As a side comment on the ideology of going "global first", startups from smaller countries (with smaller markets) are almost forced to adopt this mindset from d

As a side comment on the ideology of going "global first", startups from smaller countries (with smaller markets) are almost forced to adopt this mindset from day one. Many advantages from going US only first: same currency & language, homogenous culture, huge market, etc. The main disadvantage though is that you don't learn how to operate in an international environment until later in the business life cycle, at which point the institutional DNA is harder to change. Your competitors will be taking a global-first mindset, so it's something to think about.