From the moment I found out about Go To Grow – the Mayor’s International Business Programme ‘Supporting the Global Growth Ambition of London Businesses’ – I knew Rocketseed had to be a part of it and, starting on 10 May, it will!
Go To Grow
Led by mayoral promotional agency London & Partners, Go to Grow offers bespoke expert support for fast-growing, London-based technology businesses that are looking to grow internationally with, in many cases, a view to global leadership. With Rocketseed’s core business being the delivery of clients’ branding strategies and marketing campaigns through everyday business email, Go To Grow ticks all our boxes and so it was great to hear that our application had been successful and that we would be joining the programme’s second cohort, starting 10 May (today). In fact, over the next 3 years the £5m Go To Grow programme plans to help around 800 companies win business abroad through mentoring, workshops, live leads and trade missions.
Springboard London
From my experience working on the other side of the Atlantic, not even New York compares with London in giving world-class support to entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses both domestically and internationally. As the previous Mayor himself has stated “London has a strong heritage as an international trading city and our position at the centre of the business world means the city offers the perfect springboard for companies looking to expand internationally. London’s businesses and entrepreneurs continue to be at the forefront of innovation and creativity”. This is exactly where I see Rocketseed and am keen to drive further international growth on the back of the recent recognition we’ve received domestically, being featured amongst the Telegraph’s Top 50 UK tech companies for 2015.
Already International
Go To Grow isn’t only supporting London-based companies in taking their first steps to international expansion but is also helping businesses in the capital that already have an international presence to explore further new market opportunities overseas. Considering Rocketseed already has a presence in the United States, Australia and South Africa, we are obvioulsy keen to drive further international expansion from our London office.
Meet the Mentors
Whilst our formal programme starts today, I’ve already attended two Go To Grow ‘Meet the Mentor’ breakfasts, giving me an inspiring taste of what is to come. At the first, guest Mentor Anthony Fletcher, CEO of Graze advised how to stay on track when scaling internationally, based on his experiences of Graze’s expansion into the US. Already, the value to Rocketseed is obvious as the business has never been just about the technology and is focused on ensuring that our clients maximise the creative and commercial potential of their everyday email, with our client support and design teams needing to understand the cultural nuances of creativity, sales and service in individual overseas markets.
Sharing and Supporting
It’s clear to me that the real value of Go To Grow lies in the first-hand experiences and global network opportunities that its world-class mentors – some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders – have to share, and that’s what I’m looking forward to. I want to be challenged, to be taken out of my comfort zone and to be given real-world advice born of real first-hand experience – the opportunities to seize, the risks worth taking and pitfalls to avoid- on everything from the strategic decisions of international expansion to the legal and financial practicalities of operating in new marketplaces.
With its 5 lead ‘Delivery Partners’ of KPMG, BDO, Benoy, PA Consulting and the London Chamber of Commerce, as well its high-profile tech sector ‘Strategic Partners’, the support on offer is truly world-class and I also look forward to being inspired by other Go To Grow cohort members – not just adtech, not just tech but from all the sectors involved.
Live Leads
The programme also offers the chance to receive live leads for specific business opportunities in North America, Europe, China and India via the JPMorgan/Brookings Cities Initiative, London & Partners own teams overseas and the Go To Go programme ‘Delivery Partners’. I’m also keen to find out more about the programme’s trade mission opportunities and the chance to grow our international client and partner bases by introducing Rocketseed to them face-to face and experiencing their market conditions at first-hand.
Keen to get ‘Going’ and ‘Growing’
From the moment I found out about Go To Grow – the Mayor’s International Business Programme ‘Supporting the Global Growth Ambition of London Businesses’ – I knew Rocketseed had to be a part of it and, starting on 10 May, it will!
