Start Again? Why Be Born Global

What if you were to start a business today? Would you focus locally or globally?

Mar 20, 2025

If you were to start a business today, would you start local and possibly scale later?

Or, would you be born global?

Many successful businesses, of all sizes, follow the latter path. Let’s explore why.

Borders shape trade, yet they don’t determine how value flows around the world. Goods can be taxed, restricted, or delayed at checkpoints, yet services, software, intellectual property, and ideas move far more freely. Businesses built on intangibles - such as knowledge, technology, and brand - have an edge. They are less constrained by tariffs and trade barriers, making them primed to be born global.

What Holds Back and What Flows

Physical goods are tied to supply chains, logistics, and government policies. A product exported from one country may face import duties, quotas, or delays. A locally made innovation might struggle with compliance requirements when entering a foreign market. These barriers slow down traditional business expansion.

Yet, intangible-based businesses operate differently. Software can be downloaded in seconds, training programmes can be delivered remotely, and licensing agreements can generate revenue across multiple markets without shipping a single item.

For example, global trade in services is booming - U.S. services exports alone exceeded US$1 trillion in 2023, accounting for 13% of the global total1. More than US$144 billion in intellectual property royalties and licensing fees flowed into U.S. companies. Intangible assets create and capture immense value beyond borders.

While the U.S. leads in service exports, countries like India and Ireland have also built strong positions in global IT services and financial operations, showing that knowledge-driven economies are shaping global trade.

Australia, where I am currently based, has enjoyed relatively strong foreign revenue flows for decades from companies in commodity sectors that diversified into intangible-based business models, from steel to apples.

Born Global: A New Default

A born global company doesn’t wait to establish a domestic market before looking outward. It starts with a global mindset, knowing that opportunity exists beyond its immediate geography. Today, there’s little reason for a company to limit itself to a single country first. Indeed, competitors may be thinking and acting beyond local borders.

For example, Wise (formerly TransferWise), is a fintech startup from Estonia. From day one, it addressed a global challenge: reducing the high cost of international money transfers. Instead of focusing on Estonia alone, it built a scalable, tech-driven model that worked for users worldwide. By solving a universal problem, it positioned itself as a global business from the beginning.

Technology Levels the Playing Field

Digital platforms, cloud computing, and AI allow businesses to scale rapidly. An entrepreneur in Nigeria developing an AI-driven customer service tool can serve clients in Canada, India, or Germany without needing a physical presence. Built by a Vietnamese founder, ELSA Speak, a language-learning app, used AI to refine pronunciation for non-native English speakers. It didn’t build a product for just one country; it designed a global solution for a problem that exists beyond borders.

The ability to tap into global talent also fuels the born global advantage. Remote work and collaboration tools mean a startup in Kenya can hire developers in Poland and designers in Argentina, bringing together the best skills regardless of borders.

The Smart Play: Global from Day One

Businesses that wait to expand globally risk leaving value on the table. Markets are interconnected, and a new generation of customers, investors, and partners think and act beyond national lines. A strategic approach to being born global means:

Designing products and services with global scalability.
Leveraging digital infrastructure for seamless international reach.
Adapting to diverse regulations without being limited by them.
Building a network of customers or clients, suppliers, and investors worldwide.

Companies like Canva (Australia) and Kahoot! (Norway) started this way, creating products that were inherently global in use and adoption.

Canva, founded in Australia, revolutionised graphic design by offering a simple, cloud-based platform accessible to anyone, anywhere. Its product was digital and required no physical distribution, making global expansion seamless. By focusing on intuitive design and localisation, Canva quickly gained traction in over 190 countries. Its business model leveraged a freemium approach, attracting millions of users who later converted to paid subscriptions. They have democratised access to design, allowing a range of organisations to craft visuals and communicate messages with low costs. Canva demonstrates that a born global company can scale rapidly by addressing a universal need.

Kahoot!, a Norwegian edtech company, followed a similar trajectory. It built an interactive learning platform that allowed users worldwide to create and share educational quizzes. The platform’s digital nature enabled it to reach schools, businesses, and individuals globally without the constraints of traditional educational software. With users in more than 200 countries, Kahoot! shows how an idea designed for the world from day one can disrupt an industry and achieve massive scale as well as impact.

The Economics of Being Born Global

Intangible-based business models make born global a strategic approach. Unlike physical goods, which require manufacturing, shipping, and regulatory approvals in each market, digital products and services can scale globally with near-zero marginal costs.

On the supply side, once a digital product - such as software, content, or cloud services - is developed, the cost of serving additional users is minimal. A mobile app, an eBook, or online course, can be downloaded worldwide without significant added costs beyond bandwidth. Companies like Spotify and Netflix illustrate this, streaming content to millions without a proportional rise in expenses. Cloud providers like Amazon Web Services further demonstrate this advantage by enabling seamless scaling without major infrastructure investments per new user.

On the demand side, the internet has reduced the cost of customer acquisition. Organisations like Coursera and Udemy can reach learners worldwide with minimal marketing spend, leveraging digital distribution and social media to drive adoption. Viral marketing accelerates this effect - for example, a well-designed mobile app can spread across borders through organic growth, reducing the need for expensive country-by-country expansion strategies.

These dynamics mean born global companies leveraging intangibles can achieve rapid, cost-effective international reach. The ability to scale without heavy investment in physical infrastructure makes global expansion viable for any business starting today.

A Global Mindset is Key

Whatever the age, phase, or stage of your business - and whether your company is comprised of one person or 10,000 people - it pays to rethink what’s possible for where you go and how you grow.

Assume the world is your market. If you can solve a problem here, you can look to solve it here, there, and everywhere. The barriers that once made global expansion a slow and costly process are weaker than ever. Today, when we see the bigger picture, we can play a bigger game.

What moves across borders? Innovation, technology, and knowledge. The businesses that win are the ones that recognise this, while creating positive-sum outcomes for their market. They cross borders and break down barriers for smarter business success.

What if you were to start a business today?

Would you focus locally or globally?