David Clarke joined Onfido as CFO in 2018, when the company had zero revenue and knew the US was the prize, home to around half of its global market. Before that he spent ten years as CFO of PayPal in Europe, growing revenues from almost nothing to $2.5 billion, and was CFO of Skrill through a turnaround and sale. This is the CFO's side of a US expansion. Once the board says yes, the execution usually lands with the CFO: the plan, the entity, the hires, the state-by-state compliance and the investors. David Rose and Matt Oxley ask him what a board should look for before approving the move, why Onfido's first US sales hires didn't work out, how to choose a location, the compliance traps that surface in due diligence, and what a CFO six months from launch should be doing right now. 📘 FREE: The CFO's Guide to U.S. Expansion ⮕ https://www.usxp.co/cfo-guide/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show-notes&utm_campaign=cfo-guide&utm_content=david-clarke-episode What you'll learn:– What a board should see before approving a US launch: a rolling three-year plan, the market size and the assumptions behind it– Why Onfido's first three US sales hires didn't work out, and why the next move was a global CRO based in New York– The culture shocks: driving licences instead of passports, and 50 states with their own rules– The compliance work teams underestimate: sales tax, payroll taxes, privacy and state registrations, and why missed fines surface in investor due diligence– How to choose your first US location: customers, talent pool and time zone– Why one of Onfido's first US hires was a corporate lawyer– The question he learned at PayPal: "What is your constraint to growth?"– Six months from launch: weekly check-ins, a named owner for every workstream, advisers on board and a home team that stays informed CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:14 Why US expansion lands on the CFO01:22 David's path: PwC, Singapore, PayPal, Skrill, Onfido04:33 Onfido in 2018: zero revenue, no product yet08:14 Europe first, then the US sales hires that didn't work12:44 US vs Europe: same language, different market15:36 What a board should see before saying yes18:26 Market size, competitors and going on the offensive23:18 Raised money to go to the US? Don't just go27:09 Choosing your first US location29:21 Compliance: sales tax, payroll, registrations and fines32:32 Who to hire first in the US36:54 The US vs European CFO mindset39:57 "What's your constraint to growth?"41:35 Why a US presence made fundraising easier44:41 Six months from launch: what a CFO should do now47:41 Wrap-up About the guest:David Clarke was CFO of Onfido (now part of Entrust) and led its US expansion. Before that he was CFO of Skrill and spent ten years as CFO of PayPal in Europe. He qualified as an accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC), and today he is a non-executive director at Copper. About Scaling Stateside:Scaling Stateside is the podcast for founders navigating US expansion. Hosts David Rose, Founder & CEO at USXP, and Matt Oxley, Co-Founder & President at USXP, talk to founders, operators and investors who have made the jump, surfacing the real playbooks, pitfalls and best practices. 🔗 CONNECT WITH David Clarke ⮕ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgclarke/🔗 CONNECT WITH David Rose ⮕ https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbrose🔗 CONNECT WITH Matt Oxley ⮕ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdoxley THE SCALING STATESIDE PARTNER NETWORKFounding Partners: USXP and Wilson SonsiniSupporting Partners: HSBC Innovation Banking, Frazier & Deeter, Carta, Dealroom and London & Partners US Expansion Partners ⮕ https://www.usxp.coScaling Stateside ⮕ https://www.scaling-stateside.com 🔔 Follow Scaling Stateside for more conversations on scaling to the US the right way. #USExpansion #CFO #Startups #Founders #Fintech #ScalingStateside