Why 74% of companies fail when trying to enter the USA
The statistics are merciless. From our analysis, as many as 74% of Polish startups that try their hand in the United States return to the country with zero in their account within 14 months. At Tatry Strategy Group, since September 2016, we have been observing the same mistakes that burn capital faster than a bonfire in a clearing.
Too high a valuation and a lack of humility
Many founders from Warsaw or Krakow think that their product is the only one in the world. This is the first step to a fall. In the US market, especially in San Francisco or Austin, competition is ten times greater than in all of Central Europe. Polish companies often enter with a valuation plucked from thin air. They count on millions of dollars in an investment round without yet having a single paying customer across the ocean. Numbers don't lie: 42% of failures result from a lack of market demand, which was poorly assessed by overconfident bosses.
We analyzed the case of a technology company from Gliwice in March 2023. They spent 840,000 PLN on marketing in the USA in two months. They didn't get a single lead. Why? Because their product was 15% more expensive than the American equivalent and offered 3 fewer features. Instead of checking the facts, they believed in their uniqueness. At Tatry Strategy Group, we always say: specifics instead of theory. If you don't have data confirming that an American will spend even a dollar with you, don't buy a ticket to New York.
We often encounter the opinion that the product will defend itself. This is a mistake that costs on average 2.3 million PLN in losses per one failed expansion project. An American investor doesn't look at how proud you are of your code. He looks at customer acquisition costs (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV). If these numbers don't add up, no one will put up the money. We verify these facts in 48 hours before a single zloty leaves your company account.
An American investor doesn't look at your pride. He looks at customer acquisition costs and hard data from the sheet.
A sales culture you don't understand
Selling in the USA is not about drinking coffee and talking about the company's history. Speed matters there. The average response time to an inquiry in successful companies across the ocean is 2h 14min. Polish companies often respond after two days. In the USA, that means you don't exist. In 2024, we supported 97 installations of IT systems in 4 different state markets. A key success factor was shortening the support reaction time to 47 minutes. This translates directly into closing deals.
Americans hate beating around the bush. If your salesperson uses flowery language, they will lose to someone who gives the price and benefits in the third sentence. Our team, working from the office at 14 Krupówki St, repeatedly had to teach experienced Polish directors how to write short messages. We are going straight to the summit, so there is no time for unnecessary adjectives. The lack of a specific 'call to action' is the reason why 31% of sales talks end in failure right at the start.
Another problem is the lack of a local face. An American is more likely to buy from a company that has at least a one-person office in Delaware or Wyoming and a local phone number. We saw this in 14 of our clients last year. Companies that hired a local sales representative in the USA increased their chance of closing a contract by 64% compared to those that tried to sell exclusively from Poland via Zoom.
The average response time in the USA is 2 hours. If you respond after two days, you don't exist for the customer.
Costs no one told you about
Entering the US market is not just the cost of flight and hotel. It is an army of lawyers and accountants. Many companies set up a company in Delaware, thinking that's the end of formalities. Then comes the clash with reality: state taxes, federal taxes, liability insurance, and the costs of compliance with local regulations. The average cost of maintaining a basic legal structure in the USA in the first year is about 24,500 dollars. Most startups do not include this in their start-up budget.
At Tatry Strategy Group, we recovered a total of 4.7 million PLN for our clients in 2024 by optimizing these entry processes. It often turns out that companies pay for legal services they don't need or omit key technical certifications required in the American market. A lack of a data security certificate can block a contract worth 500,000 dollars in 5 minutes. These are not jokes; it is hard business reality.
Example from July 2024: a fintech company from Wrocław. They were ready to sign a contract with a bank in Chicago. At the last minute, it turned out that their Polish insurance policy did not cover American jurisdiction. The cost of a new policy 'right now' was 12,000 dollars, and the process took 3 weeks. The bank withdrew and chose a competitor from Canada. This is exactly the lack of preparation we are talking about. Specifics instead of theory would have saved this contract if the audit had been done a month earlier.
Errors in marketing and fluffy messaging
Polish companies tend to copy messages from the home market and translate them into English. This is a disaster. What works in Poland sounds like a cheap 90s ad in the USA. An American customer wants to see results. He's not interested in your passion; he's interested in how much money you'll save him or how much you'll make his life easier. Using empty slogans about innovations is the fastest way to the trash in an investor's inbox.
We noticed that the average Tatry Strategy Group client shortens invoicing time by 3.2 hours a week after implementing our scaling methods. This is a specific detail that speaks to an American. If your website says 'we are the best', no one will believe it. If you write 'we increased conversion by 37% in 3 months for 12 retail companies', you have their attention. Numbers don't lie and are the only universal language of business.
Marketing in the States is also significantly more expensive. A click on a Google ad in your industry might cost 2 PLN in Poland and 45 PLN in the USA. Without precise targeting and verifying facts in 48 hours, your marketing budget will disappear in a week. We saw this in 23 companies over the last two years. They tried to act broadly instead of focusing on one narrow niche audience. As a result, they burned money and lost the trust of shareholders.
How not to be part of that 74 percent?
The solution is simple, but it requires work. First, do a real market test. Don't ask friends what they think about your product. Try to sell it to ten strangers in the USA. If no one buys, your product needs improvement. At Tatry Strategy Group, we have helped 423 clients since the beginning of our activity. Most of them started with wrong assumptions. Our role is to bring them back down to earth before it's too late.
Second, count every penny and every minute. If you don't have a clearly defined sales process, don't go there. America is a market for money-making machines, not for dreamers. You must have a system that works without you. Since 2016 in Zakopane, we have been building such systems for companies that want to go straight to the summit. We don't offer magic; we offer proven procedures and hard data.
Finally, remember that failure in the USA is not the end of the world, as long as you don't go completely bankrupt. Many companies we supported only succeeded on the second attempt, but this time with a full portfolio of data and an understanding of their mistakes. The key is to draw conclusions quickly. We at Tatry Strategy Group verify facts in 48 hours because we know that in business, time is the only resource that cannot be bought back. If you want to avoid the fate of the 74% of losers, start with a hard analysis.
America is a market for money-making machines. If you are a dreamer without data, you stay home.
