3 Common Mistakes Founders Make Expanding to the U.S. and How to Avoid Them
🔍 Prepare Your U.S. Expansion with Confidence
Ready to explore the huge opportunity ahead of you in the U.S. market? Knowing the common missteps can make all the difference. In this session, Brian Ma, serial entrepreneur and investor behind Divvy Homes and Weave, will share three key pitfalls founders often face when expanding to the U.S.
Drawing on his experience building multiple startups and now backing early stage founders at Iterative Capital, Brian will guide you through critical lessons on choosing the right moment to scale, staying focused on customer needs, and avoiding overcomplex strategies that dilute your efforts.
💡 You’ll Walk Away With:
✅ Insight into the three most common mistakes founders make expanding to the U.S.
✅ A clear framework for timing and launching your U.S. entry
✅ Tools to help you stay focused on product market fit and avoid distraction
✅ Real world examples of what works and what doesn’t based on actual U.S entry stories
👥 This Workshop is Perfect For
Early stage founders exploring U.S. expansion
Teams evaluating when and how to enter the American market
Startups seeking clarity on positioning research iteration and scale
Anyone who wants to launch smarter and faster in the U.S.
🎙️ About the Speaker
Brian Ma is a 3x founder turned investor and General Partner at Iterative Capital, where he supports early stage startups across Southeast Asia. He co founded Divvy Homes, backed by a16z, GIC and Tiger Global; led Weave through YC and acquisition; and built Decide, acquired by eBay. Brian brings a strong track record of launching products in the U.S. in highly competitive spaces and helping founders avoid common traps around timing execution and focus.
🔥 About the Series
This workshop is part of Founders Go Global, a virtual event series by BLOCK71 Silicon Valley designed to give ambitious founders from Asia and beyond the insights they need to launch and scale confidently in the U.S. market. Each session features proven strategies from experienced founders and operators. No fluff.
🎟️ Reserve your spot now to skip the mistakes and move faster in the U.S.
Questions? Reach us at siliconvalley@block71.co