Where Should I Establish my US Office? 

I recently read an article where an Israeli VC partner was quoted saying they invest in Israeli companies, some of which may have established their US offices in NY or in CA.

Not that it's necessarily wrong for an Israeli startup to establish its US office in either CA or NY, but the automatic reference to these states tells me that the decision-making process around the US office location may not have evolved much over the past two decades.

Most Israeli technology startups strive to grow into the US market and are correct in doing so. But there are many ways by which to enter a new market – all of which should be reviewed as part of each company's go-to-market strategy.

Assuming that opening a local office is the chosen path, the decision on where to locate it should account for several factors, such as:

• Where are most, or the most important customers of mine based? Same for partners and for competitors?
• Where would I find the most talented (and relevant) workforce to recruit? On that note, to which location would it be easiest to relocate employees? 
• If there are multiple choices to consider, how do they compare in terms of cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business? 
• If I plan on hiring a mobile sales force, is there a major airport in the vicinity? Will weather cause major flight delays? 
• Is time-zone a consideration, particularly if frequent interactions with the Israeli office are planned? 
• Are there any relevant financial incentives to consider? 
• What, if any, impact does the global coronavirus pandemic have on my decision? 

I could name a few more issues that should be looked at, but you get the point – a decision about where to locate a local office in a foreign market should be part of an overall go-to-market strategy accompanied by research and should not be guided by a "follow the herd" mentality.



Ilan Friedman, IDFglobalbiz@gmail.com