U.S. Market Entry & Operating Partner
We run your U.S. operation until you're ready to.
Market Access Ventures is your registered agent, your fractional executive team, and an equity-aligned partner — not a consultant who hands you a report and walks away.
In Practice, That Means
Select a function
Eight disciplines. One point of contact.
Every engagement draws on a different mix of these — click a node to see the specific roles we bring in for that part of your U.S. operation.
WHO THIS IS FOR
This works best for companies with a proven product, not a proven supply chain.
Market Access Ventures exists to help privately-held and family-owned companies actually start operating in the United States — not just explore the idea. That means we're genuinely useful to a specific kind of company, and less useful to others.
Good fit
- Privately-held or family-owned — not a multinational that already has its own US team
- $5M–$100M in annual revenue, with a product already proven in its home market
- Already selling internationally or have export experience — you understand cross-border complexity. Ready to establish your own US operation but need a partner to navigate entity structure, regulatory requirements, and operational setup.
- In a category where being new to the US is the real obstacle — not price, not scale
Less of a fit
- Multinational companies that already have US infrastructure or a team
- Commodity products moving through mature, established supply chains — think raw agricultural commodities, industrial commodities, standardized auto parts — where the barrier isn't market knowledge, it's price and scale
- Pre-revenue companies without a proven product yet
- Companies seeking a buy-and-resell distributor model—we structure and operate the US entity for you to own, with both of us as active partners in the business. If you want us to become your sole merchant, that's a different engagement model.
If you're agriculture-adjacent but not a raw commodity, or you're not sure which side of that line you're on, that's exactly the kind of conversation worth having.
01 / The difference
A US Operating Partner Instead of a Consulting Handoff
Entering the US is rarely one problem. It is a chain of connected decisions — entity, capital, people, product, compliance, customers — with no room for a gap between them.
Market Access Ventures steps into that chain as the operating partner of the newly established US entity. The structure can combine fee-for-service work through a topped-up retainer account with a controlling interest in the entity. We participate in management and decision-making, and stay accountable to the work.
01
One point of accountability across the moving parts.
02
A local operating presence, not just a market-entry memo.
03
Shared incentives that last beyond the launch moment.
02 / The operating model
Operate, Measure, and Transition the US Business
A clear path from putting the US operation to work, to measuring what it can become, to deciding whether the client firm is ready to take it on.
Operate
We establish and run the US presence: the right people, partners, systems, cadence, and decisions to make the business work.
Measure
We look together at traction, economics, operating rhythm, and readiness, using the results to shape the next stage.
Transition
When the operation is performing and the client firm is ready, we support the move toward the client firm taking on the US business.
Inside the measure phase
An operating scorecard
These are the kinds of signals we may review together. The measures and thresholds are shaped around the business and agreed for each engagement.
Traction
Are the right US customers, conversations, and repeat opportunities taking shape?
Qualified pipeline · customer conversations · repeat orders
Economics
Is the operation creating a clear path to healthy, understood unit economics?
Landed cost · gross margin · cash visibility
Operating rhythm
Can the team make decisions, move work, and resolve issues consistently?
On-time execution · decision cadence · open issues
Readiness
Is the client firm equipped and willing to take on the next stage of the US operation?
Accountable owner · documented playbooks · resourcing
How the conversation works
Signals become a shared decision.
At a review cadence agreed for the engagement, we look at the scorecard together—not to grade the business, but to understand what the operation is teaching us.
That conversation may support continuing the build, scaling what is working, or preparing for transition. The timing, thresholds, and next step are engagement-specific; no measure triggers an automatic handoff.
Operate creates the evidence. Measure creates the conversation. Transition follows when the results and the client firm’s readiness support it.
Illustrative review
One signal. Four moves.
For illustration, an engagement’s agreed pipeline signal is moving in the right direction while conversion evidence is still incomplete. A review might sound like this:
Signal
The agreed pipeline indicator is improving, but the handoff into active opportunities is not yet clear.
Question
Where is the handoff slowing down, and what would we need to learn before expanding the effort?
Decision
Keep the build focused on tightening that handoff before adding another channel or market.
Next action
Name an owner, agree what to observe next, and revisit it at the cadence set for this engagement.
The signal, question, decision, and next action would be shaped around the measures and review cadence agreed for that engagement—not copied as a fixed template or universal threshold.
A planning range
Around 2–3 years
This is an engagement-specific guide, not a fixed clock or automatic handoff. The timing follows the operation’s progress, the results we can measure together, and the client firm’s readiness to take the next step.
03 / What we carry
US Entity, Banking, Import, and Operating Capabilities
Not every engagement needs every capability. But when a decision touches another decision, we know how to bring the right expertise in.
We coordinate entity formation and the surrounding professional network. Your counsel remains counsel; our role is to make the pieces move together.
Local specialist standard
Specialist Pairings for Common US Market Entry Needs
Local specialists earn a place in the network when their expertise fits the product profile, answers a defined operating need, and can work within the agreed engagement scope. The final mix is shaped for each launch; these representative roles are not named partners, credentials, client outcomes, or a promise that every engagement needs every specialist.
01
Industrial & engineered goods
Customs classification + importer-of-record specialist
For physical products crossing borders, we can bring in the specialist who fits the product profile and shipment responsibilities.
02
Food & consumer products
Logistics + insurance specialist
When the launch depends on moving goods, we coordinate the logistics and coverage conversations alongside the broader US operating plan.
03
B2B services building a local team
Entity/compliance counsel + fractional operator
For a service business establishing a US presence, the right support may pair operating leadership with the professionals shaping the entity and compliance path.
04 / For candidates & local specialists
Roles, Résumé Bank & Specialist Introductions
Apply for a posted role, share your résumé for future opportunities, or introduce your specialist practice. Candidate applications and specialist introductions follow separate forms so we can review your background in the right context.
01 / Fit
Product, industry, and operating situations where your capability is most useful.
02 / Reach
Geographies where you can provide practical, local support.
03 / Scope
The kind of engagement that matches how you work.
A private introduction for review — not a public partner directory or endorsement.
For candidates
Apply for a posted role, or share your resume separately for future opportunities. General submissions are not counted as applicants for a current search.
Apply for a posted roleShare your resume for future opportunities05 / Shared incentives
Shared Ownership, Retainer, and Acquisition Structure
Market Access Ventures establishes and operates the US entity while maintaining a controlling interest. In a retainer engagement, the client firm tops up a retainer account as agreed services are performed; Market Access Ventures may not own 100% of the entity in that structure. If the operation proves successful, the client firm may choose to acquire it at a pre-determined price.
The relationship
Your US entity is not a project we hand back. It is a business we help make work.
The horizon
Around 2–3 years is a planning range for the move, not a fixed target. The client firm’s choice follows operating success and readiness.
06 / Your team in the United States
US Market Entry Leadership and Trade Finance Experience
Mike brings more than 25 years of international banking experience, with deep expertise in correspondent banking and trade finance. At Synovus Bank, he advised approximately 400 bankers serving clients with international trade needs.
His experience spans 13 years at Bank of America across 20 states, Trade Operations, Crisis Management, and Payments Modeling. Fluent in Spanish, Mike pairs that technical range with the human work of building trust across borders.
A useful belief
“The best market entry is one where the people carrying the risk are close enough to do something about it.”