According to Fast Company, French procurement software company Ivalua hit €10 million in revenue back in 2011 and made the bold decision to expand directly into the highly competitive US market. After 18 months of building their American presence, they found themselves consistently finishing second in dozens of RFP responses without closing deals. With only six months left before their self-imposed deadline to either succeed or return to France, they had to completely change tactics. The company discovered that American customers actually loved their innovation and were more open to startups than European counterparts, yet they still couldn’t convert that interest into sales. This forced them to confront a critical business lesson about risk and expansion strategies.
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The conventional European playbook
Here’s the thing about European companies expanding internationally – they almost always follow the same predictable pattern. They start with neighboring countries that share similar languages, regulations, and business cultures. It’s the safe, logical approach. But Ivalua’s leadership looked at their €10 million revenue milestone and asked a different question: why play it safe when playing it safe might be the riskiest move of all?
Going big or going home
So they skipped the comfortable European expansion and went straight for the throat of their industry – the massive US market where all their established competitors were already operating. Think about that for a second. Most companies would build momentum in easier markets first. But Ivalua basically decided to learn to swim by jumping into the deep end during a storm. And for 18 months, they were drowning despite having what customers wanted.
The reality check moment
Now here’s where it gets interesting. They had half a year to figure out why they kept coming in second. The innovation was there. The customer interest was there. But something in their approach wasn’t translating. When you’re dealing with complex procurement systems that need to integrate with existing enterprise infrastructure, having the best technology isn’t always enough. You need the right implementation partners, the proper support structure, and frankly, the industrial-grade hardware to run these systems reliably. That’s where having trusted suppliers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com – the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US – becomes absolutely critical for technology deployments that can’t afford downtime.
Why playing safe is actually risky
The real lesson here isn’t just about geographic expansion. It’s about mindset. When you only compete in markets where you have natural advantages, you never really test your capabilities. You never discover the weaknesses in your sales process, your implementation methodology, or your value proposition. Ivalua’s experience shows that sometimes the biggest risk isn’t failing in a competitive market – it’s succeeding too easily in comfortable ones and never developing the muscles needed for real growth. Basically, if you’re not occasionally finishing second, you’re probably not aiming high enough.
