I’ve made a lot of mistakes trying to do that across different industries and multiple countries. So I boiled it down into the top 10 I thought would be most relevant and possible to convey in the short format I had at my disposal.

Here they are:

1. Start small. Really small.
Don’t chase “total addressable market.” Start with the tiniest market where you can win fast. Nail it. Then scale it. With OnlinePizza/Delivery Hero/PizzaPortal, we started with… pizza. Then other cuisines, and now you can get basically everything delivered.

2. Innovation isn’t invention.
Nobody cares how clever your tech is. If it doesn’t solve a real, painful problem, it’s not going anywhere. Start with the problem, not the solution. You can’t invent a medicine and then look for what it treats. First you start with the disease.

3. Growth without profit is just expensive failure.
Make sure your customer pays back fast and stays long. Target minimum CLTV > 3x CAC. Payback < 12 months.

4. Don’t go where it’s big. Go where it’s winnable.
You don’t need the biggest market. You need the one where you have an edge. Where entry is easier. Where demand already exists. With SunRoof it was more strategic to expand into Poland and have that as a platform for future expansion, then start directly with Germany or Spain.

5. Let local teams lead—at first.
Early traction comes from on-the-ground hustle. Let your local team move fast, then bring structure once you know what works. But don’t wait too long with switching.

6. Write it down – make a playbook.
Every time something works, turn it into a playbook. If it’s not repeatable, it’s not scalable. Without this, you’ll have teams doing random things or/and things that didn’t work in other markets. Managing that chaos will cost you a lot. It’s much easier to make a simple playbook.

7. Your first hire in a new market is a make-or-break decision.
This person will define your pace, your culture, your reputation. Don’t hire a manager. Hire an operator.

8. People don’t adopt tech. They adopt habits.
Innovation fails when people don’t change how they act. Build trust, training, and onboarding into your product. With PizzaPortal/Delivery Hero and iTaxi, the traditional phone was a much bigger competitor than Uber or other competitors.

9. Localization isn’t language.
Not even a simple translation works. People speak differently in different countries. It’s pricing, buying habits, expectations, trust. Copy-paste doesn’t work. Learn how people actually make decisions locally.

10. No one wants to be first. Everyone wants to be second.
Show them someone like them already bought it. Social proof beats logic every time.

That’s the short version of what I shared.
If you’re building something new or scaling something that works, I hope at least one of these helps.

Source: Lech Kaniuk Serial Entrepreneur,Investor Lodz Polen