This interview is part of .out of spacetime‘s collection, Conquering the Globe: Secrets to International Business Success. The goal is to discover what has worked for (mainly tech and online) businesses during their expansion and international breakthroughs.
Who is Bohumil Pokstefl
Bohumil Pokstefl is a serial entrepreneur with a strong background in marketing and sales. As co-founder and former CEO of Kontentino, a SaaS with €2M annual revenue used by over 6000 agencies all over the world, he excels in international business. He now runs SaaS Garden, focusing on martech and sales SaaS, and Deal Harvest, a LinkedIn social selling agency expanding into Belgium and Denmark.
Wanna reach out to Bohumil? Find him on LinkedIn.
.out of spacetime: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your story?
Bohumil: I am a generalist with a passion for marketing, sales, and low-tech business. I was the co-founder and CEO of Kontentino for 7 years. It is a bootstrapped SaaS with over €2M in annual revenue and is still being used by over 6000 agencies and brands around the globe.
I currently run two businesses, both in their early stages.
SaaS Garden is a studio building martech and sales SaaS the bootstrapped way. It has two projects generating a couple of thousand euros in MRR, with 99% of users from abroad.
Deal Harvest is a LinkedIn social selling agency. We create LinkedIn content on behalf of C-level execs and sales reps to generate brand awareness and demand for their businesses by reaching out to engaged prospects. We have seven clients, most of whom are from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We are currently testing new sales strategies in Belgium and Denmark.
.out of spacetime: You have a lot of experience. However, this comes in a package with challenges and f*ckups, too. What do you consider the biggest challenge companies face when going international?
Bohumil: Every business is different and has a different go-to-market strategy. This applies to international sales.
At Kontentino, we got our first international clients from Facebook Ads. Foxy Apps (one of our studio projects) got its first international clients from partnerships. At Deal Harvest, we got our first clients from referrals, my network, and the LinkedIn content I create.
The hardest part of international sales is finding the right market, the right partners, and channels in that specific market, and then scaling it.
The biggest mistake is doing direct sales and going to, let’s say, the US, and trying to do sales there.
Start expanding to the market you have the most connections with. Where you have a foot in the door, first clients, potential partners, friends, ex-classmates, etc. Do not try to conquer the US first. Start with smaller markets like the Baltics, Benelux, and the Nordics. In my experience, these markets are more welcoming than the UK, USA, or DACH.
.out of spacetime: If you stand in a room full of tech founders aspiring to achieve international success in the 21st century and you only could give them one piece of advice, what would you tell them?
Bohumil: Find yourself a business co-founder.
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