Learning to ski in Silicon Valley: Four tips for startups looking to break into the US

An Aussie who originally trained as a Chartered Accountant, Craig Charlton has built and sold his own business, held chief executive positions at multiple high-growth tech companies — and overseen several successful exits — and has been around the block in the venture capital and private equity scenes in the US.

All in, he tells SmartCompany Plus, he has probably been involved in between 35 and 40 acquisitions over the past 30 years or so.

Now he’s based in Silicon Valley, heading up SugarCRM — a global tech focused on customer relationships software.

Over the past 18 months, SugarCRM has seen some “phenomenal” growth, particularly in the ANZ region, Charlton says. That’s been driven both by acquisitions and organic growth, which has accounted for a “north of 50%” revenue uptick, year-on-year.

It’s fair to say Charlton has more than a little experience in what makes for tech success. And while he’s been overseas, he’s been keeping a close eye on developments back on home soil.

Learning to ski in Australia

Last year saw a record-breaking amount of venture capital funding flowing into Australian and New Zealand startups. That hasn’t escaped Charlton’s notice, and he’s not particularly surprised.

“Australia has always punched well above its weight in terms of tech and innovation,” he says.

“Aussies naturally embrace technology very early, and Aussies are more inclined to take measured risks.”

In the past, a lot of Australian founders felt the only way to be successful was to take their business to the US, he explains.

That’s not the case anymore.

The local venture capital scene is thriving, and brimming with “smart money”. International VC and private equity players are also becoming increasingly interested in the Aussie market.

It means businesses can head overseas when it makes sense for their business, Charlton adds, rather than as a necessity for attracting capital.

At the same time, this is a tough market, and a competitive one. He compares launching a startup in Australia to learning to ski in Australia.

“Learning to ski in Australia is learning to deal with rocks and branches and ice,” he says.

It means when you get to spots like Aspen or the Alps, it’s smooth sailing.

“You’re just blessed with huge terrain and wonderful snow. And there’s no shortage of wonderful places you can go and ski — and you never see a rock or a branch, or anything that resembles ice.”

If you can ski in Australia, you can ski anywhere, Charlton explains. The same goes for business success.

In the US, the market is bigger, the pool of available capital is bigger and there are simply more opportunities to be grabbed.

“If Aussie execs can be successful here, they can be very, very successful Stateside,” he adds.

“I want to see more Aussies on the world stage.”

Graduating ski school

For those founders who have mastered the rocky slopes of Aussie startups and are ready to head to the sunny (and metaphorical) slopes of Silicon Valley, Charlton has a few pearls of wisdom to share.

Back yourself, but keep learning

First, he urges Aussies to back themselves and strike out with confidence in the US.

“America can be very intimidating. I think Americans come out of the womb as amazing public speakers,” he notes.

Generally speaking, Aussies work hard and get things done, he adds. They’re biased towards action, rather than discussion, and that’s a positive thing.

However Charlton also advises founders to “never stop learning”, whether that’s learning from your own mistakes or watching others — and whether it’s figuring out what to emulate and what to avoid.

“Learn from all aspects of what you see, be decisive and focus on getting stuff done.”

Don’t put all your eggs in one valley

While Charlton concedes that Silicon Valley is an “incredible place to do business”, he also notes that it’s a very expensive place to do business.

“In order to get your bottom line metrics right, doing everything out of silicon valley is possibly not the smartest move,” he says.

That’s particularly true in terms of staffing. Tech talent will set your business back far more in Silicon Valley than anywhere else. While SugarCRM has employees in Silicon Valley, it also has a workforce spread across 14 other countries.

Seize the opportunities

That said, Silicon Valley is “the centre of the universe when it comes to tech”.

The concentration of big tech firms, founders, private equity and venture capital firms is second to none. Those investors have no shortage of capital, Charlton says.

“What they’re missing is great talent and opportunities in terms of new portfolio companies … that’s not going to change any time soon.”

As far as he’s concerned, there’s no reason an Aussie founder with a good idea, a solid business plan, some angel investment and a bit of traction couldn’t walk into any VC firm in the Valley and walk out with a deal.

Be picky

In fact, Charlton is so confident that his final piece of advice is to be a bit picky with which investors you might take on.

“Go with the smart capital,” he advises. “Don’t just go with the biggest valuation.”

There’s plenty of capital out there, he reiterates. But some investors bring more expertise than others, and if you don’t take advantage of that “you’re short changing yourself”.

“Go to a firm that knows what they’re doing; that’s done it all before; that has an incredible track record.

“The value they will add is difficult to put into words. Your company will reach its potential and far beyond.”