Enter the US without the costly missteps.
International companies lose time and money every year making US decisions in the wrong order. A hire made before the ground work is done. An entity opened before it is actually needed. A plan that only ever existed in someone’s head.
Launch Roadmaps exist so you do not have to find any of that out the hard way. A dedicated adviser guides you through each decision, so entering the US feels like a plan you can trust, not a guessing game.
Tell us where you are and we will tell you honestly what happens next, no obligation attached.
Guidance for companies preparing to enter the US market or make their first US hire.
Launch
Market entry and your first US hire.
Support to register, bank and run your US business once you have decided to set up operations here.
Operate
Beginning US operations.
Support for companies scaling an existing US team and building out proper HR infrastructure.
Grow
Team growth and HR infrastructure.
“We got going very quickly, with our own people, at a lower cost.”
“Foothold America managed payroll, taxes and benefits, avoiding the bureaucratic maze.”
“Foothold America was able to get things done for us very quickly.”
Entering the US rewards patience more than speed.
Most companies decide to enter the US market for a good reason. A customer asked for it, a competitor already has a presence there, or the board has set a target. What tends to get compressed under that pressure is the planning that would normally come before any hire or investment of this size.
The consequences rarely show up immediately. A benefits package that looked competitive on paper turns out not to be once an offer is on the table. A candidate who interviewed well is managed the way someone would be managed back home, and leaves within the year. An entity gets registered in the wrong state for what the business actually needs further down the line.
None of this is unusual. It is simply what happens when market entry is treated as one decision rather than a sequence of them.
78%
$14,900
A plan built around you, not a package off the shelf.
Every business enters the US at a different point, with different priorities. We start with your timeline, your budget and what has already been decided, and build the plan around that, so every step feels considered rather than rushed. That is what white glove service actually means to us.
Understand your position
We start with your timeline, your budget and what has already been decided, if anything. Nothing about your situation is assumed.
Build the plan
Sequencing, structure and the right partner introductions are worked through before anything is signed, filed or offered.
Move at the right pace
Some businesses need a first hire quickly. Others need several months of groundwork before that makes sense. The roadmap follows your pace, not a standard timeline.
Wherever you are, there is a clear next step.
Three roadmaps, one stage. Find where you fit below.
Solid Ground
Short-term pre-launch consulting to develop sequencing, timeline, budgets and partner introductions for US market entry, once the decision to enter has already been made.
Businesses that have decided to enter the US but do not yet have a detailed plan. Solid Ground consulting lasts three to four months to plan for the intended launch.
- Pre-launch team discovery session
- Sequencing, timeline and budget development
- Introductions to relevant legal, tax, and/or immigration partners
- Facilitated group partner sessions as needed
- Weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly update calls as agreed
- Project plan and budget deliverable
Priced per project, generally from $2,500 to $15,000.
Find & Thrive
Covers pre-hire budget review, recruitment, employer-of-record payroll and benefits service, US cultural intelligence session, and semi-annual growth checks, in one engagement.
Companies that have decided to make their first US hire but haven’t yet settled on location, salary or a recruiter. They have budget, generally have US clients, may be bootstrapped or pre-revenue funded, and typically have between ten and 500 employees with revenue over one million dollars.
- Pre-hire budget and location discussion
- Job description and positioning
- Job advertising, talent screening, and first interviews
- Company interview coordination, offers and negotiation support
- Employee onboarding, background screening, and compliance checks
- 12 months of payroll management and HR compliance as the Employer of Record
- 12 months of employer medical, dental, vision, life, disability and pension benefit contributions
- 1:1 US Cultural Intelligence core briefing
- Semi-annual growth and development sessions
Priced per employee, year-one fee from $39,000. Salary plus employer taxes of approximately 10% not included. Add $15,500 for premium benefits.
Ready to Hire
The same scope as Find & Thrive, without pre-hire budget and location planning, and without Exclusive Talent Acquisition, for companies that already know where and who they are hiring.
Companies that have already decided where they are hiring and who, and are ready to move straight to employment without further planning.
- Employer of Record, with healthcare benefits built in
- 1:1 US Cultural Core Briefing
- Semi-annual growth and development meetings
Seven reasons the US is worth the effort.
The scale of the opportunity is exactly why the sequence matters. Here is what makes the US worth entering properly.
$32.4T
341.8M
$7.6T
$94,430
$4,280
#1
Reserve currency
The three things decision makers ask about most.
Speed, control and cost are the honest concerns behind most first conversations. Here is how each one is handled.
Rushing a market entry to hit a deadline usually means something gets missed.
Fast, not rushed
Solid Ground and Find & Thrive both build the plan before anything moves, so speed never comes at the cost of getting it right.
US employment law is complicated, governed by fifty different states, each with its own requirements.
Compliance handled by specialists
We take care of the compliance so you can concentrate on building your business in the US.
A roadmap that grows more expensive once you are already committed.
What you agree is what you pay
Every engagement is scoped and priced before work begins. If something changes, that is a conversation, not an invoice.
Because missteps are expensive. Guidance is not.
Six ways a properly planned market entry strategy tends to look different from one worked out along the way.
Guidance comes before you commit
Solid Ground and Find & Thrive both begin with planning, before you have spent anything on recruitment or registration.
Most companies work the plan out as they go, often after the entity has already been filed or the offer already made.
One partner across the whole journey
The team that plans your entry is the same team that can carry you through Operate and Grow as you progress.
A different consultant, lawyer and recruiter for each stage, with no single person holding the full picture.
Built around your situation
Three roadmaps exist because market entry means something different depending on how far along you already are.
A single generic package, applied the same way regardless of your starting point.
A person who knows your plan
A named adviser who understands your business and your timeline, and who you can actually reach.
General account handling, or no dedicated contact until something needs fixing.
Specialists in one market
We have worked only on the US market since 2015. Sequencing, state rules and timing are what we do all day.
One more market handled by a platform or provider that also covers eighty others.
An honest view on fit
If Solid Ground isn’t the right starting point for you, we will say so and point you toward what is.
A sales process built to close a deal, rather than to find the right fit.
Do it once. Do it right.
Your business deserves more than a box-ticking exercise. Getting into the US properly, the first time, means nothing missed, nothing left to chance, and someone who has done this before standing behind every step.
White glove service, from the first call
A dedicated team who knows your business, not a self-service platform. This is what proper support is supposed to feel like.
100% compliance
Every filing, every registration, every requirement, handled correctly the first time. Nothing left for you to discover later.
US experts, not generalists
We work on nothing but the US market. There is very little about this process we have not already seen.
Fast, without cutting corners
Years of experience and established provider relationships mean things move quickly, without skipping the steps that matter.
The right roadmap for your stage
Solid Ground, Find & Thrive or Ready to Hire, matched to exactly where you already are, not where a generic process assumes you should be.
One point of contact
You are not chasing four departments to get an answer. One person, accountable throughout.
Every piece handled by an expert
Entity, banking, compliance, whatever the piece is, it is handled by someone who specialises in exactly that, not one generalist juggling all of it.
No surprises, ever
You always know what is happening and why. If something needs to change, we tell you before it happens, not after.
“There is no such thing as too early to ask. Tell me where you are, and I will tell you honestly what your next move should be.”
Laurie Spicer
Director of US Expansion. UK based.
- No sales pitch, just an honest read on your situation
- 15 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour, depending on what you need
- A clear next step by the end, whether that involves us or not
- Come as you are, no prep or documents needed beforehand
- Ask anything, there is no such thing as a question too early
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Find & Thrive and Ready to Hire?
They cover the same scope, except Ready to Hire leaves out the pre-hire budget and location planning stage, along with Exclusive Talent Acquisition. An employee budget projection is still provided for the hire itself. Ready to Hire is built for companies that have already decided where they are hiring and who.
Do I need to have chosen a US location already?
No. Solid Ground and Find & Thrive both help you work that out. Ready to Hire assumes the location and candidate route are already decided.
Can I start with Solid Ground and move into Find & Thrive later?
Yes. Solid Ground is consulting for the planning stage before you have started, and it often leads directly into Find & Thrive or Ready to Hire once you are ready to make the hire itself.
How much does this cost?
Each roadmap is priced individually based on your situation. Get in touch and we will talk through the scope and the cost for your business before anything is agreed.
Start the way you mean to continue.
Tell us where you are in the process. That one conversation is often all it takes to see the right next step clearly.