Business Beyond Borders

What happens when a company loses one of its major international markets almost overnight? Simcoa is Australia’s only producer of silicon metal and had been selling around 10,000 tonnes a year into the United States. Then a US trade investigation resulted in additional duties approaching 40%, and Simcoa decided to leave the American market. In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dear...

What does it really take to turn a traditional food product into a global consumer brand? For Sreenivas Saba , Managing Director of Uncle Saba’s , the answer involves a lot more than having a great product. It means teaching yourself an industry from scratch, taking calculated risks, surviving the inevitable highs and lows — and sometimes sending 30 or 40 product samples to the same prospective cu...

The global games industry generates hundreds of billions of dollars every year. But behind the blockbuster titles is an industry where even successful studios can disappear overnight. In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin  sits down with Ria Lu , CEO of Levert Group , to explore what it really takes to build an international game development business from the Philippines. Bef...

Mental health systems around the world are under enormous pressure. Demand continues to rise, clinicians are stretched, and governments are investing billions—but how do we know whether that investment is actually improving people’s lives? In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin speaks with Bianca Bowron-Cuthill , CEO of Innowell , a digital mental health platform built on more...

Everyone says there's a talent shortage. But what if the real problem isn't skills at all? In this special panel episode, Cynthia Dearin and Gerald Garcia bring together leaders from healthcare, hospitality, aviation, logistics, and technology to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today: managing four generations in the same workplace. From Gen Z's changing expectations to AI-p...

What does it take to transform a family manufacturing business into an international brand? In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin sits down with Mishal Arnaiz , second-generation leader at Universal Skin Cosmeceuticals , a Philippine manufacturer producing skincare and personal care products for brands around the world. Mishal shares the remarkable story of growing up inside...

Many entrepreneurs launch businesses because they spot a market opportunity. Dr. Varongsri “Ying” Poothakool started hers because of a life-changing teacher. As a young child, Dr. Ying disliked mathematics. Everything changed when she met a teacher who used games, toys, and creativity to make maths fun. That experience inspired a lifelong mission: helping children develop confidence, enjoyment, an...

When businesses expand internationally, most attention goes to entrepreneurs, products, and markets. But behind every successful expansion lies something far less visible: infrastructure. In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin sits down with Jason de Sousa , founder of Ideia Partners , to explore the systems that make economic growth possible. Drawing on decades of experience...

What does it take to build a globally respected animation company when you can't rely on marketing, PR, or a big sales machine? In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin sits down with Marla Rausch , Founder and CEO of Animation Vertigo , the motion capture and animation studio behind projects for some of the biggest names in film and gaming, including Sony and Activision. Marla...

Many companies focus on market entry strategy when expanding internationally. But even the best plans can fall apart when the operational realities of moving goods across borders are overlooked. In this episode of the Business Beyond Borders podcast, host Cynthia Dearin is joined by La Chang , a global logistics expert, to explore the critical but often invisible role logistics plays in internatio...

Many companies invest heavily in global strategy and market research before expanding internationally. But even the best strategy can fail if the people responsible for executing it aren’t set up to succeed. In this episode of the Business Beyond Borders podcast, host Cynthia Dearin is joined by Gerald Garcia , workforce strategy lead at Dearin & Associates, to explore why international growth...

Europe is often described as a single market of 450 million consumers. In reality, it is one of the most complex, politically dynamic, and highly regulated regions in the world. In this episode of Business Beyond Borders , Cynthia Dearin speaks with D&A Senior Advisor, Kathryn Read about what has fundamentally changed in Europe and what global executives are still getting wrong. From Brexit an...

We talk a lot about strategy, compliance, and execution in international expansion. But one of the biggest make-or-break factors in global growth is often overlooked: how your brand shows up in a new market. In this episode of the Business Beyond Borders podcast, host Cynthia Dearin is joined by Kelly-ann Maxwell , Brand and Marketing Strategist at Dearin & Associates. With a background spanni...

Many companies invest heavily in global strategy. Far fewer succeed in turning that strategy into sales once they hit real markets, real partners, and real complexity. In this episode of the Business Beyond Borders podcast, host Cynthia Dearin is joined by Mike Todd , international growth strategist at Dearin & Associates and the execution lead who works with clients when strategy turns into a...

In this episode I talk to global supply chain expert, Kim Winter. Kim is the Group Managing Director of the Logistics Executive Group. He leads a global consulting, corporate advisory, M&A and executive search and media organisation from his base in Dubai, UAE. Today we’re talking about the current landscape for global supply chains and what that means for international business. Tune in to fi...

In this episode, I have a second conversation with Tom Griffith, Co-founder of Emma and Tom’s, which makes all-natural juices and other healthy drinks. In our previous conversation we spoke about Emma and Tom’s genesis story and Tom’s experience with growing an international brand. This time around, we got into further detail about running an international business with a focus on Enterprise Resou...

In this episode of Business Beyond Borders, my guest is Kathryn Read, an international sales and marketing consultant with more than 20 years’ experience developing niche products in emerging markets. Kathryn helps small and medium companies to break through international barriers and she joins me today from Austria. Join us to find out: • How Austria handled the pandemic • The current relationshi...

In this episode I am joined by Tatiana Miron as we discuss how to go about choosing the right market to launch your company and why having the right data is so important in that process. Based out of Marseilles, France, Tatiana is not only one of our Senior Advisors here at Dearin & Associates, she is also the founder of Prime Target, a firm that provides advisory, business intelligence servic...

In this episode I am joined by my friend David McCredie OBE, CEO of the Australia British Chamber of Commerce. David is an experienced and thoughtful leader of people and business. He interacts regularly with a wide range of businesses providing him with a unique insight into government, large corporate entities and SME’s. His ability to gain cut through and give insights into the opportunities fo...

In this episode I chat to Zach Person who works closely with the team here at Dearin & Associates and is an expert when it comes to sales and business strategy. Zach is on the ground in Chicago and we explore the US market, why foreign companies often struggle to get traction there and what you can do to break ground in what is often considered the “holy grail” for businesses around the world....

In this episode I speak with Jason Hood, Founder of BourkeHood and his colleague Eva Dobrzabska, Head of Operations about research and development grants and how COVID-19 has sparked a wave of innovation across the globe. While the global economy has been hit with this pandemic, governments around the world are finding ways to support and encourage growth through tax incentives and government gran...

In this episode I catch up with Ram Gorlamandala, Founder and CEO at Tat Capital, which facilitates trade and investment between Australia, New Zealand and India through capital raising, M&A and international business development. Ram founded Tat Capital in 2013 with a vision to help companies in Australia and the Indian sub-continent to engage in cross-border trade and investment, and to powe...

It’s Cynthia Dearin here. Welcome to the Business Beyond Borders podcast and to our special series on COVID-19, how it’s affecting industries and businesses around the world and what it means for you. As part of our special series on COVID-19, I’m talking to Rick Roache, Managing Director of Ebury, Australia about foreign exchange and why it’s so important, especially right now. Tune in to find ou...

I hope you’re surviving the madness, wherever you are in the world today. This week, to keep you powering through lockdown, I wanted to bring you something a little lighter and more inspirational than what you’ll get on mainstream channels In this episode, I’m talking to Tom Griffith, Co-founder of Emma and Tom, which makes all-natural juices and other healthy drinks. After a high-flying career as...

Market selection is a critical phase when it comes to international expansion. Get it wrong, and you can tank your whole business… get it right and you can catapult it to new heights. In Part Two of this episode around choosing the right market, we delve a little deeper into the market selection process, outlining what to consider before making the decision, and the questions you should be asking...