technology 15
International growth is the answer...
. . . so what are the questions? Grant Thornton is staging an innovative dinner-quiz this month at which the winners will be everyone attending, as they will take away prized information that can boost their international trade, writes John Burbedge
The dinner-quiz for more than 100 members of the Thames Valley technology business community is aimed at revealing helpful information for global entrepreneurship while dispelling some of the myths and fears that surround international growth.
“We all operate in an increasingly global market place and for technology businesses the pressure to develop an international footprint is a strategic imperative. It is something that people are still nervous of, a difficult bridge to cross; it feels like a risk, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Wendy Hart, Grant Thornton’s corporate finance and strategic advisory partner.
The idea for the ‘fun and fundamentals’ dinner- quiz came about, explained Hart, after the intriguing insight on mid-sized businesses (MSBs) provided by Grant Thornton’s Agents for Growth business report, published earlier this year.
With long experience of working with major multinationals on international transactions, one fact from the report stood out for Hart – “Only 20% of UK MSBs have international expansion plans.”
“And most of those that are planning to expand are targeting the established markets of North America and Western Europe,” says Hart.
For Hart, operating as head of technology in the Thames Valley with a well-established Grant Thornton accountancy and business advisory practice, the lack of desire to expand internationally was doubly surprising.
While accepting that technology companies by nature should be at the forefront of UK international growth aspirations – ‘For example, the SAAS (software as a service) business model is theoretically as easy to deliver globally as it is in one geographic location” – she couldn’t see why other UK business sectors were not grabbing the advantages of established Internet communication and e-commerce technologies to trade globally. Not least, with the global language of business being English – or is it?
It set Hart and her team thinking: What are the big barriers, or perceived barriers to international growth? Is it lack of funding or practical government support and relevant professional advice? Or language and culture concerns? Why don’t businesses look further
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2014
“The more we asked those types of questions, the more we realised that we didn’t know all the answers, and, if we felt we did, that maybe we weren’t sure they were the right answers,” said Hart. “We felt we needed to test and challenge the established norms and beliefs of international growth.”
Research, corroboration and enlightenment followed, assisted by worldwide links via Grant Thornton’s 38,500 professional colleagues across over 130 countries.
Hart herself enjoys monthly technology updates with her Grant Thornton peers throughout the world, and is frequently involved internationally in day-to-day business matters with foreign colleagues.
Hence, Hart has been one of the ‘question setters’ for the dinner-quiz evening (November 12) at the Hilton Hotel, which she says is intended to take an informed but light-hearted look at the geographical options for a rapidly expanding technology business.
www.businessmag.co.uk
“We think that the questions will intrigue ... and the answers will surprise,” Hart states.
The quiz will be hosted by Jonty Bloom, one of BBC News most respected radio and online reporters on business and economics affairs in the UK, EU and internationally. So, if the answers turn into discussions Grant Thornton will have the right man to chair the debate.
* We’ll carry a full double-page report on the dinner-quiz – and the answers to the questions posed on the night to the technology-focused guests – in our December/January edition.
Details:
www.grant-thornton.co.uk
afield than the obvious suspects? Are the BRIC countries really the right place to grow or should we be sampling MINTs? Which are the most cost-effective routes to international and ultimately global success? Do you fly in British managers or hire talent locally? While export of products is now a well-trodden path, is the export of services a growing concern for our service-focused economy? Can it be that difficult if young entrepreneurs can become worldwide overnight successes from their bedrooms?
Wendy Hart
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