Neil Patel here. I want to dig deeper into one topic that’s especially important to me: scalability.

It makes sense that startups in small markets are limited when it comes to growth (more on that here).

But today I want to add a new layer to our concept of market potential. Let’s talk about the “bubble effect.”

We all get stuck in our bubbles sometimes, myself included.

When news outlets, social media, and pop culture all revolve around happenings in our own backyards, it can be all too easy to forget that there’s a whole world out there doing things differently.

That’s probably why so many of the startups I interact with haven’t put much thought into expanding globally.

Though understandable, that oversight can cost founders and their investors a heck of a lot of money.

After all, more than 90 percent of the world’s population lives outside North America.

Source: https://cartomission.com/2018/01/17/population-2018/

That’s not to say that I suggest investing in companies headquartered abroad – in fact, doing so can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Still, any company that’s not at least planning to have a global footprint should be avoided.

Startups that are poised to scale globally have many times the profit potential of those that are not. Extra points for business models that can expand into other countries without starting over or making major changes each time.

So keep an eye on your bubble – and don’t let your portfolio suffer by only investing within it.

Until next time,

Neil Patel