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 Jiří Tobola
Jiří Tobola is an experienced tech leader and mentor specializing in scaling businesses internationally. As co-founder and former CEO of Flowmon Networks, he grew the company to 140 employees, expanding into 17 countries with $15M in annual revenue. Currently, he serves as CEO of Logmanager, where he focuses on business strategy and leadership. He also pays back and supports ecosystem at JIC, where he mentors starttups offering expertise in go-to-market strategies, scaling, and sales execution. Jiří’s deep knowledge spans ICT, B2B, and international growth, making him a sought-after consultant in the tech industry.
Wanna reach out to Jiří? Find him on LinkedIn.
.out of spacetime: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your story?
Jiří: We started Flowmon Networks as a university technology spin off in 2007. We have developed high speed network monitoring and security appliances and after establishing local business in Czechia we have expanded with local presence & teams to 17 countries and had customers in 45 countries. Our average deal size was $20k-200k, target customers had 50-5000 computers (SMB+, low enterprise, enterprise), our approach was channel business and event marketing. We became nr.1 in CEE and Japan. We have sold the company at the size of 140 people and $15M revenue. My role was head of sales and later on CEO.
Source: LinkedIn Jiri Tobola
.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?
Jiří: While most founders expect revenue multiplication from sales driven international expansion, it is important to understand it is expensive, it is time consuming and you should do it once you have found your scaling formula.
For example, if you follow the standard channel approach, the costs can add up quickly. In our case, it typically involved hiring two salespeople and one pre-sales specialist per country, with each position having an OTE (on-target earnings) of $100,000–$200,000. On top of that, a marketing budget of at least $100,000 is often needed. Considering a 12-month sales cycle, it’s clear that you end up investing a lot more upfront than you initially get back.
Of course, for marketing driven global SaaS startups it is a different story.
.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?
Jiří: My recommendation – balance product and go-to-market (marketing / sales) well / equally, technology itself is typically not a winning strategy. And do not underestimate marketing!:)
Source: JIC blog
If you want to read more on the topic of raising money from investor (from Jiří Tobola) – whether and when to raise, go check this article.
If you like this article, I’ll appreciate if you share it with somebody who will benefit from it.
Or follow me on LinkedIn, where I’m sharing content on the topic of international business and sales.