How do you scale internationally when your product is low-ticket, freemium, and mostly self-serve?

In this episode of International Corner, Laurent Leclerc, Co-Founder of Smappen, shares how his team expanded from France to the US, the UK, and now Canada — by turning outbound into a powerful inbound growth engine.

Smappen is a SaaS mapping platform used by franchise networks and multi-location businesses to decide where to open new physical sites. With over 1,200 customers and 80,000+ monthly users, half of their revenue now comes from outside France.

But their international growth didn’t start with a master plan.

At first, international customers came organically through inbound — thanks to a freemium model and an English version of the product. It was only later, anticipating market saturation in France, that the team became intentional about expansion.

In this conversation, Laurent explains:

• How outbound campaigns boosted brand awareness and actually increased inbound leads

• Why mass outbound failed — and what changed when they narrowed their ICP

• How they balance high-touch and low-touch sales (75% of new customers are self-serve, but high-touch drives most revenue)

• Why the US market requires extreme personalization and patience

• How to know when a new country is “working” before expanding further
  

One of the key takeaways?
Outbound doesn’t create inbound from scratch — it amplifies it. When done right, it becomes a credibility engine that fuels brand awareness, partnerships, and higher conversion rates.

If you’re building a SaaS company and thinking about expanding internationally — especially into English-speaking markets — this episode is packed with practical lessons on sequencing, focus, and building a repeatable growth formula.

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