Expanding a Global Organization

Growing internationally takes focus and passion. Software executives can learn much from the launch and meteoric rise of one non-profit.

By John Wood, Room to Read

For software vendors of all types, growth is a constant challenge. Large vendors rapidly acquire smaller and mid-size vendors to achieve scale or enter new markets. Startups race to convert ever-larger clients and forge partnerships with larger vendors.

When I was at Microsoft, the story was the same. As manager of the worldwide launch of Office 95, and later as director of marketing in Asia Pacific, we worked hard to grow our sales and customer base.

In 2000, I left Microsoft to found a non-profit, Room to Read which establishes libraries and schools, and funds education in third-world countries – and growth remains a goal and a challenge.

Room to Read's long-term goal is to help over ten million children achieve the lifelong gift of education by 2020. This year, we’ve expanded onto a new continent, Africa, with our expansion into South Africa, and we plan to continue growing, with both Ethiopia and Zambia slated as our next two countries. We plan to grow from 3,000 libraries (as of August 2006) to at least 10,000, and from 200 schools to over 1,000.

From the very beginning, Room to Read took a global view of our problem – there are 800 million illiterate people in the developing world. How, on a limited capital base, can we reach this many potential “customers”? We can not think small, as there are too many children who need us to think big!

I believe that software firms face the same challenge. As head of a non-profit that has rapidly expanded and achieved impact in an ever-expanding number of countries, software executives may be able to gain some insight from our experience driving global growth.

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