and complex effects on branding – “you'll get a multi-national brand but lose some efficiencies,” according to Steve.  In the end, Steve's advice is ever so simple: “You don't want to take risks in the healthcare world.”    Links:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebecker/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Rapport International President and Owner Wendy Pease was a recent guest on Michael Becker's Identity Praxis podcast. Michael is a strategic advisor to Fortune 500s, startups, and non-profits worldwide, with a focus on global marketing and product, new market, and business development. In this episode they discuss the importance of translation and interpretation in this interconnected world.  Translation can be traced back to the Rosetta stone, considered the first written translation in history and the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs dating as far back as 196 B.C.E. Things got interesting with the introduction of machines, explains Wendy, especially at the advent of WWII and codebreaking and spying. All of it was word-for-word translation, which didn't work then and still doesn't today, she adds. Even adding grammar rules and machine intelligence leaves us with problematic options like Google Translate and ChatGPT.  Think about it: “language is a very dynamic, living thing,” Wendy explains. We're from New England and California and that's reflected in our speech patterns, word choices, cultural bents – let alone adding in different languages…. And even large, well-known brands with human translators run into issues; just look up Electrolux, Got Milk?, or Braniff Airlines.  To do it right in this world we can't continue to do everything manually but we need to do it right. Michael asks: “Can we build IP along the way and elevate our community, too?”  The solution, according to Wendy, is to leverage translation technologies – proven ones that exist today as well as those emerging daily – only under the guidance of a “detail-oriented, qualified, professional linguist with subject matter expertise.”  The efficacy of translation technologies also depends on project requirements – TripAdvisor can use translation memory for certain standardized, repetitive content, for example, like room descriptions and amenities. A large retailer necessarily has more detailed requirements – a handbag to one person is also a purse, pocketbook, satchel, clutch, etc.  As such, large conglomerates are attempting to create IP in the form of customized large language models (LLMs), Wendy adds, not only for increased efficiency but because common options like ChatGPT and Gemini incorporate faulty Google Translate content, Internet disinformation, and even false content in the form of hallucinations.  In fact, the world changes so vastly, and so quickly, that even fundamental services like translation – for the written word – and interpretation – for the spoken word – are now intermingled in the form of live chat, says Wendy. Unlike chatbots and AI chats that rely on translation, translator-interpreters are facilitating a real-time conversation in the written format. In that light, guest and host agree that the future of computer-aided translation is clearly promising, and it's simply beneficial to proceed with caution.    Links:   Website: Identity Praxis, Inc.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/privacyshaman/   Tinderbox: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6MVDtSfcKxd2XLpenMAd9H4VknDyn6oz     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Michael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/privacyshaman/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Waseem Kawaf has built over 400 websites and is an expert in global user experience (UX). He's currently the co-founder of Seicho Syndicate, where he and his partners design and develop great user experiences for their clients.  Prior to Seicho, Waseem served as Global VP of Digital Experience for Stanley Black & Decker and worked in marketing agency roles.  “Seicho” means exponential growth in Japanese, says Waseem, and his company is aptly named. When prospects and clients have good user experiences throughout their journeys, they stay longer and generate more revenue.  UX optimization can be a daunting prospect for companies of any size –Waseem suggests breaking the project up into small steps, to gain insight into your users. Pick data from the call center, chat, trade shows, or your website to analyze and build the “voice” of the customer.  The goal should be to keep every interaction “simple, connected, and frictionless,” he advises. “And rather than starting UX strategy meetings with brainstorming, try an ‘Outside-In' philosophy instead, which works from the customer's perspective and gives clear direction for your initial moves, an important lesson he learned while earning an MBA from MIT.  Throughout his career, Waseem has worked in the global arena. That broad experience made it clear to him that companies must consider local markets – not all users around the world consume information, interact, or buy the same way. By taking a collaborative approach rather than an authoritative one, teams can take all users into account. It may take longer but will lead to greater success.  And in the end, the Pareto principal will apply – 80% of the work can be globalized and 20% localized. The Stanley Black & Decker team created content in English and then translated any material deemed important or helpful into local languages.  Waseem's best advice: “Stay hungry and humble. Develop your emotional intelligence, stay curious, and respect the ‘Power of WE.' Consider yourself the stirrer in a lovely drink – by bringing all the different tastes and flavors together, you create a magical experience.”    Links:  Website: https://seichosyndicate.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kawaf/     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Ivo Verhaegh, founder of Powerhouse AI, came to entrepreneurship through an interesting path. He knew he wanted to start a company, work with a co-founder, and live abroad from his home country, the Netherlands. Since he didn't have an idea for a business and couldn't find a co-founder on the same timeline for starting a business, he applied to a program called Entrepreneur First. The organization screens hundreds of applicants, accepting only 1% of the people who apply; a group of 80 are ultimately accepted and work with each other to find co-founders. Venture capitalists sponsor the Entrepreneur First program, through which they find viable businesses with co-founders that click, elevate each other and the business, and are productive.  While in the program, Ivo met his co-founder (and now Powerhouse AI's Chief Technology Officer) Kushal Pillay – together they worked toward an affordable and manageable robot-driven warehouse environment.   Ultimately, they created an app that automates the counting and checking of inventory and pallets in warehouse storage, maximizing productivity. Since the launch, they've won clients including DHL, Unilever, and numerous logistics companies.  Funded and guided by investors, Ivo and Kushal were encouraged to think BIG and globally from the start. Being based in Singapore, which has a small domestic market, they assumed they would sell into Southeast Asia. Market research showed, however, that labor is plentiful and inexpensive in the region, so warehouse operations were satisfactory as-is, unlike in the US, which embraced the technology.  Currently, Powerhouse AI offers its technology solely in English, but will soon translate for their Spanish, Chinese, Malay, and Hindu target markets. Ivo understands how important translation is and that Google Translate or AI are unreliable, so he plans on using professional translators.  Some of the bumps in the road Ivo met along the way include:  Not understanding the southeast Asian market well enough from the start took time away from early success.  Not focusing on specific industries or geographies with targeted messaging slowed sales success.  Not having in-person meetings with certain clients slowed the closing of sales. The logistics industry is traditional and prefers face-to-face meetings.  Currently, the company's ideal client has over 100,000 square feet of warehousing space and requires precision in inventory management, making Powerhouse AI a clear fit for companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer product, and automotive industries.  Ivo's best advice:  Think Big – surround yourself with other entrepreneurs to open your eyes to possibilities.  Build a Superstar Team – hire people that are ambitious, curious, accountable, responsible, and knowledgeable.  Ivo's two favorite foreign words are good ones:  “Bolleboos” – a Dutch word that literally translates to “bright hat” and refers to a “smart person.”   “Introspective” – an English word that represents “the superpower of knowing yourself.”   Ivo certainly represents both of those words! Engaging, creative, smart, driven and very self-aware, he is a podcast guest to remember!     Links:  Website: https://www.powerhouseai.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivoverhaegh/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Liz Fendt is Global Chief Marketing Director of TÜV SÜD, which specializes in testing, certification, auditing, and advisory services for different industries. There exist only 10 major players in the compliance industry, which ensures safe practices around both goods and services.  As an example, think about airport safety. Proper testing, inspection, and certification means the airport management company must connect all relevant suppliers and vendors – elevator companies, airway manufacturers, builders, and countless other stakeholders – with quality managers to meet and guarantee compliance with safety standards.  Prior to her current role, Liz worked in communications and sales and marketing at TÜV SÜD, with a focus on local, regionalized marketing. Inspiration struck the day she analyzed existing collateral and recognized a critical lack of uniformity in marketing materials for the company's global markets; the difference in colors, branding, messaging, and myriad other content and design elements pointed at once to the inefficiencies of duplicated efforts and a missed opportunity for global branding.  Senior management agreed and, in that way, Liz created her own Global Chief Marketing Director role, with the goal of increased efficiencies based on a unified corporate global marketing effort and a cohesive international team.  At the start, Liz worked with 120 associates to develop consistent processes and brand/style guidelines. She envisioned the company's German headquarters as the hub of her global marketing team, with satellite offices as its spokes, deliberately building teams that could move along those spokes, simultaneously integrating her team and realizing larger corporate strategies.  A second hub in Singapore followed and Liz saw opportunity there, too – as one global marketing campaign wound down, the next would begin. The fabric supporting every effort: people. She built her teams by elevating associates from within, and with intention and according to detailed specialty – pay-per-click, social media, website, document management systems – no associate, role, or team was overlooked, resulting in talented and diverse representation within each group.  Liz's advice on developing global teams with high retention rates: look for people with a positive outlook that like to solve problems. Two associates who started as interns are now heading global teams – if it's a complex industry get them in and train them so that they can progress. Energized, excited people with a can-do attitude will thrive with support, contributing new ideas and fostering a healthy work environment.  With that approach, in the first five years and with the same budget, the global marketing team increased leads via the on-hand readiness of standardized, culturally appropriate, marketing “in a box.” Content and campaigns could be used globally, and Liz also consolidated the company's website, from 7-10 countries with 42 separate sites to a single, unified one.    Lessons Learned  Throughout her career, Liz has always turned to her team for inspiration and new ideas. Her best advice is to always do business with a growth mindset, and to keep networking – even with people in different fields and industries – because you will always benefit from expertise and diversity of thought.  The TÜV SÜD community of experts spans the globe, and in 2016, Liz co-founded the Global TÜV SÜD Women's Network – a 1000+ strong network of women across the company, to support and nurture global and local networking, professional mentoring, and role model programs.  Other lessons learned:  One size doesn't fit all: global marketing for campaigns “in a box,” requires a different mix for different markets. Some audiences want white papers while others value human, face-to-face interaction.  Start small: at the start, the company's largest website was the German one – after starting with that site Liz realized that you should first make sure technology challenges are ironed out, something more easily done in a smaller market.  Stay connected with customers and employees: Provide a seamless customer journey by understanding how each department affects the customer experience, and that personas come with variables. Similarly, gather your team periodically for all-hands meetings and marketing sessions and provide channels through which to share information.  Liz adds that technology-driven companies tend to underestimate the value garnered from sales and marketing. A unified global strategy reaps greater benefits when viewed as a “general business propellant” rather than an afterthought. Other common challenges may include:  Technology: it's hard to find tools and IT components for an already robust marketing tech stack.  Finding good service providers: Companies will often claim “global influence” but in effect have only regional coverage and loose partnership and affiliations. One-stop solutions are hard to find.  Today, Liz's 120-person marketing team is a global marketing operation equipped with the supports and material to enter any new market. Listen and learn from a global marketing expert!    Links: Travel photography - https://www.instagram.com/liz_fendt/?hl=en   Website: https://www.tuvsud.com/en   Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tuvsud/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizfendt/?originalSubdomain=de     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Faruk Heplevent is founder and CEO of The Scope, a company specializing in computer-generated imaging (CGI) for the automotive industry. He is a pioneer in the industry, leading the charge for a more sustainable process for new car reveals; his client list of brand-name manufacturers throughout the world is proof of how The Scope's approach and technology have inspired change.  The process for planning and executing new car reveals has historically been laborious, costly, and time-consuming, requiring at least six months simply for planning. Since the 90s, when photographers relied on “wet” film rather than “dry,” digital film, every catalog and commercial for every new car launch campaign required what Faruk calls the “cost and time of ‘real life.'”  Locations, permits, staff, meetings, logistics, weather/vegetation changes, sustainability issues due to excessive travel and shipping requirements all came into play in the process, starting with:  At least 6 months for planning  Security teams to maintain secrecy  Logistics around wrapping the car, shipping it out, and receiving it on location, without it being seen (when a new car was on location, it was referred to as “code red.”)  Flying a crew of 5-6 people to the location – typically either Los Angeles, South Africa, or Spain  Hiring a local support crew  And last, but certainly not least, the crew would simply hope for – or wait for – good weather. Altogether a complex, expensive, and time-consuming process, with no privacy guarantee.  The traditional shoot locations were versatile, reliable insofar as terrain and backdrop options, with agreeable weather. Localization and globalization requirements, however, meant the output – the “film” – needed to service launches from countries throughout the world, with cultural understanding. In other words, the images had to stay on-brand while accounting for cultural leanings in Asia, which are markedly different from those in Europe or the US, and be conscious of even regional differences.  Hollywood was the first to adopt CGI technology, for special effects in movies and television; for the latter, it meant using the same sound stage for multiple shows, simply by altering the backdrop. The automotive industry was not far behind and Faruk helped lead the charge.  He spent about 8 years perfecting CGI technology for vehicle images, ones matching the quality of a live, on-site shoot. The advancement meant no more worries around weather or location; and, once the “digital twin” – a 3D representation matching visual fidelity and quality of the car – is rendered, it takes just one week to create a final, working prototype image for the decisionmaker's review.  The result is “possibly even better” than an actual photograph, says Faruk. You can incorporate “creative choices” and the editing process, previously constrained by weather and other factors, is now relatively instantaneous so even “micro-edits” are incorporated.  The Scope is based in Germany and Faruk's multilingual, international background means he is well aware of the cultural nuances so important to car advertising. Any global launch first addresses a country's cultural sensitivities; thereafter, the images and messaging are customized to specific markets.  For example, some generalizations remain consistent across continents:  Europe wants “authentic, not artificial” imagery. What's accurate and true? Look for “rugged, tangible backdrops” and details.  Asian countries prefer pristine, fresh air, clean, “aspirational,” high-end photos, in direct contrast to current climate issues such as smog in Beijing.  The US looks for authenticity mixed with idealism. The culture differs enough from English-speaking European countries that it requires attention. What's accurate and true, but with a hint at perfection.   “Authentic – that's the big word these days,” says Faruk. “It's not supposed to look artificial. Because everyone's afraid that CGI is going to look artificial because it is artificial by nature.”  The technology easily adds authenticity, toggling among a library of backdrops and details (like colors, flags, currency, people) that can be instantly implemented (or dismissed). Localization and globalization efforts can be even more tailored to a specific audience or geographic region, as a result – white cars in the southern US, more black cars in the north, and no desert or Nordic forest backdrops in the UK, for example.  Throughout, despite superior technologies and our increasing cultural awareness, Faruk is emphatic about having local people review content for cultural propriety, underscoring the never-ending complexity of translation and cultural adaptation.    Links:  Website: www.TheScope.studio   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farukheplevent/     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Josh Medow is CEO of Mercury, a healthcare and life sciences shipping company. After years as a leader in the Army Infantry and living abroad, he knew that he had an interest in running a global company. In this episode, he tells the compelling story of how he searched for and found the right company to buy and build.  At first glance, Mercury met Josh's requirements – global reach, a good culture, clear opportunity for growth, and a trustworthy reputation.   The company specializes in logistics for medical device, diagnostic kit, biotech, life science research, and pharmaceutical companies, offering every shipping option in every geographic location. They are specialists in customs, packaging, import permits, harmonization codes, and dry ice, and positions itself as a dependable partner.  Josh recognizes that many customer recipients have the potential to become Mercury clients, so Mercury is set up to handle shipments around the world, via an active partner network. The company finds potential shipping partners by attending industry trade shows such as the World Cargo Alliance, and also regularly fields inquiries from interested companies, vetting each one by learning about their experience and capabilities, then testing and tracking initial shipments. Companies are thereafter audited periodically to be sure they're performing to Mercury's high standards.   Tune in to find out more about the world according to Josh, which includes advice from his lessons learned:  His biggest challenge – running operations globally around the clock.  His biggest piece of advice – stay curious.  His biggest success – hiring a diverse team.  His next steps – to expand Mercury's marketing into other countries and languages.  Links:  Website: www.shipmercury.com   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-medow/     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Have you ever heard the saying: “Not my circus, not my monkeys”?  I use it all the time, yet never realized that it is translated from Polish.  Dr. Lynne Bowker, professor of translation technologies and information systems at the University of Ottawa, recently returned from Poland, where she was collaboratively researching ways to make academia more language inclusive. Scholars from around the world are encouraged to publish and attend conferences in English, yet fewer than 10% of the researchers in the world are Anglophones. In fact, for many it's their second, third, or even fourth language.  Imagine being a world expert in a subject but unable to share your findings and learn from others unless you speak English. With pressing global issues such as food insecurity, global warming, refugees, war, and more, Dr. Bowker set out to find ways in which AI translation or Machine Translation (MT) could help.  Dr. Bowker specializes in language technology. In her recent book, “Demystifying Translation,” she explains why AI and MT translation are today not yet able to solve the issues related to cross-lingual communication – there are limits to what the technology can do and it's not trustworthy.  The biggest challenges facing authors in academia are the ability to:  Read others' writings.  Write in English.  Leveraging AI/MT varies for each of these situations. To tackle the first challenge, the researcher can use automated translation to get the “gist” of what an article says and, with their specialized knowledge, do a pretty good job of figuring out its meaning.  In the second scenario, non-English speaking researchers typically don't possess English writing skills strong enough to clearly write their findings. This means that they would need to pay someone to write it or have a highly skilled translator edit their original draft. To simplify access to research, the academic community must get to the point of accepting publications in a researcher's native language, with readers relying on AI/MT for gist translations. Lacking this option, many researchers will continue to opt out of publishing or presenting at conferences to share important research.  At the same time, Dr. Bowker stresses the importance of recognizing that language technology is not perfect and ultimately requires nuanced discussion and experienced judgment regarding where and how to use it. It's not merely a discussion as to whether AI/MT will replace humans in translation.  Ironically, automated machine technology is old tech. In the 1940s during World War 2, experts developed tools to decipher what the enemy was saying – spying tools, essentially. The technology relied on dictionaries and linguistic rules for grammar to translate, and had particular trouble with synonyms (two meanings for one word) and polysemies (words with more than one meaning – for example “pen,” as in a writing pen or play pen). Ultimately, the technology was used only by professional translators because it was not good enough to release.  Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the technology in general improved – it became faster, smaller, and required less storage. Programmers started thinking of new ways to process language – by using data-driven approaches instead of linguistic rules. Translation quality improved in general but still fell far short of high quality.  Current advances have changed from data-driven analysis to pattern identification, whereby machine language learning develops a memory by ingesting vast amounts of multilingual text. Without the large amounts of data, the technology is useless.  Dr. Bowker recalls a time when Canadian weather forecasters struggled to hire English-French translators because the work was so repetitive – the words and format were always the same. After a few months, even new undergraduate translators quit from boredom. By leveraging AI/MT, the organization could save time, money, and effort.  Technology still struggles with:  Languages that have less content – languages like Welsh and Danish have fewer speakers, thus less content is produced. It's challenging enough to develop a machine learning (ML) model that can translate from English to Welsh, let alone from Welsh to Danish.  Unusual topics – in research, topics are usually novel and don't have a gathered history of translation. This challenges the technology to find appropriate translations.  Hallucinations – one team set out to test whether AI could properly classify an animal as a huskie or a wolf. After training the model on hundreds of pictures, its responses were mostly accurate; however, upon further inspection the researchers figured out that the model had been trained to identify wolves by snowy backgrounds, versus huskies in backyards. Thus, the model looked at the wrong information. Training for proper identification of skin lesions produced the same outcome – the model identified cancerous lesions by looking for a ruler in the picture.  Misogynism and racism – models learn and parrot back what it ingests and, simply put, the Internet provides lots of questionable content.  The bottom line, according to Dr. Bowker, is that while we are still far away from a world in which automated translation can replace human translation, the language industry will only benefit from educating people on proper and effective translation methods, in the meantime.  When translating your material, remember the iron triangle (aka project management triangle), which illustrates how the balance among three project constraints – scope, time, and budget – affects quality. Adjusting for any one constraint necessarily affects one or both of the other variables:   Fast and cheap = lower quality  Fast and quality = very expensive  High quality = pricey and slow  Finally, we agree that the industry conversation will turn toward the increasing need for experts in global content strategy. Think about the content along your buyer's (or stakeholder's) journey – from first encounter to raving fan. A thoughtfully planned strategy alongside clearly defined processes and technologies will guarantee high-quality content for every audience, while saving your employees time and effort.  Links:  Book: https://www.routledge.com/De-mystifying-Translation-Introducing-Translation-to-Non-translators/Bowker/p/book/9781032109244  With a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA) license: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003217718/de-mystifying-translation-lynne-bowker   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-bowker-0112996/?originalSubdomain=ca  Email: lbowker@uottawa.ca  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Laurent Kahl is an International Export/Import Consultant at the University of Georgia (UGA) Small Business Development Center (SBDC). He brings years of experience as an export manager, export consultant, and international sales expert to this episode, delving into the abundant US state and federal resources available to anyone looking to conduct business across borders. These free resources exist because the US imports much more than it exports, so the balance of trade is perpetually off balance; by supporting companies that export, the state and Federal government help to mitigate the imbalance for a healthier economy. Once business owners realize that exporting companies perform better, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. Every state has an SBDC, under the jurisdiction of the Small Business Administration (SBA). In turn, SBDCs support US Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) that help companies: Access capital Develop and exchange new technologies Improve business planning, strategy, and operations Attain financial and human resource stability Initiate global marketing and sales, including translation and other language services The agency focuses on areas required for small business growth and expansion, management improvement, increased productivity, and innovation. In addition, USEACs will often maintain an international office to better connect small businesses with in-country distributors, partners, and service providers. Tune in to the full episode to access even more free resources to get you started on the path to international sales!   Links: Email: lkahl@georgiaSBDC.org Phone: +1-678-203-0522 Website: https://georgiasbdc.org/ https://www.georgiasbdc.org/staff-members/laurent-kahl/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentkahl/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Artug Acar, COO of Mercury, knows what it's like to move to a new country and start fresh. He also knows how to open a new international market for a company.  Mercury supports innovation by simplifying the shipping of time- and temperature-sensitive product for healthcare and life sciences companies. Currently, the management team is conducting due diligence on geographic options for international expansion. Artug talked about all the areas that need to be looked at before launching, including but not limited to:  Regulatory environment  Market size and related market research  Employment laws  Availability of professional employer organizations (PEOs)  Accounting and currency  Software needs  Legal requirements  Availability of experienced employees  Availability of advisors and consultants    And even though a company can be diligent in its research, most of the time there will be unexpected challenges. Before Mercury, for example, Artug worked at Right Hand Robotics, where a prospect from Japan expressed an interest in the company's robotic pick and pack solutions. While in Japan to install the system, the company learned that, unlike US and European consumers, Japanese consumers consider products with wrinkled packaging to be defective. Company engineers worked with the Japanese client to solve the problem, engineering the robots to operate more gently to avoid damage to the packaging. They pushed the boundaries and made a better product.   The benefits inherent in the process extended beyond increased revenues, profits, and market share, says Artug. It gave the company information vital to making its product more competitive, leading to increased market share both domestically and internationally.  As COO at Mercury, the management team had limited data on top markets, so asked stakeholders from each department (operations, sales, marketing, finance, product management) to analyze each specific area and report on the findings. After consolidating the information and a legal review, the company developed a short list of suppliers to support them.  Ultimately, the company is trying to find out “what can go wrong.” Once successful in its target market, the company will start over to figure out its second market.  It's all about taking a calculated risk, explains Artug, one offering higher returns than any other growth opportunity.  Artug believes that language must be a consideration from the beginning. Mercury considered English-speaking countries easier to enter, with fewer language barriers, yet only after weighing market opportunity and competition against new markets and translation.   Key to future success in new markets will require translation that respects local language and culture, he adds.  Artug's favorite foreign phrase will resonate with travelers: 現地 現物 or Genchi Genbutsu is the Japanese phrase meaning “go see for yourself.”    Links:  Website: https://www.shipmercury.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artugacar/   In the Press:  https://www.businessinsider.com/tb/the-list-of-300-people-transforming-business-in-2020-9/transformers/artug-acar   https://www.businessinsider.com/manufacturing-leaders-discuss-data-and-automation-2021-4   https://www.businessinsider.com/righthand-robotics-exec-automation-is-a-necessity-2021-1   Additional Resources:  Internationalization Readiness Quiz –https://softlandpartners.com/readiness-checklist/  Free consult about Global Content Management - https://www.rapporttranslations.com/request-a-consultation     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Stefan Repin is the founder of LuckBoosters, a company helping B2B companies with complex and long sales cycles grow demand and close more customers through full-cycle marketing and sales practices. He's worked all over the world, growing companies by adapting sales techniques to meet specific industry needs while respecting local culture.  Stefan helped one client, a Belgian software developer, enter the South African market. The company's software consolidates data gathered by drones, information critical to the mining, agriculture, and oil and gas industries rife within the country. Stefan advised the company to build relationships with key opinion leaders to help with introductions. To develop the new relationships, prospects were invited to participate in a company podcast. Twenty agreed, receiving a brochure and a customized toy plane as a personal thank you.   At the same time, Stefan knew that mail delivery and Internet service were inconsistent throughout the country, so he worked with the software company to send three copies of the same material to ensure that potential buyers received the information sent to them. Similarly, the company made available an offline version of its software.  Stefan advised the company to be more direct – and more persistent – in its outreach than it would have been in Europe because it's how business is done, locally. Relationship-building took time, but in the end paid off for the company.  Another client, Platforce, conducted outreach into Southeast Asia via webinars. Stefan knew that local buyers wouldn't respond to Internet or email invitations, so advised the company to call each prospect with a personal invitation. In the end, webinars combined with dinner and a custom presentation worked to build trust and sales.   Stefan sees increased sales whenever a company supports a local representative and translates company brochures and related information. Many clients have limited budgets for localization so he asks his client companies to translate marketing material after securing at least five prospects, followed by website translation after just one sale. Building a landing page or microsite based on translated marketing material maximizes the investment.  “Trust” is the recurring theme throughout, he adds – translated, localized content builds and nurtures local relationships.    Links:   Website: https://www.luckboosters.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-repin-b2boperations/?originalSubdomain=ie     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Jasmine Martirossian is Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief People Officer (CPO) of Mercury, a company simplifying time- and temperature-sensitive shipping for healthcare and life sciences companies. She speaks seven languages and has lived in as many countries, helping a host of well-known companies expand globally along the way. Jasmine shares her wisdom with us on this episode of The Global Marketing Show. “Bottom line: stay curious.” Jasmine credits her natural ability to stay curious as the reason that she's had so much success in global marketing. She describes two situations defused by “not staying beholden to the tyranny of war” and instead by looking for alternative solutions to help teams work together. In China, she felt pushback by one team on developing a new website, so she could not move the project forward. Instead of forcing the issue and demanding compliance, Jasmine stayed curious and learned that the team thought it was just another “flavor of the month” project and didn't want to engage. Plus, they had connectivity issues. She understood the culture enough to build consensus, using her connections to find the team a place to work with reliable Wi-Fi. Even though she had been there only two days, Jasmine knew how important “connections” are in China. By taking the time to stay curious and communicate in an appropriate way, she crossed the cultural chasm and got the project done. In another position, Jasmine was headed to France to meet with a team on a marketing project. She felt resistance from the French team about including a US colleague in the meeting, someone they considered “obstructive.” Again, instead of forcing the issue and demanding compliance, she suggested the co-worker come to France and join them for dinner. She understood the importance of meals to the French who said of course, they couldn't refuse to “break bread” with another. Problem solved by using cultural empathy and understanding to meet the needs of all participants.   Links: Website: https://www.shipmercury.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-martirossian/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Adam Bittlingmayer is CEO and co-founder of ModelFront, a language services technology company striving to “make high-quality human translation radically more efficient” for large enterprises. The ModelFront API helps translators and language services agencies quickly determine the quality of machine-translated content, analyzing content segments for accuracy; with AI and human guidance, the technology's ability to “predict” quality continues to improve over time.  Adam is an industry expert on automated translation - before co-founding the leading provider of machine translation quality prediction, he worked at Google Translate as an engineer, and founded Machine Translate, the foundation for open information and community for machine translation. Google Translate “makes bad translation free,” he says, adding that because most people can't access translation the service is great for humanity, but not dependable for high-quality translation.  None of this is new to the language services industry, which has embraced machine translation from the outset. In this episode, Adam and I discuss AI, generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, and the technology's general unreadiness for quality translation right now. AI-powered technologies are clearly and quickly redefining our concept of the future – what has changed is how we in the industry think about quality and client expectations in relation to potential (or perceived) time- and cost savings.  Adam also lays out a framework to help you decide what type of translation method works best, based on the value and uniqueness of content. Content with the highest “value” impacts a company's revenue, brand reputation, and legal obligations and still requires human translation.  That need for quality will always be there, he says, even as the quality of AI translation improves. To keep up and stay relevant, the menu of services LSPs offer (and the methods they employ) will have to change, as the demand for services will likewise increase as the capacity to scale becomes greater.  Adam and I agree that there exist extremist viewpoints on whether technology will take over jobs from humans. To maintain a balanced discussion on the topic – he comes from the technological side and I come from the human side – we also agreed that ensuring the quality of any translation project currently requires both technology and humans.   Listen to the full episode to hear more from both perspectives and find out where they coalesce and collide. In addition, we discuss:  LangOps strategies for larger enterprises.  How language services agencies manage LangOps for SMEs.  The impact of technology on translation automation.  The role of ChatGPT in translations and confidentiality issues.  Best practices around hybrid approaches to translation.  New and changing translator skillsets.      Links:   Website: www.modelfront.com   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bittlingmayer/   Email: adam@modelfront.com  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Inge Carr is the owner of Altair Strategic Marketing, through which she provides Fractional and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) services. Her vast experience consulting throughout the US, Canada, and Europe and fluency in five languages, gives Inge tremendous insight into how companies can successfully align corporate strategy with branding and marketing, especially internationally, to drive revenue. Inge was a member of the team who created an award-winning campaign focused on marketing Canada to Olympic visitors. She reminds us that people coming from other countries to Canada may connect with different messages. And it's not dependent so much on a person's country of origin, but why the person is traveling. By hiring a market research company, the team was able to determine what experiences people wanted and how they wanted to hear about it. For example: 1. Northern Lights UK and Germany: “See the grandiose lights with standing room only.” US: “It's standing room only for the greatest light show.” France: “Incredible light show and training of the dogs.” (This was the direct translation but I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean!) 2. Glamping The US is the only country interested in “glamping,” or luxurious camping. It's not talked about in other countries. 3. Sailing Nova Scotia UK, Germany, and France: “Have a wonderful lunch of lobster and scallops and enjoy the view for dessert.” US: “Lounge around all day and have a 5-star meal for dinner.”   Inge also mentioned that a great translator simultaneously provides multilingual marketing insight to companies without a hefty Olympics-sized budget. (I certainly agree, at Rapport International our translators do it all the time.) Among the team's challenges were initial social media posts that did not perform as well as expected. Yet they knew to keep tweaking them until they increased their response rates. In another role, Inge worked with an insurance company struggling with 20 different brands and a fractured brand experience. Representatives from each of the brands worked together to build a unified brand that worked across multiple languages. And although there were no language specialists in the meeting, each team member had deep experience with translation, so they resolutely kept translation issues in mind. If you are interested in seeing how Rotary International unified their brand in multiple countries and how they handled language translation and cultural adaptation, tune in to The Global Marketing Show, episode #17. Inge's final words of advice: make sure to hire a professional translation organization to get the support you need. If you can't clearly communicate your value proposition and messaging, you won't emotionally connect with your audience. And since 90% of decision making is driven by emotion, you will also miss out on sales and lose opportunities. Inge's favorite word is Dutch slang for “ATM”: “Flappentapper" (flappen - tapper)! Just say it to laugh, she says. It literally means: Flopa: currency or bills Topper: the server who dispenses the beer at a bar I'm adding that word to my lexicon!   Links: Website: https://www.altairmktg.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/icarr Email: icarr@altairmktg.com Phone: 760-655-6451   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Perry Nalevka, CEO of Penguin Strategies, specializes in launching technology companies internationally. In this episode of The Global Marketing Show podcast, he talks about the global launch of GuardKnox, a technology and engineering company specializing in electric/electronics (E/E) products and solutions for the automotive industry. GuardKnox offers next-generation software to carmakers, enabling the development of secure, high-performance driving computers. The company has won multiple awards and gets high marks from major car manufacturers like Ford, Mercedes, and Audi. From the outset, the company knew it had a total addressable market of only 1,000 to 2,000 people and about 10 companies, so their messaging had to be impactful and authentic. Through a few iterations and carefully selected forums of engineers, they tested their messaging to make sure it resonated with their target audience in specific countries, namely the US, UK, Germany, and France. Throughout, Perry insisted that messaging and content had to be insightful and accurately translated. He said they “would never use AI, that it had to be done right or not at all.” The biggest mistakes the company made initially were expecting results too quickly and not creating enough quality content of interest to its buyers. Now, the CEO or CTO develops content technical enough to capture their market's attention. You can find a wealth of robust content on the company's website – www.guardknox.com.   Links: Website: www.penguinstrategies.com  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pnalevka/  Email: perry@penguinstrategies.com   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Dave Roccio of Lando and Anastasi, a Boston-based law firm specializing in intellectual property (IP), takes a holistic view on patent filing – it's not just about filing the patent application, it's about his client's stage in business, what they want to achieve, and their long-term goals. One telling example, he shares, is that of a tech company client that received funding and had 10 technologies to protect. They had funding, a strategy, and needed to move fast to protect their inventions. They budgeted about $10k per patent (the average cost of a single filing) and had one year to determine the countries in which to file, not an easy decision as each country would require another $100K for 10 filings. This is where Dave's holistic approach comes in; he will advise his clients on where, when, and what to file. The first three variables to consider are: The opportunities in the home country; Where your clients are; and, Where your competitors are. As part of the process, Dave determines whether the client would benefit from complete applications, wholly protecting them from competitors on many different levels, or if it's better to file quickly for minimal, viable commercial usage. Interestingly, his electrical engineering background also means that where he ultimately chooses to file may differ from other patent attorneys' choices. That said, he adds, US companies most commonly file for patents in: Europe – the European Patent Office oversees the countries in the region but is not affiliated with the official EU, so the UK is still part of this group. Companies file one application and then choose the countries they want to enter. China India Australia Canada Rules around translation vary according to country, but every office usually requires translation into the local language. When deadlines are especially tight and attorneys need immediate understanding of particular content, the firm will sometimes utilize machine translation; however, a one-word mistake in a patent application can cause a lot of issues – delays, denials, extra time, and costs. Ultimately, it's a balancing act between time and accuracy and, should that fail Dave will always turn to human translators to ensure accuracy. Timeliness is of utmost importance for companies managing patents and other IP. Global marketers, too, should check for patent protections before selling into a new country. Going to market prior to the patent process starts the clock on the time allowance for patent applications; if a company tries to file a few years after entering the country, they likely won't be able to protect their IP.   Links: Website: https://lalaw.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidroccio/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Natalya Berdikyan is Founder and CEO of Life by Design, an executive coaching company “help[ing] individuals and organizations grow beyond borders and boundaries.” A truly global citizen, Natalya hails from the former Soviet Union and has lived in 6 countries; she speaks 4½ languages. A former executive for a multimillion dollar chocolate producer in Belgium, she has sold confections all over the world. I found it fascinating to learn about confectionary global preferences – for example, Natalya's almond sweets are gifted on specific occasions, depending on the country: Belgium – to welcome newborns Italy – to celebrate marriage Luxembourg – for communion Portugal – at Easter Norway – on Valentine's Day Natalya used a “pull” strategy to enter each market: trade shows allowed her to assess the current landscape then develop unique, differentiated products. Focusing on innovative color creation, distinctive merchandise, and special packaging for holiday and special occasion gifts, the company's custom manufacturing option also meant made-to-order adjustments – for one, customized ingredients to meet changing consumer demands for healthier treats. Retailers and distributors were inevitably “pulled” in, attracted to the opportunities for originality and increased market share. The company catered to three major outlets: Bulk sales to distributors packaging product for multiple brands. Co-created, co-branded product for retailers. Company-branded product sold direct-to-market. As co-owner of the confectionary company, Natalya met with clients worldwide and during her travels, developed a cultural intelligence that fueled her success. She recalls her early confusion in the US when asked: “How are you doing?” No one expects an answer, she says, it's used as a greeting! She had to learn how to stop answering the question. In the very middle of running a successful company and a perfect life full of parties, money, and achievement, Natalya realized she felt unhappy. Upon slowing down to figure out why, she realized that she had bought into society's rules about what success looks like, and a life full of wine, money, sugar, and limiting beliefs did not feed her soul. Drawing on that experience, and the belief that anyone can thrive – not just survive – through life changes, Natalya launched Life by Design, an executive coaching firm designed to help entrepreneurs and leaders build the life they want. She provides coaching, training, and holistic retreats to improve people's energy so they can become better leaders in business and in life. If you'd like to talk to Natalya, you can reach her on LinkedIn or through her website.   Links: More About Natalya: https://www.lifebydesign-academy.com/about-natalya Website: https://www.lifebydesign-academy.com Contact: contact@lifebydesign-academy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalyaberdikyan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@natalyaberdikyan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalya.berdikyan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalyaberdikyan/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

John Coveyou is the founder of Genius Games and king of dad jokes around the campfire: “Have you heard the one about the sidewalk? It's all over town!” So, it makes sense that he's always had a passion for game design, too. Throughout his military service – during which he discovered his love for science – and while earning a master's degree in engineering, he wondered why there were no games on science concepts like the periodic table, biology of the human body, or the atom. And just like that, Genius Games was born! Genius Games now offers more than 50 games that sell worldwide. Originally, John fielded requests from other English-speaking countries – the UK, Australia, and Canada were early adopters – and soon after, often at US game conferences, he found himself fielding inquiries from international distributors eager to sell into their home countries. John soon discovered that, instead of working with multiple distributors, building relationships with in-country game publishers possessing native fluency of local languages simplified his operations and increased revenues. To support that structure, John built Genius Games as a multi-national rather than global company, allowing for greater autonomy, cultural adaptation, and customized product offerings within each individual country, as opposed to a global company with centralized operations and static processes. For example, the company's publisher in Spain translates game and product information into Spanish, pays for production costs, then sells the games into international markets. Margins are lower, but royalties are consistent and all profit. Listen to the full episode to hear more on the accounting and numbers!. Currently, about 20% of the company's revenue comes from international markets, thanks to the relationships built with overseas publishers visiting the US, and Genius Games are now translated into Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, Korean, and other southeast Asian languages. To complement the expansion effort, in 2022 I introduced John to his state's export representative; he ultimately secured a STEP grant covering his attendance at an international trade show. The grant paid for travel, lodging, and conference fees and connected John with exporting help from international groups and additional growth opportunities. For instance, he now understands the importance, and mechanics, of adding translation to his website to drive more sales to his partners. A multilingual website optimizes the experience for people searching for Genius Games – or games in general – by recognizing their native language. The strategy increases the company's reach – consumers will more often buy from websites in their native language – and linking to partner websites for the sale prevents cannibalizing partner sales. (If you're interested in exporting and want to be connected to your state export rep, reach out to me for an introduction.) Even with such meaningful success in consumer and international sales, John still sees room for growth. Genius Games has yet to tap into the educational market – if you're a potential partner or have any connections or resources to help with access to the educational market, please reach out to John on Linked In. To have fun, play some Genius Games available on their website or Amazon.   Links: Website: https://www.geniusgames.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coveyou-15586163/ STEP Grant Information: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/grants/state-trade-expansion-program-step German Words (Butterfly): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo0Hsx-yHiI    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coveyou-15586163/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Christian Klepp, Co-Founder of EINBLICK Consulting, explains that as a “third culture kid” he grew up in Austria, the Philippines, Singapore, and Germany, landing in China as a young adult. This experience of living across countries gives him and other second- or third culture kids the appreciation and ability to navigate cultures since they've had to do so from a young age. It's fascinating to hear about how Christian helps Chinese-speaking clients enter the Canadian and US markets, the perfect complement to his past experiences helping English-speaking companies enter China. He shares a story about a medical device company that entered China with the attitude of “what got us here, will get us there.” Instead of taking the time to understand the market for their non-invasive blood sugar measuring device, the company assumed doctors would promote the device to their patients, not knowing that such practice is prohibited.  Instead, hospital procurement teams must approve the use of any new device; doctors can recommend devices to the procurement teams but not directly to patients. This adds another layer of relationships to the sales cycle that the team could not anticipate because they did not hire a Chinese partner connected into the health system for the launch in China. In addition, 90% of people in China are on their cell phones looking to key opinion leaders (KOLs) for information on doctors and healthcare. Mobile marketing and social media are more influential in China than in other markets. Christian also talks about the importance of accurate translation and cultural adaptation. China is a big country segmented by tiers of development; major cities along the east coast have a much different standard of living than rural communities, so what might work in the city could be different than in rural areas. It's also important to be mindful of the spoken and written Chinese language. Although there are hundreds of dialects, there is only one written language. People may not be able to speak to each other, but they can write to communicate. Christian shares some interesting case studies about brand name translation: Siemens translated its name to 西门子, phonetically pronounced Xī mén zǐ. The literal meaning is “West Gate Child” or “Child of the Western Gate,” which worked well for Siemens as the characters didn't have offensive or hidden meanings. BMW translated its name to 宝马, phonetically pronounced Bǎomǎ and meaning “Precious Horse.” Again, no offensive or hidden meanings. AirBnB wasn't so lucky. The company picked 爱彼迎, phonetically pronounced Ài bǐ yíng. The selected characters seemed appropriate, signifying “love,” “mutual,” and “welcome,” words that align with the company's mission of creating neighborhood communities around the world. Yet they didn't test the name or consider the message of combining these characters and ended up with a name that sounded like a “sex toy shop,” a “condom brand,” a “matchmaking website,” or a “brothel,” according to comments on social media. Eventually they pulled out of the market due to the naming issue and fierce competition. To wrap up the interview, Christian talks about what Canadians and Americans can learn from Chinese culture. Listen to the full episode if you'd like to know more.   Links: Company website: www.einblick.co   Podcast ("B2B Marketers on a Mission"): https://www.einblick.co/podcasts/   Connect with Wendy - https://www. linkedin. com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Christian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-klepp-einblickconsulting/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www. silvermansound. com

I had the pleasure of first meeting Aytul Ercil at the 2022 International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Awards Conference in Madrid, where we celebrated the cooperation of women-owned businesses throughout the world. In addition to being a delightful conversationalist, Aytul is a mathematician, professor, scholar, applied research expert, and entrepreneur; in this episode she describes her move away from theoretical research and toward its real-world business applications. Even with applied research, she explains, universities specialize only in research and developing prototypes but don't take the products to market, instead they find existing companies to take the lead and launch. Working in applied research fueled her interest in launching the products herself; she started her first company alongside two graduate students and sold it to a strong and successful German company. Now onto her second company, Vispera offers image processing for retail stores. By providing in-store monitoring with either pictures or installed videos, companies can keep track of compliance with price and promotion deals, stocking levels, layout and display issues, and inventory reporting. It helps solve the major pain in retail of capturing information on the selling floor to maintain inventory and increase sales. The Vispera system's speed, accuracy, and precision in gathering information on the selling floor helps clients better manage production, operations, and distribution. In addition, with retailers managing ecommerce, they have the information to manage the coordination of in-store and on-line ordering. Before the Vispera platform, companies relied on sales reps to visit stores, count items, fix displays, and communicate information – all very tactical and manual work. Now, sales reps can be more strategic when working with customers. Based in Türkiye, Aytul knew from the start that she would need to launch internationally for success. Since her first target clients were large, international companies, she chose to build an English-only website, knowing it would reach more people than a Turkish language website. The strategy worked; her first customer, based outside of Türkiye, found Vispera through an online search. Now implemented in 35 countries with clients such as Coca-Cola, CircleK, and Unilever, Vispera's technology solution requires custom buildouts and adaptation, so rather than adapting her website and content, she hires bilingual employees to handle in-country communications with frontline customers. Since she hires local bilingual employees, I asked if she needs to culturally adapt her messaging for geographic markets. She says that most clients are large global companies dealing with the same issues and problems; in India, however, the company may have to adjust its messaging to account for the large number of “mom and pop” stores. Similarly, she does predict a need for website and other translation for particular countries. While Vispera currently markets only in English, and the company continues to optimize their website for English search terms, its technologies can easily be adapted to other languages; for instance, it provides a Spanish-language platform for clients in South America. Aytul lists her biggest challenges as: Having enough money for development and expansion Marketing resources Hiring good salespeople Meeting in-person with global teams around the world (I can certainly relate to these – how about you!?) And her biggest mistakes? In her first company, to support development they accepted project-based work, quickly finding that delivering said projects meant little time for development. Once they found funding, Aytul recognized that doing the project work for so long slowed down the larger development of their initiative. Gaining funding and working with a partner sped up their success. She adds that even a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University does not mean you will understand finance or accounting; asked for a P&L statement, she had to look up its meaning, and made a few unwise financial decisions before taking the time to learn about the numbers. Finally, as all sales managers can attest to, Aytul admits that it's been a challenge to hire good sales representatives. It is an expensive position to fill, and she's made mistakes. Now more seasoned when it comes to hiring, for her international expansion she's found highly capable Managing Directors in key markets to build the local teams and the pipeline. To keep the company aligned, she holds regular meetings with the Managing Directors from each country and weekly meetings with each company manager. Her final recommendations? Hire good people in each country that can manage the team and build a pipeline. Have a good on-boarding strategy and process for clients and employees and have it all documented and ready to go. Communicate with the team so that everyone is aligned to the same goal. Fittingly, Aytul's favorite foreign words are “perseverance” and “resilience”!   Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayt%C3%BCl_Er%C3%A7il https://turkishwin.com/aytul-ercil https://turkishwin.com/connect-grow/visit-learning-center/talks/category/sector/technology/aytul-ercil-a-visionary-in-computer-vision   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Aytul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aytul-ercil-b833b43/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Amy Kenigsberg, Cofounder and COO of K2 Global, joined me on The Global Marketing Show to discuss WIIFM (“what's in it for me?”) communications, cultural messaging, and ChatGPT. K2 focuses on precise, nuanced messaging to impact everyone involved in the purchasing process, a strategy especially critical within account-based marketing (ABM). To that end, Amy developed a process that her agency uses to build a “Bible of Messages”: starting with the engineers from its technology company clients, K2 translates all the features and benefits of the “tech talk” into “marketing talk,” which is then customized to each of the decision makers in the buying process. They then test rough draft messaging across industries, roles, and geography to validate the messaging specific to each player, driving each to emotionally connect with the client's brand. Continued client support combines K2's Bible of Messages with the PESO Model™ developed by Gini Dietrich, of OBI. The PESO Model™ integrates and optimizes use of the four media types – paid, earned, shared, and owned. Building the Model based on specifics from the Bible of Messages accelerates the end-result of helping companies build authority and thought leadership more efficiently. Recently, clients have asked Amy about ChatGPT and its ability to write content. Like many content creators and translators, we are watching the technology to see what it will do to our respective industries, and here's what we've seen so far. The good: The speed and ability of ChatGPT is amazing and it's great at smashing writer's block. It can clearly develop a thoughtful flow to the content for an initial “pre-draft” (rather than a “rough” draft, which is simply putting ideas on paper). It gives great ideas for short content like social posts, it corrects grammatical errors, it eliminates boring rote tasks. The Bad: The program pulls from historical content, so even if it's dated, ChatGPT makes it seem current, and real. Add to that the seemingly worldwide trend toward a “post-fact” culture and it's easy to imagine how the continued recycling of inaccuracies could kick-start the multiplier effect of a world operating on widespread misinformation. The content is consolidated, with neither source nor attribution to the original writers. When we write and publish, we cite our sources to add legitimacy to our work. Hopefully, the tide will likewise demand and formalize citation of content from any automated source. Its ability to adapt the tone of its output to the intended purpose is still limited. With the lack of emotion, ChatGPT content can get boring to read. It may make sense to use it to generate an automatic first draft and then edit for nuance, urgency, and other emotional cues, but outside of potentially helping with a writer's block, it wouldn't necessarily save time. The Ugly: Have you ever heard of the Infinite Monkey Theorem? It states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. Amy compares ChatGPT to this theorem!  Given enough tries, maybe the program can come up with a creative story that encapsulates your marketing message with enough emotion to capture your buyer's attention. The Concerns: Amy describes her additional concerns: On his Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell explained the difference between an anecdote and a story. An anecdote talks about something that happened: “I went to the store and used a $5 bill to pay for the items I bought.” A story adds some spice to the anecdote: “I went to the store and tried to pay for my items with a $5 bill. The shopkeeper laughed and threw the bill back at me.” (OK, I edited it a tad from the podcast, but you get the idea.) In essence, an anecdote recites; a story keeps you interested, and you want to know more. ChatGPT can produce anecdotes; creative writers tell stories. Good marketers are creative writers.   Perhaps inspired by our conversation, Amy says her favorite foreign word is the noun “balagan,” which is Hebrew for “mess”!   Links: https://k2-gc.com/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/k2-global-communications https://mobile.twitter.com/k2gcomm https://www.facebook.com/K2GlobalCommunications   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Amy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amykenigsberg/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Marcus Mogéus, Chief Marketing Officer of AutoStore, explains that when you maximize efficient use of your space, you help the environment and the planet by minimizing your land usage – for industrial buildings, for instance. AutoStore helps warehouses, manufacturers, ecommerce companies and grocery stores optimize logistics and simplify fulfillment; the need for such services are clear, based on the company's growth. With over 50% CAGR over the last 10 years, and over 70% CAGR during Covid, AutoStore's global growth has been consistently explosive.   When AutoStore started in 1996 in a small town in Norway, its founder thought about global expansion from the start. Their mantra then and now: “Let's get as many bins as there are people in the world.” To do this, they built a proprietary system that uses robots and tracks to move storage bins quickly to fulfill orders. Each system is custom-designed and -built for the client. Operating in in over 45+ countries through a network of qualified partners and servicing multiple industries, Marcus's biggest challenge in global marketing has been getting the messages right across countries and industries. For example, some countries focus on decreasing the costs of human involvement, while others want to focus on increased automation. Yet, it's not as easy as localizing the message for each country.  Industries vary in what they want from AutoStore's cube storage automation. An online apparel store cares about the speed of fulfillment, while an industrial products company may care more about cost efficiencies. These differences can then align across countries. Marcus explains that language translation is an important part of their go-to-market strategy. AutoStore works with local agencies for translation, while coordinating global branding and messaging with the corporate office. Our focus is always on the human element and what the customers can achieve, he adds, and that simple goal has revolutionized automated fulfillment. Links: https://www.autostoresystem.com/   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Marcus - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-mog%C3%A9us-52501194/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Tracy Gray is Founder and Managing Partner of The 22 Fund, a venture capital fund that is facing investment and equity injustice head-on – in the finance sector, women and people of color are historically and consistently underrepresented. In her varied career, Tracy has worked as Senior Advisor for International Business to the Mayor of Los Angeles, as a systems engineer (aka “rocket scientist!”) on a space shuttle mission, and following her 2015 TEDx Talk on “Why It's Time for Women to be Sexist With Capital,” established We Are Enough, a non-profit focused on educating ALL women on investing in women-owned, for-profit businesses. The 22 Fund builds upon that belief, that women and people of color don't need any more “mentorship” or “technical assistance”; they need capital and help with exporting. It is a “mission-driven fund looking for high-impact and high-end returns” for climate-focused, self-sustaining technologies and ideas, and intentionally includes these historically overlooked groups. Tracy focuses her portfolio on manufacturing companies, which are typically located in low- or moderate-income communities, with the goal of exporting to elevate the community via higher wages and greater access to opportunities. Exporting coupled with manufacturing sees wages nearing $100K annually on average, they're more likely to have healthcare, and increased generational wealth for women and people of color, says Tracy. “Our mission is to create the clean, quality jobs of the future” in these lower-income communities. The 22 Fund's portfolio has launched products as disparate as: a fertilizer grow-medium for indoor farming created from food waste, targeted for use in sub-Saharan Africa; an alternative to the petroleum-based carbon black, the main ingredient in textile colors, produced from wood waste; and, a hair care product for textured hair, which turned into Sienna Naturals, a company now co-owned by Issa Rae. Tracy believes the time is right for an “all-government approach” to manufacturing and exports. “America is an insular, consumer-based economy that expects to sell just to each other – a system based largely on the fear of being taken advantage of, or the unknown – but economic instabilities aren't well managed without exporting,” she explains. Relying on government services – the Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, EXIM Bank – essentially comprises a concierge service that can move a company through: Market analysis Marketing partners on the ground All the things you need to export And these government agencies don't market themselves so knowing what's available to you is critical to global success. The 22 Fund will help by “providing the capital that doesn't exist for these companies, especially for manufacturers, women, people of color, all of the capital gaps that exist.” All the entrepreneur needs to bring to the table is a good idea and the courage to succeed.   Links: The 22 Fund - https://the22fund.com/ TedxOlympicBlvdWomen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyggi2IYXXY US Department of Commerce – Minority Business Development Agency - https://www.mbda.gov/ Small Business Administration Office of International Trade - https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-locations/headquarters-offices/office-international-trade EXIM Bank - https://www.exim.gov/solutions/get-financing   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Tracy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracydgray/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Ognadon Eddy Djagou (“Eddy”) is Founder and CEO of Muscatine, IA-based Djaagou-a Export LLC. He is also the Small Business Administration's Exporter of the Year for 2022! Born and raised in French-speaking Togo in West Africa, Eddy holds a BA in Marketing from a West African university and immigrated to the US in 2011 on a Diversity visa. The Immigration Act of 1990 inspired the Diversity Visa program, a lottery by which 15,000 people come to the US each year. In Togo, explains Eddy, between one and 2 million people apply for the lottery; only 100 to 200 are selected and submitted for consideration by the West African government. “My dream changed” upon arrival, he says. Following a two-year “integration” period in Illinois – learning English, working, obtaining proper identification – Eddy relocated to Muscatine, IA, where he quickly realized that its residents typically traveled at least an hour to neighboring cities to get any international or ethnic goods – like fufu! Established in 2017, Djaagou-a Export LLC grew out of an organic process of simply sending samples of US food products to friends in Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and other regions of West Africa. What started with small packages of goods by 2020 turned into container shipments of rice, sugar, meat and fish, snacks. Eddy set up a storefront, found a supplier in Chicago, and simultaneously launched an importing business, addressing individual requests from customers both domestic and abroad. A visit to his homeland found larger orders from West African-based importers and turned Djaagou-a Export LLC into a B2B, B2C, and B2G (government) operation. Today, Djaagou-a Export LLC has the added mission of supporting the local community with their own exporting endeavors, so Eddy continues to work closely with the State of Iowa, the US Commercial Service, EXIM Bank, and the Small Business Administration (including a STEP Grant used for website translation). The opportunities that were made available to him are available to anyone: trade shows in foreign countries, 50% reimbursement grants to get started in exporting (for sending samples overseas, for example), funding for expansion. His best advice? Small US businesses that imagine exporting as “risky” should be assured that there is a lot of opportunity and government resources that will help you succeed. “Do not look afraid, try something good!”   Links: https://djaagou-a.com/    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Eddy - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddy-djagou-4321611a0/ Twitter: @EddyDjagou Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Melissa Muhammad is the Founder and CEO of the Black and Global Business Network (BGBN). An international tax attorney, Melissa founded BGBN after 20 years with the US government, connecting businesses with exporting resources, creating opportunities, lowering trade barriers, and working with other countries to avoid any “double tax” that might stifle trade. When racial tensions in the US intensified after the killing of George Floyd, Melissa was called to reevaluate her “cushy government job” and address her “professional tragedy” of never seeing a black-owned business come across her desk throughout her 20 year career. She had worked in 50 countries, lived on 3 continents, but never used her time or talent to help the black business community. Challenging her fears of becoming an entrepreneur, and with help from a black-owned marketing company, Melissa formed BGBN. Success was immediate and Melissa attributes it to the richness of her existing relationships (in 54 African countries, Canada, the UK, and the Caribbean) and her ability simply to “listen to the people with the expertise.” In its inaugural virtual summit in April 2021, BGBN welcomed 1,100 attendees from 58 countries. Melissa is often met with disbelief by black-owned entrepreneurs that the government resources she touts actually exist. Breaking down that barrier – the historical belief within the black community of a suspect Federal government – is part of the BGBN process. BGBN provides exporting education, tests for global readiness, offers cultural competencies training, and incubates black-owned businesses at any and every stage. Its “done for you” solution means BGBN represents a company to government agencies. Melissa's best advice is that your mindset changes the game. Making the shift to an international focus and challenging your uncertainties isn't easy – “keep the paycheck if you're looking for easy” – but will leave you fulfilled.   Links: www.blackandglobalbusinessnetwork.com   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Melissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-muhammad-829a6a15/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Devon Mitchell is CEO of DSN Energy Corporation. A competitive duathlete, aeronautical engineer, MBA, entrepreneur, and leadership expert, Mitchell founded DSN to facilitate strategic partnerships with US-based businesses, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations to provide training, mentoring, and leadership programs to the oil and gas sector in Guyana. Mitchell's family migrated from Guyana to the US when he was 10 and since, he has found success and a fruitful business network as an aeronautical engineer and Anytime Fitness franchise owner. When Exxon Mobil, several years ago, discovered in Guyana one of the largest hidden oil reserves outside of the Middle East, Mitchell immediately recognized the opportunity to give back to his home country, his specific intent being to engage the Guyanese workforce and ensure they benefit from their own economy. The only English-speaking country in South America, the Guyanese culture trends closer to the Caribbean, with British influences on education, for example. A country of fewer than 1 million, a sizeable number of people leave the country to work or study – drawing those residents back to Guyana could prove essential to engagement, and that will only be realized by creating opportunities. From that vantage point of having first-hand knowledge of Guyanese culture and close personal connections, Mitchell decided to “look within and leverage” the skills and connections he acquired in the US to revive opportunities in Guyana. It's a repeatable process of bringing diversity of thought and problem-solving to every country with an emerging, frontier market.     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Devon – https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-mitchell-038079137/ Devon.mitchell@dsnenergy.com Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Jorge Sanchez is President and CEO of San Antonio-based Thor Energy, which develops and finances energy-efficient projects throughout Mexico and South America. Sanchez tells the fascinating story of how a start in his family's business turned into Thor Energy, and how simply listening – to your customers, yourself, your children – holds the key to differentiating yourself from the competition. From the start, Sanchez listened to customers' specific needs and found a foothold selling locomotive parts to Mexican businesses. Leveraging the common language, Sanchez quickly expanded into South America, and listened when businesses in the marine and oil and gas industries – both of which utilize the same parts as the auto industry – asked for his services as well. At every turn, says Sanchez, listening to customers and their needs catapulted Thor over their competitors. The move from oil and gas and fossil fuels to renewable energy occurred when Sanchez's daughter presented a school project on renewable energy; it was the moment he recognized not only the opportunity, but also an immediate need, to pivot in that direction. Sanchez seamlessly transitioned the company into a service that recognizes a problem, identifies the technology to solve it, then finds funding for the partnership. In this instance, he explains, Thor quickly overtook the competition by adding the financing piece. Even large, State-run companies throughout South America often lack the financing up front to address pressing issues in the Amazon, he explains. Thor Energy can simultaneously find the partners and technology for a solution and conduct a visibility study to secure the financing to push projects forward. Culturally, each country is its own entity, says Sanchez. To help bridge the gaps, pay attention to “country briefings” from the US Department of Commerce and utilize the services of the US Commercial Service and your local District Export Councils (DECs), both of which will open doors to the whole world.   Links: United States Commercial Services - https://www.trade.gov/let-our-experts-help-0 National Association of District Export Councils - https://www.usaexporter.org/ The International Trade Administration's Country Commercial Guides - https://www.trade.gov/ccg-landing-page   Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Jorge – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-g-sanchez-3151950/ jsan@thor-energy.com Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Carla Sydney Stone is President of the World Trade Center Delaware, which champions international opportunity through cultural programs, training in logistics and financing, and helps with market research. Its services include finding and evaluating trade leads, direction in hiring oversees, finding partner organizations and agencies, trade missions, and facilitating conferences and exhibits.    An engineer at heart, Stone's career originated in geophysics and mining, about which she says: “Minerals flunk geography, making it an international industry.” From there she traveled the world; she has been to every continent except Antarctica (which is on her to-do list) then segued into banking, where engineers are essential for proper industry valuations, and ultimately landing in technical assistance to the “alphabet soup of [government] agencies” and academia.    Just prior to the WTC Delaware, Stone found herself at the intersection of engineering and public health (water, energy, avian influenza, telemedicine). Her work with NATO introduced   telemedicine into rural and remote areas of several countries.    The WTC Delaware has ushered a countless number of businesses onto the international stage. Why should companies export? “To start, over 95% of consumers live outside the US,” says Stone. In addition, companies that export are more stable, riding out downturns in the economy better due to customer diversity. They can also easily adjust by way of foreign exchange, leveraging exchange rates and seasonal business, for instance.    A good example is Delaware's Port of Wilmington, which is not only the largest banana port but also brings to the US produce from around the world. It boasts the largest cold storage and fumigation capacities in the US and organizes its import/export relationships seasonally. Companies that export have a “variety of places to buy and sell. In addition, these businesses are more profitable, stay in business longer, and pay employees more.”    Stone recommends that companies expanding into new countries “read, read, read.” For countries with diaspora communities, don't be afraid to call related organizations for help with inroads; build relationships with anyone with feet in both communities.     Know that culturally, even gestures can get lost in translation and can affect a meeting insofar as its pacing, attendee reactions, etc. In Bulgaria, for instance, tilting your head left and right means “yes,” a nod up and down, “no.” “Many countries say ‘we will only do business with our friends,'” says Stone, “so relationship-building is essential.”    Links:  www.wtcde.com  https://www.portofwilmington.com/  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Carla -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlasstone/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Fatima Almeida, CEO and Founder of Angola-based BayQi, has a vision. Historically, online purchasing and payment systems have been problematic throughout Africa. Myriad issues are to blame, general access being the main obstacle; for example, in Angola there is a prohibitively high Visa interest rate.   To promote financial inclusion, BayQi combined ecommerce and fintech to create a “super app” that now connects the 12 million people of Angola with the rest of the world. Backed by a  license from the National Bank of Angola, the system currently relies on the national currency (the Angolan Kwanza) and BayQi further envisions a one-payment system that will ultimately service all of Africa, in partnership with larger, known creditors such as Visa.  The platform is currently available in Portuguese, English, French, and Italian. Most African people speak one of these languages, says Almeida, but BayQi is positioned to expand its offering according to what the future demands.  Any African-based business struggles with access to resources, reports Almeida, but no matter: Africa can deliver what is needed and “we can create something for the world to use as well.”    Links:  https://bayqi.com/  https://www.state.gov/africasummit/  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Fatima –   https://www.linkedin.com/in/f%C3%A1tima-almeida-15b024116/   falmeida@bayqi.com   Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Michael Thornton, Founder and CEO of World TradeX, is turning his using his experience and passion to create a revolutionary new buy and sell platform focused on agriculture.   When launched World TradeX will be a global buy and sell platform to support the world food chain. There's currently nothing like it available to help farmers sell their goods in a one-to-one transaction, eliminating the middleman. They're envisioning the platform will be the Amazon for food.  Covering the whole process from farmer to purchaser including logistics, finance, insurance and of course the purchase transaction all in one place.   Listen as Michael explains how World TradeX takes the best functionality of other apps and technologies (like amazon, uber and even tinder) and integrates it into their system. Farmers will be able to create profile and product cards that will be used as NFTs that can be tracked as the goods move along the process. Also, with NFTs they're even envisioning buyers will be able to purchase future crops at today's prices.  In 2023 World TradeX will go live in California as a beta. Once the kinks are worked out their plan is to expand further in the US then internationally, focusing on two of the world's largest agricultural producing countries, India and Brazil.  “Everyone has to eat” says Michael and thinks once it's up and running that the app will sell itself. Currently farmers go through brokers/agents that take 20-30% of their profit. This new system, with a much smaller flat rate and no need for the middleman, means more money for the farmers selling their products and smaller price tags for the buyers.   They've been working for 7 years to get the idea out in CA through trade shows and networking. When it launches, he believes word of mouth will create excitement and bring in users.  Once they launch beyond the US, they'll have language and legal requirements to consider. Attorneys in each country will handle the legal paperwork in the appropriate languages and other translations will be handled as needed either through humans or automatic translations for things that aren't crucial or critical.  Michael's main advice is to “do your research” and know what the market for your goods and services is in the countries you're looking to export to and what requirements there are to sell there.   He attended the EXIM conference to learn more about the financial programs available to international agriculture companies and farmers, and to network with other business owners doing global business.   When asked about his favorite foreign word he replied “Arepa, because it's fun to say and delicious to eat.” An arepa is like a pancake and is typically eaten at breakfast. Michaels' favorite type is the Columbian arepa made with yuca flour and cheese.    Links:  https://worldtradex.com/  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Michael – michael@worldtradex.com   Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Marko Issever is CEO of America EB5, a company that works with immigrants on getting a visa through an investment program.  I've known Marko for a few years and enjoyed having the time to learn more about the specific work he does.  It's fascinating.  Before diving deep into the EB5 visas, he explains the different types of visas a person can request for extended stays in the United States.  First, they break down into immigrant versus non-immigrant. Non-immigrant visas include part time stays for students, tourists and part-time workers.  Immigrant visas can be family based or employment based.  Employment based visas fall into five categories:  EB1 – Exceptional people who are well known due to their accomplishments in academics or business, performances, or sports ability.  They are well known or featured in the news. They can self-sponsor to apply for a visa.  EB2- Highly educated people that have at least a Masters Degree and have a job offer in an area that domestic companies have a hard time hiring.  EB3- Nonskilled worker that are needed particularly in a needy or growing area. Again, the workers must have a job offer and apply.    EB4 – Religious leaders such as Rabbis, Imams, and Priests can apply for a visa under this category.  EB5 – Investors can apply under this visa to help stimulate employment in the US.    The EB5 visa is the area that Marko specializes in and what we discussed in more depth.  It applies to global marketing as it offers people from around the world a chance to come to the United States to expand their community and bring their diverse experience to the US.  Originally, the program offered a visa to a US immigrant who invested $1 million in a business and hired at least 10 people for at least 2 years.  This partially worked, but put a difficult burden on some investors who could invest the capital but had a hard time fulfilling the 10 employee requirement.    The US kept this program but started another called the Regional Center Program (RCP) that has the authority to create opportunities with multiple investors to keep the international investments coming in, and also allow support in how the jobs are created.    The RCP coordinates multiple investors to create bigger projects which is easier to create jobs.  So, the visa applicant can work with a US developer and a bank to finance the project to create a financing tool with the following investments:  EB5 visa applicant – 20%  Developer – 20%  Bank financed debt – 60%  Marko says that the expected return is $5 for every $1 invested.    It's a win-win:  The developer hires the local people and runs the project which creates more stable jobs.  And they're motivated to get the job done with favorable funding.  The bank wants secured projects with experienced and connected developers.  The EB5 investor can get the credit for hiring employees and thus receive a visa.    For people outside the US, if you have $1.5 million dollars that you can invest for 5 years, you can apply for an EB5 visa and Marko can assist you in the practicalities of making it happen.  We then discussed who are the people that apply for these visas.  Marko says that about 80% of them are families of students that are studying in the US.  The students can get a student visa but can't work in the US after graduating.  By staying in the US for work, they get practical work experience and can earn higher wages. After spending $250k-300k for a US education, the higher salaries help increase the return on their educational investment.  If they return to their home countries, they may make a fraction of the salary.  By getting 3-5 years of entry level experience in the US, the graduates can return to their countries at a higher level so it's a real advantage to get the US work experience.  Parents with the means, invest the money to increase opportunities for their children.   A person approved for an EB5 visa can bring in their spouse and children under 18 years old. On average, the EB5 applicants use 3 visas for each investment.  With only 10,000 EB5s available each year, that means there are approximately 2500-3000 investors each year for about $1 million each.  Marko said that historically, Chinese families received most of the EB5 visas. In 2004, the program was marketed to other countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia and Korea and limits were increased for the number of visas granted to each country.   Chinese are still prominent in applying for the Visa but there is more diversity in applicants now.  Recently, they instituted new guidelines to carve out projects for specific areas.  Infrastructure – investments in large scale, and needed infrastructure.  Rural – 200 visas were added for investors who want to focus on rural investment. This has no country restrictions.  Standard – investment in areas where unemployment is 150% or higher than average.    When I asked whether this was a program for rich people to buy their way into the United States, he explained that the typical family doing this has a net worth of about $3-10 million.  They decide to invest a substantial amount of their net worth into an opportunity for their child(ren).  If a family is extremely wealthy, they can do the original EB5 visa and invest $10-50 million and enter the US. The families utilizing this program anxiously wait to get their investment back.  It's not just a one-sided benefit for the families.  The US benefits from international investments, job creation, and funding for projects in areas that might be overlooked.  With 2500-3000 investment visas, over 30,000 jobs are created in the US.  The students who study in the US and then work with the EB5 visa are lawyers, medical professionals, doctors, IT experts and more.  Even if the EB5 visa is pending, companies can offer the graduates a job and hire highly qualified global citizens.  After Marko graduated with an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, he had trouble getting a job having to answer the dreaded question…. Do you have authorization to work in the US?  He had to find a sponsor company that would help with the visa process.  The EB5 program changes that as students can say that the application is pending and the companies can hire them.  The advantages of the EB5 program are tremendous:  Expands the high-quality talent pool for hiring managers in the US  Allows the hiring company to hire for merit and experience rather than just legal eligibility  Adds international experience to the domestic team  Gives a resource to open business in the new employee's home country  Adds diversity of thought to the team which increases creativity, and innovation    We ended the discussion on how he attracts new clients interested in EB5 visas.  He said that his website, www.americaeb5visa.com is translated into 25 languages.  He knows the importance of high quality translation so he had humans do the translation – he would not use Google Translate because the quality is not good enough.    If you'd like to reach out to him to learn more, you can reach him on WhatsApp at 917-355-9251 or at info@americaeb5visa.com  or on his website at www.americaeb5visa.com          Links:  WhatsApp at 917-355-9251 or at info@americaeb5visa.com  or on his website at www.americaeb5visa.com  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Marko https://www.linkedin.com/in/markoissever/   Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Kael Campbell, President of Red Seal Recruiting Solutions, is all about family, kids, business, enjoying life and water!  In this episode the theme of water permeates our discussion of language, travel, his recruiting company, and translation.    As the sponsor of the podcast, Rapport International, provided an appropriate tidbit to launch the episode.  Did you know that both Finland and Sweden have a word to describe that beautiful long reflection of the moon's light on a lake?!   In Finnish, the word is “kuunsilta” (Google Translate defines it as “moon bridge” even though we don't have a meaning for that in English) and in Swedish, the word is “mångata” (which Google Translate inaccurately defines as “many”).    As an avid fisherman (see his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@fmb-fishingmeansbusiness), free diver, and lover of all things water, that was an appropriate tibdit to launch Kael's episode.  Even though we didn't discuss where his company got the name Red Seal – I would guess that it has something to do with water.  Red Seal Recruiting specializes in recruiting for manufacturing, mining, and construction industries for management, engineering, trades and technical roles.  With a shortage in hiring around the world for these positions, he leverages his cultural and language knowledge to help people who may not speak the local language fluently, or at all, to find professional jobs to leverage their experience. He has intentionally hired a diverse team that speaks 7 languages to help recruit expats, immigrants, and even second generation immigrants who might be more comfortable speaking in their home language.  He notes that currently, Toyota in Toronto is recruiting and interviewing in five languages to attract good employees.  If employers can understand a person who speaks with a heavy accent or build systems to accommodate non-English speakers, they have a huge advantage in recruiting qualified and experienced employees, particularly in the fields his company focuses on.  Currently, with the influx of refugees from the Ukraine, he is helping highly trained people find new jobs in Canada and the US.  He talks of a Ukrainian woman with limited English skills who was the lead materials engineer for the largest Ukrainian construction company.  As he tried to figure out her experience, she showed him pictures of the work she did and they used Google Translate to navigate the discussion.  She has tremendous experience and technical abilities to share with local engineers.  He is confident that he will find her a good job.  As for employers, we spoke about their interest in hiring non-English speakers and their tolerance for language issues.  He asks at the beginning of each engagement about their willingness to hire people trained outside of Canada or the US since many are underemployed or underpaid.  He said that 95% of the employers are open to diversity and many company leaders may have come from another country or travel extensively.  And, many executives started with international assignments so they have connections and appreciation for people's skills from around the world.   Plus, companies in his target industries struggle to find good people, so they are open to new sources of good employees.  If he notices any hesitation or discriminatory practices in the discussion about working together, he does not work with the company as he knows they won't be a good fit.  Of course, in a discussion about no or limited English skills, the topic of translation arose.  He said that after 18 years in business, they should have a fully translated website that is optimized for search engines.  Yet when I asked why he hasn't.  He had a simple answer, “Squirrel.” It's a common characteristic of entrepreneurs – “squirrel brain” means that you have lots of things to do and you get distracted as you focus on the many areas.  He is excited about the new recruitement manager he hired from Latin America that speaks Spanish and his leaderships teams adoption of EOS.  EOS is short for Entrepreneurial Operating System which builds a process into your business to make it run smoother.    He and his team meet quarterly to set the upcoming goals.  If the team decides this is a priority, he knows that he could get his website translated and optimized in a quarter. (We first connected because his marketing manager reached out to Rapport International to discuss translating their website.)  We dove deeper into the strategy for his website translation. Even though it seems logical to translate content for the job seekers journey through the website, he explained that with all the bilingual managers looking to hire, it also makes sense to translate content for the employers.  We talked about options:  Translating the whole website, which can be expensive.   Developing a microsite with 5-10 pages of key content.  Having a landing page that is search engine optimized.   He recognizes that even if he does a landing page in 5-10 languages and spends $300-500 per language, it would be of great value to the company.  As Kael reflects  upon translation, he mentions that even MrBeast translates his videos into Spanish! (MrBeast is a YouTube sensation that does random videos that get lots of followers.)  He also talks about how important good translation is – one word can drastically change the meaning.  For example, in English a cabinet maker makes cabinets whereas in Russia a furniture maker makes cabinets.  With the help of pictures, he helped a Russian furniture maker look for cabinet maker jobs!  Getting people the jobs is the first step, I asked about his clients and how they fare after building a multicultural team – what do they do to be inclusive.  That may be a future episode on the Global Marketing Show podcast.    His final recommendations –   Keep the dialog going with non-English speakers to find hidden talent.  Go beyond the resumes of your current employees to find experiences they may not have shared about their international experience to help with engaging your teams.  Share your vision as a leader of building diverse teams.   His favorite foreign word – “Nuance”, the name of his Toastmaster Chapter.  Nuance means the same thing in three languages – English, French, and maybe Spanish. (I looked it up on Google after the episode and learned that nuance is a word in many languages such as Albanian, Danish, Dutch, German, Irish, Portuguese and maybe more.)    Links:  www.redsealrecruiting.com  https://www.youtube.com/@fmb-fishingmeansbusiness  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Kael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaelcampbell/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Steve Lowy, CEO of Umi Digital in London has lived around the world and owns multiple businesses in the hospitality industry – in real estate and Academic offerings including Academic Program creation, Internship Sourcing & Management, Educational Tours and Academic Programming. After successfully growing these services through digital marketing, he launched a marketing agency focused on growing hospitality businesses.  In this episode of the Global Marketing Show, I talk to him about how he leverages his experience in global digital marketing to help other hospitality organizations. It's exciting to hear as he says on his LinkedIn profile -  “I love empowering the underdogs to fight above their weight especially as the hospitality space gets cluttered with big brands.”  His advice on the show is insightful for hospitality organizations looking to increase patronage with local and international guests.  With a passion for eating and international travel, Steve studied hospitality in university in England and then lived in Australia, the S. Pacific, and the USA.  At age 24, he managed a 500 bed backpackers hostel and got great experience so he could buy and run his own hotels.  As soon as he started running his own in London, Brighton, and Moscow, he learned the importance of the digital brand for both attracting visitor and allowing online booking.  As others in the industry saw his success, he realized that he spent a lot of time educating others in hospitality about how to use digital media. Instead of consulting for free, he saw the opportunity to monetize the education and provide services to support smaller properties and organizations with growing through digital marketing.  During the conversation – I had to ask why he founded a hotel in Moscow in 2009 – he hadn't lived there or had experience.  Steve explained that it was an opportunity – some friends asked him to help them open the hotel.  He saw a great opportunity as at that time, there were not many western style hotels close to the Red Square in Moscow.  Mostly there were communist style hotels or a few western ones for about $1,000 a night.   Language was challenging since at the time there were not the tools to support their efforts and their buyers were not Russians, but international travelers.  In addition, they had to capture the cultural differences of staying at a hotel – like having food accessible.  He does see a shift in the industry with how language is used as organizations shift more to video and visuals.  Less written content is being used and depending on your buyer – it may make sense to have translated subtitles or additional translated content. We talked about how important it is to understand the buyer's journey to determine where and how translation should be used.   Some challenges that organizations face now are the following:  Drop offs in reservation stage if the third-party booking partner does not translate the reservation platform. The buyer may find the site, read all material, decide to book in their native language, but when they click through to book, it's in another language. This causes them to move on and not book.  Untranslated search terms that buyers may use. For example, if Steve optimizes his site for “London” and visitors search “Londres”, the buyers won't find him.  The flow from search, through the website to booking and confirmation must be consistent.  Not understanding your buyer's needs – if your ideal customer profile is a business traveler that needs to be close to their meeting site, less content and thus translation will be needed.  Yet, if you run a luxury resort, the customer will expect more interaction in their native language. It's not transactional, it's capturing the dream of the perfect vacation.  Determining your price point – consumers desiring a cheap stay will be more forgiving of no translation. Higher priced hospitality providers must provide in language support. They are expecting full service.    To give you an understanding of the importance of translation Booking.com (or Priceline.com in some countries) had 500-1000 translators working on their content.  They know that good quality translation offers higher accessibility which results in a better quality score which circles back to more bookings.    Steve discusses how the last couple years have been extremely rough on the hospitality industry with customer expectations increasing, inflation, difficulty in hiring and retaining and wage increases. And that marketing and training are the first budgets to be cut.  Yet it's the marketing that will increase sales. Rather than looking at marketing and translation as a cost, try looking at the ROI (return on the investment) that you can get from attracting new customers.  In London, traditionally he's translated content into English for the US, French, Spanish and German. Now they are expanding into Chinese – which means for his buyer's journey they will need translation for : SEO, website, booking, menus, on site information, and staff to speak the language(s). This is a global marketing expansion area for him.    His final recommendations – as he learned in sports – it's not the big one time gains, it's the marginal gains that make a difference.  Don't be scared and look for those marginal gains.        Links:    Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Steve - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevelowy/  https://umidigital.co.uk/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Dr. Eva Pell wrote a series of books that bring science, language, culture, endangered species, social issues, and complex concerns to light.  The books are BRILLIANT and are a hidden secret for teachers and parents! The books are geared towards children ages 9-12 and will keep them engaged while they learn through adventure and fun.  The series include:  ResQ and the Baby Orangutan – Engineering boy genius Wheaton and his nature-loving cousin Stowe set out on their first mission for ResQ, their organization to save the endangered orangutan in Borneo.    ResQ Takes on the Takhi (the Mongolian Horse) - A harem of takhi—Mongolian wild horses—wandered out of a national park and into danger. Engineering boy genius Wheaton and his naturalist cousin Stowe shuttle to Mongolia on this second mission for ResQ, their organization to save endangered animals. Against wolves and weather, by helicopter and on horseback, and helped by their new Mongolian friend Sarnai, they struggle to guide the lost horses back into the park before winter sets in.  ResQ in Panama - All over the world, frog populations are declining, with many frog species headed toward extinction. Cousins Stowe and Wheaton join on a mission to capture and breed endangered frogs on this third mission for ResQ, their organization to save endangered animals. A jaguar, a band of migrants, darkness, and flooding confront them in the indigenous village they make their base. Wheaton's engineering skills and Stowe's skills as a naturalist both come in handy as they seek to save not just frogs this time, but also villagers.    Each story has the hero children visiting a different country where they work with locals to save the endangered species.   The characters are fun – Wheaton is a boy genius that understands material science – during the interview Dr. Pell explains that material scientists study the properties of materials like nano technology that will allow us to swallow a small camera for a colonoscopy or cloaking, the material in the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. Stow, who is Wheaton's cousin, has dyslexia and is home schooled. Stow is a knowledgeable naturalist who educates about the animals and nature surrounding them on the trips.  While on their missions, they learn words from the local language and explore the culture.  Through their experiences, they observe that the locals have tremendous knowledge about the environment that even the smartest scientist from another country couldn't understand.    Dr. Pell's story about playing with her grandson, Hudson is delightful as she shares how the idea for the books arose. Instead of fixing the broken leg on the same old stuffed animal, she created stories about traveling to countries all over the world to save animals.  They learned what animals lived in what countries and consulted maps before taking off on the sofa that became the spaceship.  As someone who understands that complex problems take a multidimensional approach to solving, Dr. Pell also believes that the best learning comes from a multidisciplinary approach to teaching.  Dr. Pell, before retiring and becoming an author, served as the Undersecretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution and the Sr. Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Penn State.  Check out her books at https://tumblehomebooks.org/?s=resq  And make sure to pass this along to a teacher, school administrator, or parent with children ages 9-12.     Links:  www.evapell.com  pell.author@gmail.com  buy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble  https://tumblehomebooks.org/?s=resq  Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Eva - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-pell-555070160/  Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Ben Welbourn, a partner at Verto Education, tells a great story about how they've developed a study abroad program that could become the largest university in the world.  He and his two partners worked in the student exchange industry and saw the opportunity for developing a program that offered an affordable, safe place with experiential learning for high school graduates to spend their first university semester abroad. For anyone who has been abroad, you know the benefits from visiting other countries – learning about cultures, connecting with people different from you, being exposed to languages, and experiencing new foods, sights, sounds and situations. The United States has a low level of passport ownership and travel is seen as something you don't need.  Yet, by realizing people share similar wants and needs around the world, countries can develop more fellowship and peace.  The lack of international experience of 17- and 18-year-old young adults combined with their needing to pick an expensive college and decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives, inspired a great idea in the founding team of Verto.   They understood that international and experiential learning in a foreign country could open new possibilities and expose young adults to opportunities they might not have considered.  And they knew that they had to provide a safe, high-quality learning environment so parents would be supportive.  With this great vision, the team set out to sell to their many audiences:  Stressed students in their senior year of high school  Distrustful parents who care about child's next steps  Counselors and education consultants with influence  Universities to accept the students after their first semester Professors to teach  Health and Safety operators to keep everyone safe  Locations around the world for local facilities  By pulling all these audiences together, they had 8 students attend in 2018.  By 2022, they have 800 students enrolled.  The program has expanded to 6 countries in 4 years and they have ambitious plans to open in other countries in the future!  In the episode, you'll hear about the strategy for how they picked their first markets, why they ended up where they are now, and how Covid had a lot to do with a change in locations.    Ben admits that knowing what he knows now about the launch and then the pandemic, he doesn't want to go through those times again.   Currently, they recruit students in the United States and include students from other countries as they hear about the program and apply.  For now, they are not marketing in other countries but they plan to in the future.  They also plan on opening up other Learning Centers around the world.  Their professors are from quality institutions in the US and the local countries.  Many who come for a semester decide to stay on full time even if they were tenure tracked in their prior institution.  In a prior episode, #14 with Brittany Cooper, she talks about how her old company tried to open too fast in too many countries and how that brought them down.  This episode is a nice contrast on how to open fast yet be flexible, adapt and be successful.  Another good episode is #09 with Stephanie Hendricks who talks about their strategy for market expansion.  Another one to listen to if you are considering new global markets.  Listen till the end when Ben tells the story of his favorite foreign word in Bosnian, olabaviti which means relax or loosen-up.    Full Disclosure from Wendy – my son is in Costa Rica on the Verto Education program and loving it.  I am so impressed with the whole program – the professors are good, the location is great, the support team is phenomenal, the communication is fantastic, and my son is getting international experience with a group of fabulous young adults.  Next semester he is thinking about going to another country.  After that he plans on going to one of their partner schools.  I am a HUGE fan of Verto Education.    Links:  www.vertoeducation.org     Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/  Connect with Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwelbourn/   Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com