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Key Takeaways Language is infrastructure — hire fluent local talent from day one.
Build real local leadership early to avoid costly operational confusion.
Expect chaos — create a structure that bends without breaking globally.
Expanding your company globally sounds glamorous. In reality, it’s a mix of adrenaline, spreadsheets, language barriers and more “you don’t know what you don’t know” moments than anyone likes to admit.
Earlier this year, Thunderstruck Ag, our Canada-based agricultural equipment company, expanded into Brazil to serve Latin America. We’ve set up warehousing, manufacturing and an entire team on the ground. We’ve made some smart moves, and we’ve made some messy ones.
If you’re a founder thinking about taking your company global, here are three big lessons I learned the hard way, and what I’d do differently if I could start over.
Related: Why Most Startups Fail and How Serial Entrepreneurs Beat the Odds
1. Secure trusted language early. Don’t just “get by” with translation
When we first entered Brazil, I underestimated how much the language barrier would impact us. I assumed interpreters and translation tools would be enough. They helped, but there’s a difference between literal translation and actual communication.
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