Munich Startup: Why did you choose Japan/South Korea as a potential expansion market?
Christian Vetter: First, we see parallels between Germany – our proven home market – and South Korea and Japan. There are relatively many global corporations and a strong technology sector, such as the automotive industry. These sectors are highly valued. We also believe that all three markets have a lot of catching up to do in terms of innovation and disruption. Therefore, we believe our tools and services can be a good fit for these companies' needs.
Secondly, it's clear that a large proportion of the population lives in Asia. Therefore, we are generally very focused on Asia and want to explore the various markets there. We believe our solutions can be used globally. Of course, we still have to overcome some language barriers and cultural differences.
Munich Startup: Why should German startups consider Asia?
Christian Vetter: Asia is a huge growth region with a rapidly growing, young population that is now very advanced, including in terms of purchasing power. I believe the German market is significantly more saturated in comparison. That sounds like there's correspondingly great potential in Asia.
“Asia has long been more than just the continent that houses the world’s factories.”
Furthermore, Asia has long been more than just the continent that houses the world's factories. There are now millions of highly qualified jobs in Asia, and the search for the best skills dominates the labor markets. Therefore, what we develop for Germany should also be relevant for the Asian market.
Munich Startup: Do you have any tips for startups considering expanding to Japan?
Christian Vetter: My first tip is not to expand with a big bang, but to test the market first. Programs like German Accelerator Next Step is very popular because it keeps financial risks manageable.
My second tip is to find local partners—especially in Japan because of the language and cultural differences. We've been able to significantly increase our speed through partners.
My third tip is to talk to as many mentors as possible and leverage their network. They know the market and can connect you with specific clients. Mentors can also raise awareness of cultural aspects.
Munich Startup: To what extent have programs like German Accelerator “Market Discovery,” which allows startups to discover and explore a potential new market in a very short period of time, helped you achieve your expansion goals?
Christian Vetter: We've participated in several accelerator programs, including Kickstart Innovation in Switzerland, the main German Accelerator program in Southeast Asia, and the German Accelerator Market Discovery programs in South Korea and Japan. The greatest added value is being able to validate our business model. We've been able to exchange ideas with international, globally active individuals about our approaches, which has helped us improve our business model.
“Our solutions and apps work very well globally”
The programs also help build cultural sensitivity, whether in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, or the Philippines.
Furthermore, it was only through the programs that we discovered that our solutions and apps work very well globally and require little adaptation. This encouraged us to market more globally.
Building an understanding of who makes decisions in the focus countries, which companies and industries are attractive to us, and which target groups need our tools is another added value of the programs. The mentoring networks, in particular, are where you learn and experience the most.
Overall, we have learned that our solutions are ready for the world, but we need to get to know the local market very well.
Munich Startup: And what was your experience with participating in a completely virtual accelerator program without being able to spend time on site?
Christian Vetter: We were largely able to achieve our goals: The exchange with the mentors was smooth, the successful optimization of the business model was implemented, and market insights were gained.
What didn't work so well was building personal relationships. This is extremely important in the countries we invest in. Therefore, we looked for a local sales partner who could take on the local tasks, including building personal networks.
Less travel, lower costs and therefore lower risks
I think the success of a virtual program depends on your personal goals. If your only goal is to sell in-store as quickly as possible, that's certainly very difficult to achieve virtually—unless you're an e-commerce company.
However, I can still recommend everyone to participate in virtual programs. The advantages are obvious: less travel, lower costs, and therefore lower risks.
Munich Startup: What's next for your international expansion? What are the next steps?
Christian Vetter: We're currently optimizing our business model based on what we've learned. After that, we'll acquire additional local partners and employees, and hopefully, we'll gradually gain customers.
We've seen that in today's virtual world, especially for data-driven business models like ours, there are no limits, as we don't have to consider physical boundaries. The future is exciting, and I'm very optimistic about it!
Further information on Japan and South Korea can be found in our Going Global series
