On October 11, 2018 the ETC Baltimore, Technical.ly, the Global Innovation Forum, the U.S. Commercial Service and the International Trade Administration co-hosted the 10th Startup Global event during Baltimore Innovation Week. The sessions explored the opportunities and challenges of operating globally, how to navigate foreign regulations and protect your ideas, and to discover public and private sector resources to help your globally-minded business succeed. Speakers included local entrepreneurs, small business leaders, legal experts, corporate representatives and government officials.

— The Program —

See who spoke

Welcome & Introduction

Jake Colvin, Executive Director, Global Innovation Forum

Carey Arun, Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service

Deb Tillet, President & Executive Director, ETC Baltimore

Mike Gill, Secretary, Maryland Department of Commerce

The Opportunity: Local startups in the global marketplace

Sanjay Kalasa, CEO, Adashi Systems

Christina Caraballo, Director, Audacious Inquiry

David Tohn, CEO, BTS Software

Moderated by Claire Pillsbury, Deputy Director, Global Innovation Forum

Navigating international compliance & protecting IP

Corinne Militello, Counsel, Ballard Spahr LLP

Wesley Muller, Managing Counsel, Intellectual Property, Under Armour

Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare

Moderated by Raquel Cohen, Office of Intellectual Property Rights, International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce

Finding help: understanding how to access the resources to reach new markets

Signe Pringle, Managing Director, Office of International Trade & Investment, Maryland Department of Commerce

Valerie Chua, Regional Director, East Americas, Singapore Economic Development Board

Matthew Stanton, Vice President, Global Public Policy, Under Armour

Paul Disselkoen, Government Relations Specialist, PayPal

Moderated by Colleen Fisher, Director, Baltimore Export Assistance Center, U.S. Commercial Service

Wrap-up & Takeaways

Pat Kirwan, Director, Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration

— What We Learned —

Takeaways from the discussion

  1. Baltimore-based startups can be global from day 1
  2. Know your market(s)
  3. Be prepared to navigate foreign regulations & IP
  4. Ask for help

1. Baltimore-based startups can be global from day 1

“Today, by default, from the moment you are born you are a global company.” – Signe Pringle, Managing Director, Office of International Trade & Investment, Maryland Department of Commerce

Based on the third floor of the ETC Baltimore, Adashi Systems “sells software solutions to health and safety agencies worldwide. We have 1,500 customers in the U.S. and one in Australia.” – Sanjay Kalasa, CEO, Adashi Systems

“[Global markets] are really important to us because, as you know, the economy did slow down and we are dependent on taxes because we sell software to police and fire fighters in the United States. So we started looking externally and our first global customer was in Australia, which has one of the largest fire departments in the world.” – Sanjay Kalasa, CEO, Adashi Systems

“My boss [at Get Real Health] came in and said I need to understand the landscape of the global market around health policy in a list of probably 10 countries. I got on google and started doing some searches and started thinking about how I could become an expert in markets I wasn’t an expert in — i.e. find out who were the experts — so that I could figure out how to go global.” – Christina Caraballo, Director, Audacious Inquiry

“When I talk to companies it’s really why aren’t you going international, because you are really missing an opportunity. I think it should be a vital part of every business strategy, especially as a startup when you don’t have the luxury of not getting into as many markets as you can.” – Christina Caraballo, Director, Audacious Inquiry

2. Know your market(s)

“Our issue was finding the right fit in a lot of these markets. That’s where the resources come into play. I was connected to the commercial specialist at the U.S. Embassy in the U.K. who gave me a lot of information that would have cost me a lot of money.” – Sanjay Kalasa, CEO, Adashi Systems

“With an english only product at this point, and thanks to the research we did with the help of a lot of people in this room, we are looking to expand to Singapore and the U.K. shortly.” – Sanjay Kalasa, CEO, Adashi Systems

Finding a trusted partner is key. “If you have a friendly face that you can do business with, that just accelerates the process by a bunch of years.” – David Tohn, CEO, BTS Software

“Understanding which market to go after is important. The first thing you should do is connect with your local commercial specialist. The gold key is $400, which is not that expensive, and you connect with your local representative and a specialist in the market where you want to go. It’s such an amazing resource and experience that I suggest tapping into.” – Christina Caraballo, Director, Audacious Inquiry

“Make sure your website is localized for the markets you are going after. 90% of online markets globally can be reached in 14 languages. Understanding which of those 14 languages you need for the market you are trying to go after and then optimizing your online presence from there is really important. Having someone who is culturally fluent can help you ensure your message is received how it was intended.” – David Tohn, CEO, BTS Software

3. Be prepared to navigate foreign regulations & IP

“As you look forward and develop your business plan, one of the critical aspects you put in to complement your growth is your IP considerations. For Under Armour, we are a big brand company, so our trademarks are much more important than our patents. Our biggest asset is our brand.” – Wesley Muller, Managing Counsel, Intellectual Property, Under Armour

“For us our patents are defensive – we want to make sure no one comes after us and says they came up with the idea first. Our trademark is not as important as other compliance issues.” – Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare

“With infrastructure around the world, we have to think about all sorts of compliance issues such as taxes and privacy. If you’re dealing with government regulation, you have to worry about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It is business specific, but you have to think about what your exposure is. What is your kind of business and what are the issues that someone could raise.” – Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare

“Trademarks can be a word, a name, a symbol or even a color or a smell. As a business you want the trademark to represent you and only you and distinguish your brand for other companies.” – Corinne Militello, Counsel, Ballard Spahr LLP

“Trademarks are territorial, if you have one in one country it doesn’t mean you’ll have one in another.” – Corinne Militello, Counsel, Ballard Spahr LLP

“You want to think about what is going to benefit your company the most as you grow. Is it the brand or do you have a product that capitalizes on something that is not in the marketplace that you do want to patent? What are you growth objectives so you can put in your business plan the right protections on intellectual property.” – Wesley Muller, Managing Counsel, Intellectual Property, Under Armour

“Small businesses are actually a target for cyberattacks — don’t think that just because you are small you’re not. That gets back to where you keep your data.” – Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy, Cloudflare

4. Ask for help

“Working with the U.S. Commercial Service and the District Export Council leadership we have run a number of programs on how to get young companies, early out of their startup phase, to get global quickly. What we found was that the resources at the state level and federal level are spectacular. It takes a little creativity thinking it through and lessons learned from companies that have done it.” – David Tohn, CEO, BTS Software

“If you can tap into the resources in your local community — both at the Maryland level and at the Federal level — you can learn so much more. They helped me to identify markets that were good to go into as a business, understand those markets and help our team figure out our strategy for going global.” – Christina Caraballo, Director, Audacious Inquiry

“Beyond our core of payments and processing, we do a lot to help small businesses grow and expand globally. Access to capital is a big issue and we have a finance products and we also have the global sellars program which helps translate and localize your website and navigate how to expand into global markets.” – Paul Disselkoen, Government Relations Specialist, PayPal

“We help Maryland exporters grow globally. We have 18 foreign office to assist you with a variety of challenges – whether trade compliance or shipping requirements. Our office is a one stop shop.” – Signe Pringle, Managing Director, Office of International Trade & Investment, Maryland Department of Commerce

“With the help of the Small Business Administration and Commerce we have been able to develop this into a global brand. We have relied a lot on the government to knock down some barriers. Now we utilize the government (both US and international) to make sure we do things the right way as we grow globally.” – Matthew Stanton, Vice President, Global Public Policy, Under Armour

“We are the organization that works with international companies looking to access leverage Singapore to access Asian markets. We help companies find partners, with hiring and learn more about what is happening in the region.” – Valerie Chua, Regional Director, East Americas, Singapore Economic Development Board