Stepping into a new market can feel like taking a giant leap of faith, especially when the market looks and feels familiar to your home market. Last week, I attended the latest SMAU | Italy RestartsUp 2025 event in London where several Italian startups pitched to UK companies in London.

The energy was enthused, with excited founders buzzing around the event space, chattering away to curious corporates and investors at their exhibitor booths and around the venue. You can sense that each conversation had that spark of possibility, which often helps drive entrepreneurs. But behind the buzz of conversation were real challenges, some expected and some a little more subtle.

1-Minute Pitches at SMAU | Italy RestartsUp in London 2025

The Appeal vs. The Reality

It’s easy to be charmed by the familiarity of markets that share a language or have cultural overlap. It can be tempting to think, “Well, if I can succeed at home, I can succeed there too.” But beneath the surface of each market lie many nuances. In Europe, there are, perhaps, more notable nuances because of the variety of language and cultural differences, but we also have a lot of similarities across our cultures, which can be enticing. Certain biases might favour local names, whereas international newcomers might be seen as fresh or even “exotic.” The Italian national brand often speaks of “passion”, “quality” and “refinement”, which can be an advantage, but it may also convey alternative perceptions too. It’s important to make perceptions work to your advantage by knowing how to position yourself and doing your homework, so that you may overcome the alternative perceptions and any potential objections. This impacts your external messaging and communication.

Unseen Competition

One of the biggest eye-openers at the event was that a few startups had overlooked competitors that already existed in the UK or elsewhere. Because these Italian founders had primarily focused on their home market (where those rivals may not yet operate at scale), they may be surprised to learn that they weren’t the only ones offering a particular solution. Realising this — sometimes during a pitch — can be humbling and, again, underlines the importance of research. It underlines the need for thorough market research, well before booking a flight or spending on a local launch.

Navigating Cultural Quirks

Even if you share a language or a similar business etiquette, cultures have their own unique identity. Things like communication styles, negotiation tactics, and consumer preferences can differ enough to trip up many entrepreneurs and international experience should not be underestimated. This is why local expertise can be invaluable as you look towards new markets, whether it comes from hiring local talent or collaborating with partners who understand the market nuances and way business likes to be done. There are subtle, but important differences, across Europe, and then vast differences when entering the Middle East and Asian markets, for example.

Alessandro Lumicisi, CEO & Co-Founder of Wegoo

Collaboration as a Winning Strategy

The need for collaboration seemed to be the recurring theme for me during the event. From tapping into established networks to joining incubator programmes and partnering with local brands, it’s important to build a network of local collaborators and supporters that you can working alongside as ‘in-market players’ to help you accelerate your cultural learning curve. This can also help you to sidestep expensive mistakes that might not be obvious to an ‘outsider’.

Lessons from ‘The Culture Map’

Erin Meyer’s The Culture Map underlines how cultural differences play out in everyday business interactions, from directness in giving feedback to how hierarchical or consensual decision-making can be. For example, some cultures value explicit communication, expecting clear instructions and straightforward criticism, whereas others rely on subtlety and “reading the air.” Understanding these nuances helps you tailor your approach —whether you’re negotiating, pitching, or simply collaborating — to foster trust, clarity, and mutually beneficial outcomes when entering new markets.

Key Takeaways

Do Your Homework Thoroughly – Understand the competitive landscape in your target market, no matter how similar it appears to your home market.
Embrace Cultural Differences – Adapt your messaging and approach to resonate authentically with your new audience, but don’t lose your sense of whom you are in the process. Your unique personality and cultural influences can also be a strength. Strike the right balance.
Collaborate to Fast-Track – Seek local partnerships or mentorships that can help you open doors and offer insights on how best to navigate the cultural nuances. Different cultures may like to buy in different ways and this can be very important to understand.
Stay Agile – Be prepared to pivot quickly as you learn more about local demands and expectations.

Your Turn

What have you found to be the biggest surprise or obstacle when expanding into a new market? Get in touch and let me know. We feature guest blogs too.

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