Scaling Beyond Borders: Addepar

Addepar

Addepar’s international expansion showcases a well-orchestrated strategy rooted in thorough planning, effective collaboration, and adaptability. Recognising the global nature of its business—catering to family offices, wealth managers, institutions, and private banks—the company capitalised on increasing international demand to drive growth beyond the United States.

Strategic Planning and Market Readiness

Addepar’s expansion journey began with extensive market analysis, assessing both the Total Addressable Market (TAM) and the Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) to determine viable opportunities.

The company conducted on-the-ground research, met key stakeholders, and examined regional regulations before making investment decisions. For instance, insights gained from a field visit to the Middle East led to a swift commitment to establish operations in the region. Critical readiness indicators included a stable US presence, international demand from existing clients, and a replicable operational framework.

Go-To-Market Strategy

Once a new market was identified, Addepar executed a structured go-to-market (GTM) approach, prioritising local engagement and brand establishment. This involved forging partnerships with local recruiters, conducting early marketing campaigns, and leveraging executive presence at key industry events. Multi-functional teams worked in unison to establish payroll systems, compliance structures, and product localisation to ensure smooth market entry.

With zero brand recognition, initial investments were heavily allocated to marketing campaigns to create broader awareness. Executive visits to the region played a crucial role in reinforcing credibility and generating momentum. In the early stages, securing prominent client logos was prioritised over immediate revenue, as these marquee brand names would serve as anchor clients and highly referencable assets for future growth. The focus was on volume of pipeline generation, ensuring sustainable growth in later years. Addepar remained flexible on pricing in net-new regions to attract key clients and facilitate adoption.

Additionally, the company embraced a “Day 1” mentality, recognising that product localisation and support structures were still developing in new markets. To mitigate these gaps, Addepar offered enhanced flexibility in pricing and support, ensuring that early adopters became long-term partners. These efforts were key in converting slower-moving Year 1 and Year 2 pipeline opportunities into solid, recurring revenue streams.

Regional Marketing Strategies

Addepar recognised that a bold approach was essential for a successful market entry. Instead of gradual, low-impact marketing efforts, the company made substantial investments to build immediate visibility. In cases where budgets were more limited, efforts were laser-focused on high-impact strategies. Success in new regions relied on a strong belief that both the product and sales teams could meet demand.

To establish credibility, Addepar employed targeted Account-Based Marketing (ABM) campaigns, performance marketing, industry blogs, and key conference engagements. Early over-investment in marketing provided valuable feedback, helping refine the company’s approach and identify the most effective growth channels.

Client satisfaction was a top priority. Addepar carefully measured early customer experiences to uncover recurring pain points, which allowed the company to fine-tune its offerings and develop a system for pattern recognition. From the outset, the company focused on identifying patterns across markets, developing a repeatable system for recognising shared client needs. Understanding these common themes—such as the demand for data aggregation, improved reporting, and analytics—helped streamline product positioning and ensure the company’s ability to scale across markets efficiently

In the first year, client referrals emerged as the most powerful driver of new business. Securing and nurturing marquee accounts became a strategic priority. By offering dedicated support and ensuring the success of early adopters, Addepar laid the groundwork for organic pipeline growth. Rather than focusing solely on aggressive sales expansion, the company prioritised making its first clients successful, knowing they would drive future conversions more effectively than adding additional sales resources.

Beyond referrals, private events proved to be the most successful source of Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). These intimate events fostered stronger engagement than traditional outbound efforts. Initially, the US-based Business Development Representative (BDR) team managed outreach in new markets, but by the second year, local BDRs were hired. In retrospect, Addepar recognised that hiring in-region earlier would have accelerated growth and strengthened relationships with local clients.

A key learning for us was the importance of a flexible but region-specific approach. Initially, new markets were supported remotely from HQ, gradually transitioning to localised operations as demand increased. Marketing strategies were adapted based on regional preferences, such as leveraging billboards in the Middle East and focusing on trade publications in Europe. Being able to be flexible is crucial for success because every region is different.

Talent Acquisition and Team Growth

Addepar followed a structured hiring process, balancing local market expertise with internal company knowledge. Initial hires typically included 2-3 senior sales professionals who set benchmarks and established the brand in new markets. As demand grew, roles such as sales engineers and client success managers were introduced. Collaborating with experienced partners like Pangea helped secure high-quality hires and ensured cultural alignment.

To accelerate integration, Addepar also encouraged internal transfers, allowing experienced employees from established markets to move into new regions. This approach helped bridge cultural and operational gaps while ensuring that the company’s values and methodologies were effectively implemented.

Additionally, cross-functional collaboration was critical. Teams across sales, marketing, operations, and customer success worked closely to streamline hiring and onboarding processes. As the business scaled, regional leadership roles were established to provide greater autonomy while maintaining alignment with Addepar’s global strategy. Hiring was not just about filling positions—it was about cultivating teams that could sustain long-term success.

The company also recognised the importance of post-hire development. Training programs were put in place to ensure new hires quickly gained product knowledge and aligned with Addepar’s operational expectations. Mentorship and ongoing performance tracking helped maintain high engagement levels and retention in new markets, ensuring that team expansion translated into sustainable growth.

To preserve its company culture while expanding globally, Addepar prioritised strong leadership presence, cross-regional communication, and alignment with global objectives. Local teams were encouraged to develop their own operational identity while staying connected to the broader company vision. Regular visits from senior leadership helped reinforce company values and foster integration.

Tracking Performance and Success

Addepar implemented a rigorous performance tracking framework to evaluate the success of its international expansion efforts. The company monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) across 6, 12, and 24 month intervals to assess pipeline momentum, client acquisition rates, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction levels.

Beyond numerical KPIs, Addepar leveraged customer feedback loops, internal market assessments, and competitive analyses to refine strategies continuously. Regular check-ins with local teams helped identify operational bottlenecks, such as onboarding inefficiencies or regulatory hurdles, allowing for swift corrective actions.

Additionally, qualitative insights were gathered through industry engagement, tracking evolving regional market trends, and assessing local partnership effectiveness. Periodic strategy reviews ensured that each expansion effort benefited from prior learnings, allowing Addepar to streamline operations and optimise market penetration over time.

The company’s iterative approach enabled leadership to make data-driven decisions, improving future expansions and strengthening global market positioning. By ensuring a structured performance evaluation mechanism, Addepar achieved a balance between long-term strategic objectives and short-term operational efficiency, making its international growth efforts sustainable and scalable.

Investors played a very important role in terms of their network. I would highly encourage people to make sure they either look at their existing client base or their investor base to help them in new regions because it’s always better to get a warm friendly introduction. And the more what your plan is for that region, the more you’re going to get supported.

Pattern Recognition is key

Addepar’s success in international expansion was ultimately attributed to three primary factors:

• Early efforts to identify common pain points building a system of pattern recognition.
• Strategic partnerships with local recruitment and business experts
• A flexible approach and structured feedback loops enabling continuous learning and adaptation.
  

Through meticulous planning, strategic hiring, and local market adaptation, Addepar successfully expanded its global footprint while maintaining its core identity. The company’s ability to learn and iterate on its expansion strategies has allowed it to scale efficiently and establish itself as a global leader.