Migrating a Product From Another Country
It's Not Just The Language
Several founders recently presented the problem of how to migrate a product from one country to another.
An AI sales page generator.
A fintech payments app for use by street vendors.
This is a more complex problem than it sounds. The internet is available everywhere so people should just be able to download the app and start using it right?
The first’s main problem was how shipping would work for the sales page. In Taiwan, where it was founded, 7-11 is where people have packages shipped to. In the US, most people have packages shipped to their home. This means they need a fulfillment integration. Also the app is primarily available on mobile. In the US, due to a more impatient culture, people expect to be able to try it out on web before downloading an app. More work.
The second’s key differentiator is that they’ll accept payments from any source. But the payment providers are different in the US than abroad. So the app will need to be re-engineered to support Venmo, Square etc.
The more nuanced challenge is people’s behavior. Apps that are popular in Asia are not necessarily in the US and visa versa.
Looking at markets in other countries is a good way to get inspiration, but the cultural norms will make or break the transition.
When building a product, utilizing technologies that will easily adapt to other countries can have massive long term implications.
It’s impossible to predict the exact long term direction of the company.
But these early decisions can have a massive impact on the final result.
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