Global start-ups: Entrepreneurs on a worldwide stage

Executive Overview If the mouse connected to your personal computer is made by Logitech, Inc. —and there's a good chance it is—then you're plugged into the growing phenomenon of global start-ups. Most people expect new ventures to begin domestically and for their international operations to evolve slowly, but global start-ups are international at inception. Logitech was founded in 1982 by a Swiss and two Italians who had global aspirations from the beginning. The venture was headquartered in both California and Switzerland. The firm's R&D and manufacturing were also split between California and Switzerland, and then quickly spread to Taiwan and Ireland. By 1989, it had revenues of 140 million and 30 percent of the worldwide market for those ubiquitous computer rodents. Was the Logitech experience unique, or might there be a pattern underlying the creation dynamics and success characteristics of global start-ups? To answer these questions, we analyzed twelve such start-ups, and personally interviewed several of their founders.