How do we sell overseas?
DUNE GLOBAL
Go Global With a Reason.
Going global should not begin with a country list. It should begin with a reason.
DUNE works with founders to define where they should compete, what they should take global, who they should serve and what kind of company they must become to win internationally.
02 / THE REAL QUESTION
Going Global Is Not a Destination.
Why should this company matter outside China?
Going global is not simply selling farther from home. It is deciding where the company belongs in the world, what should travel, and what must be rebuilt.
03 / WHEN GLOBAL BECOMES MOTION WITHOUT DIRECTION
Expansion often begins one question too late.
The visible mistakes usually begin with a missing strategic decision—not with a lack of activity.
Country First
A country list appears before the company has defined why global growth matters.
Geography becomes a substitute for strategy.Product First
The existing product is assumed to travel unchanged before the local customer and context are understood.
The company exports what it has, not what the market needs.Sales Equals Global
Early orders are treated as proof of a lasting global position.
Revenue appears before the company understands why it can endure.Distributor Dependency
One partner owns the customer relationship, market knowledge and route forward.
Speed is gained at the cost of learning and long-term control.No Founder Commitment
Global growth is delegated before the founder has made the defining strategic choices.
The company enters a consequential crossing without clear ownership.
04 / DUNE GLOBAL FRAMEWORK / 01—07
Seven decisions before the route becomes real.
The sequence moves from reason to operating reality. Each answer should make the next decision more precise.
Choose a decision to examine it.
01 WHY. Why should this company go global?
Why should this company go global?
Expansion is not a strategy until it has a reason.
The reason must connect global growth to the company’s future—not to fashion, pressure or the appearance of progress.
Decision terrain
- Strategic necessity
- Why now
- Right to matter
- Long-term company ambition
Ask before moving
- 01
What becomes possible globally that cannot happen at home alone?
- 02
Why should this company matter beyond China?
- 03
Would the reason still hold if competitors stopped expanding?
01WHY
Why should this company go global?
Expansion is not a strategy until it has a reason.
The reason must connect global growth to the company’s future—not to fashion, pressure or the appearance of progress.
Decision terrain
- Strategic necessity
- Why now
- Right to matter
- Long-term company ambition
Ask before moving
- 01
What becomes possible globally that cannot happen at home alone?
- 02
Why should this company matter beyond China?
- 03
Would the reason still hold if competitors stopped expanding?
02WHERE
Where should we win first?
Choose terrain, not a flag on a map.
The first market should fit the reason, provide a credible beachhead and create learning that makes the next move stronger.
Decision terrain
- Customer urgency
- Category structure
- Regulation
- Competition
- Cost of learning
- Sequence
Ask before moving
- 01
Which market has the strongest fit with the strategic reason?
- 02
Where can the company learn before the cost of being wrong becomes too high?
- 03
What will the first market teach us that improves the second?
03WHAT
What exactly are we taking global?
The core may travel. Its expression may need to change.
A product, technology, brand, operating capability or IP can cross borders differently. The work is to separate the transferable core from the local form.
Decision terrain
- Transferable core
- Local adaptation
- Product
- Brand and IP
- Service model
Ask before moving
- 01
What must remain consistent because it carries the company’s essential value?
- 02
What must change because the customer context is different?
- 03
What should not travel at all?
04WHO
Who is the first real global customer?
There is no such customer as ‘the global customer.’
A useful market thesis begins with a specific customer, a recognizable situation and a reason that person will trust a new entrant.
Decision terrain
- First customer
- Urgent problem
- Current alternative
- Reason to switch
- Reason to trust
Ask before moving
- 01
Who feels the problem strongly enough to act now?
- 02
What do they use instead today?
- 03
Which first customer makes the next customer easier to reach?
05WITH WHOM
Who helps us enter?
A partner can accelerate entry. A partner cannot replace strategy.
Local operators, distributors, customers, suppliers and communities can carry knowledge and trust. The relationship must preserve responsibility for the market.
Decision terrain
- Partner role
- Incentive alignment
- Market knowledge
- Customer ownership
- Capability transfer
Ask before moving
- 01
What does the partner contribute that we cannot build quickly?
- 02
Which knowledge must remain inside the company?
- 03
Who owns the customer experience and the learning?
06HOW
How should we enter and retain long-term control?
The entry model determines what the company learns, owns and can become.
DTC, B2B, distributor, joint venture, marketplace, licensing, franchise, community-led and hybrid models create different speeds, economics and degrees of control.
Decision terrain
- DTC
- B2B
- Distributor
- Joint venture
- Marketplace
- Licensing
- Franchise
- Community-led
- Hybrid
Ask before moving
- 01
Which model provides the right balance of speed, learning and control?
- 02
What is the smallest serious entry that can test the thesis?
- 03
What signal justifies the next level of commitment?
07BUILD
What has to exist locally for this to become real?
A launch crosses a border. Capability earns the right to remain.
Meaningful global growth may require local product architecture, leadership, service, compliance, partnerships, community and decision rights.
Decision terrain
- Local product
- Team and leadership
- Service
- Compliance
- Partnerships
- Community
- Decision rights
Ask before moving
- 01
What must be present locally before customers can trust the company?
- 02
Which capabilities take longest to build?
- 03
What must the company itself become to operate across contexts?
05 / DUNE GLOBAL GROWTH BLUEPRINT
From global ambition to a 12-month roadbook.
The blueprint turns seven decisions into one coherent market thesis, a first crossing and an operating route.
- 01GLOBAL THESIS
Global Thesis
- 02PRIORITY MARKET
Priority Market
- 03FIRST CUSTOMER
First Customer
- 04OFFER
Offer
- 05BRAND POSITION
Brand Position
- 06ENTRY MODEL
Entry Model
- 07PARTNER MAP
Partner Map
- 08OPERATING
Operating Requirements
- 09CAPITAL
Capital Requirements
- 10ROADBOOK
12-Month Roadbook
GLOBAL ROUTE / 001
GLOBAL GROWTH BLUEPRINT
COMPANY06 / WHERE DUNE CAN WORK WITH FOUNDERS
From choosing a market to earning a place in it.
The work follows the strategic question. It may connect position, product, market entry, partnership and the business that must be built locally.
CAPABILITIES BUILT IN CHINA
- Manufacturing
- Supply chain
- Speed
- Engineering
- Cost
- Product iteration
- Operational density
WHAT GLOBAL MARKETS REQUIRE
- Local relevance
- Trust
- Brand
- Service
- Experience
- Community
- Distribution
Connect capability with opportunity.
Global Strategy
Define the reason, sequence and choices that make expansion coherent.
Market Entry
Choose a beachhead and design an evidence-led route into it.
International Position
Clarify why the company should matter in a new customer context.
Product & Offer
Separate the transferable core from what must be rebuilt locally.
Brand & IP
Shape a story and intellectual asset that can travel without becoming generic.
Partner Architecture
Define who helps, what they own and which capabilities remain internal.
Community-Led Growth
Explore where trust and belonging can create a stronger entry route.
Global Venture Building
Build the new offer, operation or venture the market thesis requires.
07 / ANONYMOUS FIELD NOTE / STRUCTURE ONLY
ILLUSTRATIVE FIELD NOTE
From Home Furnishing to Global Home Solution.
Anonymous preview case · identity and commercial details withheld
Illustrative field-note structure only—not a client record. No client identity, engagement fact, commercial result or performance claim is presented.
- WP 01
CHALLENGE
Illustrative question: is the company exporting existing products, or defining a global business worth building?
- WP 02
INSIGHT
Working hypothesis: the central question may be which company capability could become meaningful to a specific customer beyond the home market.
- WP 03
DECISION
Illustrative recommendation: frame the thesis around one beachhead, one first customer and one transferable core before widening the route.
- WP 04
BUILD
Illustrative scope: define the local offer, partner boundaries, evidence gates and capabilities needed before a larger commitment.
- WP 05
NEXT DUNE
Proposed evidence question: does the first beachhead produce customer learning strong enough to justify the next decision?