International expansion plan for Kitsat
Researching market potential and regulatory landscape of four international markets for a space technology company
Arctic Astronautics, a Finnish pioneer in educational space technology, set sights on international expansion for its educational satellite product, Kitsat. Their plan was to evaluate the potential of four geographical markets: the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The goal of the project was to assess the feasibility and potential of entering these markets while ensuring compliance with local regulations related to satellite technology import.
Key challenges included understanding the size of local customer bases in each market, the preferred means of expansion (direct sales / through reseller) and regulatory requirements unique to each country. We worked in two-week sprints to set questions, do research, and come back again to iterate the research focus.
After analysis and discussion with the team, results highlighted the most attractive target market and method of expansion, balancing potential returns and risks. Australia and New Zealand seemed to hold the most potential for Kitsat. In addition, partnering with local resellers surfaced as the best way to get a foothold in the markets. Finally, next steps for figuring the exact technology import regulations & certification criteria were recommended.
"Miikka went above and beyond what we expected for this project. He not only confirmed our existing ideas but also helped us better understand how our target markets operate, and how we should approach them. We really liked how quickly and systematically Miikka worked with our team."
Tessa Nikander, CEO & Co-founder of Arctic Astronautics
How did we achieve this?
The project started with a comprehensive online market analysis, which uncovered potential customers and partners in each region, along with assessing total revenue potential of each country based on the number of potential customers in each region.
After assessing market potential, the research continued to understand technology hardware import regulations in each target country, highlighting similarities and differences from European legislation which the team was already familiar with. Both online resources and expert interviews were used to find insights.
In addition to understanding each markets potential and technology import regulation, we formed a picture of local business climate. By interviewing several tech & international trade professionals, we understood the differences in local business environments and built connections that can be used in Kitsat's upcoming expansion.
- Market sizing (Total Addressable Market, TAM)
- Technology import regulation research
- Online research
- Expert interviews
- International expansion strategy