US expansion: Lessons from a founder who's been there and done it

In 2011, he co-founded Opal, a purpose-built software platform designed to help marketers do their best work. Two years later, Matt and his fellow founders focused the business on the US, going on to raise funding from major venture capital firms such as Accel and Madrona. In 2024, Opal was named one of the top five workplaces (35-99 employees) in Oregon.

We had the opportunity to speak to Matt about his experiences of US expansion, the lessons he learned and the advice he would give to other founders embarking on the same journey.

Can you tell us a little about your background and founding Opal?

I co-founded Opal in 2011 with two others from the US. We got Seed money from the UK and the US but when we thought about the nature of the business and when we started talking to our early prospects, it was very clear: the future is in America. The opportunities, the budgets, the talent, the innovation, the total addressable market - all of these factors pulled me towards the US.

That’s what led me to the decision in 2013 to sell everything I had, move to the US and live out of two suitcases for nine months.

You were drawn to the US in 2013. Do you think the appeal of American expansion is just as strong for startups today?

Absolutely. I think it's still exactly the same. If you want to be a generational company and you want to have the returns that investors expect, you've got to be in the US.

If you've raised venture capital, you're expected to be in the US. It's pretty black and white, really.

But I don't think many people are actually considering that. Not all founders are acknowledging that, if they want to get a 10x return, for example, they've really got to go over there and access that market.

What are some of the key lessons you've learned that you want to pass on to other founders?

I believe that the first feet on the street need to be founder feet. If you want to go after a generational opportunity and really make it happen, you have to be ready and be prepared to give it everything. The context behind this is that no one can replicate the passion, energy, knowledge and true brilliance of a founder and believe it or not, people buy into that.

The next big question is: are you ready? What I mean by that is, do you know how much it's going to cost, for example? Have you done the pro forma for this? Are you aware of what your go-to-market motion is? Are you ready for the level of investment and involvement required as a founder?

It's easy to be lured in by those bright Hollywood or Silicon Valley lights, but you will need to know the answers to these questions to make your expansion a success.

Another key consideration is timing. You will need to get this just right. I think there are two stages of the business where US Expansion may make the most sense.

The first moment that might work for your business is the ‘burning the boats’ or early phase. This is when you commit very early and identify that the US is the true end destination. The second is after you have some ARR (annual recurring revenue) in the UK, some semblance or identified PMF (product market fit) and, perhaps crucially, some stability within in your business – you will need to feel comfortable handing over the keys to the business while you, as the founder, go and focus on the US. This might be harder than you think!

However, despite all of this, perhaps one of the most important pieces of guidance I can give is to lean on the experts. Experts such as US Expansion Partners have years’ worth of experience and can guide you through the step-by-step process.

What lessons would you pass on regarding cultural differences in the US?

It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security and familiarity by movies and TV, but it's a very different world over there.

Before you head out to the US and while you are finding your feet, you should ‘learn America’. We have all these cultural references in the UK that are great for small talk in sales meetings, like what you watched on TV last night or how your football team are doing. But do you know who won the Super Bowl in 1975? What do you know about the NCAA Final Four? Those social and cultural elements are important, and without them you're losing a lot of your influence in sales meetings, because the appeal of a British accent wears off pretty quickly. It can get you in the door, but then you've got to build those deeper relationships.

The other point I'm really passionate about is the human side of all this. If you're a founder, you might be taking your partner and your immediate family over there, and that change creates a lot of human pressures. You could be leaving your wider family and friendship groups behind. It's really hard, and that can sometimes get overlooked.

You might have a visa, but what about your spouse or partner? Can they work? Have they left their entire social network behind? How does all this impact your mental health, not to mention your ability to do your best work for the business?

This is something that I'm very, very passionate about and keen for founders and VCs to understand, because it isn't talked about enough.

You're now back in the UK. Can you tell us about your decision to move back?

I have a family now and we really moved back for personal reasons, because my wife and I wanted to raise our children in the UK. My eldest had just been through kindergarten and it felt like the right time.

Also, my role evolved at Opal and I became more involved in the strategic advisory, customer and corporate development side but I stayed on the board.

What I really wanted to do was involve myself in the UK startup scene. So for the next nine months I went on this period of discovery and I spoke to hundreds of founders and VCs. The basis of my questions in these engagements was very simple: why aren't more companies going from the UK to the US?

They've raised money. The expectation is that they're going to become a household name and get a TAM that is over $1 billion, but they can't do that in the UK.

What became clear is that many founders don't know where to go for the information and support they need. When it comes to things like getting visas and tax advice, they're DIYing it and piecing it together as they go.

It was around this time that I came across David Rose, the CEO of US Extension Partners. What David had built was essentially a framework - a step-by-step process that can take the donkey work away from the founders, so they can focus on growing, scaling and selling, which is what you want a founder to do when they're first on the street in the US.

So, now I work on the UK side of things for US Expansion Partners, working with VCs, with partners like HSBC Innovation Banking, and speaking at events.

What we want to do is support founders by giving them a clear framework and by providing links to the partners that we've vetted.

Are there any final bits of advice you would pass on, from your experience, when it comes to getting through those hard moments?

Well, when I went over there with my girlfriend - now my wife - we had a rule that she only had to say five words and the journey would have been over: "I want to go home."

I think you have to be aware of that human side of the whole process and prioritise that.

It can be lonely, it's extremely hard - really it's the hardest thing you could ever do as a founder. So, if you see the future of your business in the US, make sure you're ready for everything that entails and try and embrace this chapter of your business’ journey.

Be clear in your intentions, stay mindful of those human pressures and lean on experts where you can.