Going Global Without Losing the Plot • Blackbird x Concord Visa Private HR Lunch.
Every startup says they want to "go global", but almost no one talks about what it actually takes to do it well.
From deciding relocation packages on tight startup budgets, to unpredictable visa timelines, to the risk of your incredible culture drifting as you expand - there's so much to learn from those who've walked the path before you.
What worked, what they'd do again, and what they'd absolutely never do twice.
That's the conversation we're hosting.
Blackbird and Concord Visa are bringing together a small but mighty group of People & Operations leaders - the ones actually feeling the pain (and the wins) of global mobility in their day-to-day - to swap experiences and ask the questions there's really nowhere else to ask.
We'll kick off with a cosy fireside chat with Em Hett from Halter, and another exciting guest to be announced, before moving into a facilitated conversation across the group. You all hold such a wealth of knowledge, and it's invaluable to share it with one another.
What you'll walk away with:
When relocation actually pays off - a clearer way to decide whether to move someone or hire local, and how to spot the difference before you commit.
Culture that survives the distance - what holds and what breaks as you scale across markets, how to keep "head office vs everyone else" from taking root, and how to make a new market feel like it belongs.
What a global hire really costs - the full picture once visas, relocation and cross-market comp are in, including how to handle big cost-of-living gaps without anyone feeling short-changed, plus how to support a relocation when the budget is tight.
The visa and mobility shortcuts most teams miss - including why Blackbird portfolio companies can access accelerated AU hiring routes, turning months of waiting into days.
Peer playbooks you can't Google - horror stories, hard-won lessons, and the calls other people leaders like yourself would make differently the second time around.
Who's in the room
This is a curated table of People and Operations leaders from high-growth startups, the ones already scaling internationally, or close enough to know it's coming. Attendance is by registration approval to keep the group small and the conversation valuable.
We're keeping the room intentionally small so the conversation stays candid and genuinely useful, so if you can no longer join please let us know so we can offer your space to someone who has missed out.
Speakers & Facilitators
Kevin Park — Founder & CEO, Concord Visa Kevin has spent his career building and scaling teams across borders. Before founding Concord Visa, he led global expansion at Crimson Education, growing operations across roughly 20 countries, with senior commercial and operating roles at CGA and Hectre along the way. He now helps APAC founders and startups navigate US visas and international expansion, and has seen firsthand where global mobility plans succeed and where they quietly fall apart.
Christine Van Hoffen — Head of Growth, Concord Visa, former Head of People at Tracksuit Christine built the people and mobility playbook firsthand at Tracksuit, the brand-tracking startup that scaled across Auckland, Sydney, London and New York. She brings the operator's view of what relocation, hiring, and culture really look like when a team grows across continents.
Emily Hett — Head of Talent, Halter Emily joins us to share what scaling globally has looked like up close at Halter, one of the fastest-growing companies hiring at serious scale this year. A candid, on-the-ground account of expansion, the wins and the hard parts.
Carlene Kemp — Chief People Officer & Head of Building, Blackbird Carlene leads people and operations at Blackbird, building the firm's people function and operating model from the ground up. Before venture, she spent five years at Coca-Cola Amati, and nearly a decade at PwC running complex people, operations and M&A programs.
…and a couple more voices to be announced closer to the day.