Overseas Expansion Framework

Overview

International expansion forks into two models: Spirit Expansion (精神出海) — product/IP travels digitally or via exported goods, no local presence required — and Physical Expansion (实体出海) — the company establishes entities, hires locally, and embeds operations in-market. Wrong mode selection is among the most expensive strategic errors in international growth. Related: second-order-thinking before mode selection · lean-startup for minimum viable expansion · pareto-principle to prioritize markets.

When to Use / When NOT

Use when: "we want to go global" without specifying mode · designing first international expansion (digital-first vs. entity-first) · investor asks whether overseas revenue is Spirit or Physical · diagnosing a past international expansion failure. Do NOT use when: no home-market PMF (run pmf-crossing-the-chasm) · entity already operational · purely local service with no digital component · already have established presence in the target market.

Coaching Novices (Adaptive Front Door)

• Engine mode: concrete expansion case → run The Process directly.
• Coach mode: unfamiliar or no concrete case → guide step by step.