Forecasts from leading international economic institutions align on one point: global economic growth is slowing, while uncertainty is mounting. In these conditions, businesses must seek new sources of growth, enter other markets, and reassemble their strategies to fit the changing reality.
We spoke with Victoria Stasik, an expert in growth strategies and market entry, about the challenges that accompany this process, and who—and how—helps companies overcome them.
Victoria, tell us about yourself. How did your career begin, and what do you do today?
— My path into strategy was unconventional—I started out in a creative agency. That's where I developed a genuine interest in the mechanics of growth. Not growth as a shiny metric, but the specific tools that actually propel a business forward. When I transitioned to consulting, that curiosity became the foundation of my entire practice: I'm fascinated by why some companies achieve rapid success while others stagnate.
Today, I'm a senior expert at one of the world's leading consulting firms with an extremely high selection threshold—fewer than 1% of candidates receive an offer. I tackle complex business challenges that require deep immersion—while avoiding getting lost in the details and focusing on what's essential. Any company might have a dozen areas for improvement, but tangible results come from just a few key levers. My role is to identify them and help leadership concentrate resources on the most effective solutions.
I develop strategic solutions for clients, conduct analysis, create recommendations, set business priorities, and pinpoint key growth levers. I also facilitate dialogue with top executives—CEOs, CFOs, and other senior leaders. This interaction not only shapes recommendations and strategies but also directly influences clients' key decisions, helping companies achieve their business goals more efficiently.
What recent projects have you worked on, and what was your role in them?
— Recently, I advised a global professional services firm on rethinking its service portfolio in the era of generative AI. We began with in-depth customer interviews to identify the firm's core strengths and understand what clients truly value, then worked closely with senior executives to develop early product prototypes for market launch. The primary objective was to select solutions that would meaningfully strengthen the company's market position and deliver clear customer value. During strategic working sessions with leadership, I facilitated discussions and helped synthesize insights, enabling executives to align on a unified vision, identify key growth levers, and define a clear direction for their GenAI portfolio.
Another exciting project involved developing a market-entry strategy for a leading U.S. consumer technology company entering a new, emerging segment. With no direct benchmarks or proven playbooks, my team and I built the strategy using indirect market signals—analyzing potential consumer behavior, modeling competitor scenarios and likely responses, and rapidly testing hypotheses through targeted experiments..
In addition, I led the development of growth strategies for portfolio companies of a technology-focused private equity fund. These companies were in the scaling phase and needed to demonstrate measurable growth over a two- to three-year horizon. In this case, we relied on proven methodologies, adapting them to each situation. We applied this approach across more than 20 portfolio companies, accounting for unique business and market contexts, and conducted interviews with senior executives and functional leaders across sales, product, and pricing. This work surfaced insights and opportunities to drive incremental growth through pricing optimization, go-to-market strategy, and sales enablement.
Beyond client engagements, I have also been actively involved in leading a "Women in Leadership" program. The initiative is designed to support women leaders in technology companies and help unlock their potential for top executive roles. I organized program events, curated speakers, and developed the plan for the next cohort, including the communication strategy, learning curriculum, and guidance on speaker selection and event planning.
You've worked in various markets, and your employer even awarded you the "Global Experience Badge." Does this help in your work?
— Indeed, I began my career in EMEA and later spent time in Saudi Arabia, where I led client projects across Europe and the Middle East. Working in both regions taught me to adapt quickly to different business environments and to better understand the challenges companies face when expanding internationally.
Today, I apply these principles successfully in the U.S.—one of the most competitive and mature markets, and one that companies around the world aspire to enter. My international background allows me to be particularly effective when supporting clients entering the U.S. market or scaling their operations globally.
Today, many companies are entering new markets to scale. What are the key challenges they face?
— Every market is unique: it differs not only in demand but also in customer behavior, business culture, and regulatory environment. Therefore, expanding into a new country is always a complex task.
First, it's crucial to deeply understand the country's culture. It's not enough to simply reapply a successful model—it must be adapted to the local context. For example, for a consumer brand from Europe or the U.S., establishing itself in the Middle East requires adapting for consumer preferences, values, and cultural norms, which directly impact demand and product perception.
The second major set of challenges is regulation. In the EU, legislation requires user consent before collecting data; in the U.S., each state sets its own rules—and these rules are constantly changing. Taxes in the U.S. are even more complex: rates and calculation guidance vary significantly from state to state, and errors in assessing tax burdens can lead to significant fines and reputational damage.
That's why entrepreneurs often turn to consulting firms for support—firms that not only have international experience but also deep local expertise in each specific market.
Now, some companies are entering adjacent sectors rather than new markets—for example, telecoms venturing into software, and software companies moving into telecom. What is needed to successfully capture a share of the market?
— The key factor for success in these cases is the ability to capture the most comprehensive set of customer data. This enables personalized services, trend forecasting, and more effective AI model tuning. Any analytical model is limited without high-quality data, and it is the large players with broad, diverse information sources that gain a competitive advantage.
That's why telecom companies are actively expanding into lifestyle offerings today to better understand user interests: they bundle streaming services and sports broadcasts into their plans, deploy branded networks in stadiums and shopping centers, and launch loyalty programs with restaurants and retailers. Banks and other players are taking similar steps—integrating travel bookings into their ecosystems, offering exclusive access to events, and even opening coffee shop chains. As mentioned, data privacy regulations in Europe and the U.S. are very strict, so companies are focused on finding safe, anonymized ways to collect and use data.
To summarize, what global trends, in your view, most strongly influenced companies' strategic planning in 2025?
— Overall, in 2025, companies' strategic planning was shaped by three closely interconnected factors.
The first is the widespread adoption of AI. For most businesses, AI is no longer an experiment but a practical tool for accelerating decision-making, improving products, and increasing operational efficiency.
The second factor is shifting investor expectations. In an unstable global economy, companies are increasingly evaluated not by the pace of revenue growth but by their ability to demonstrate sustainable growth and a clear path to profitability. This has pushed organizations to revise their strategies, improve efficiency, and focus on their highest-potential initiatives.
The third trend is the continued deepening of personalization. Companies are tailoring products, services, and value propositions to specific customer segments, using analytics and behavioral data as a core source of competitive advantage.
I believe that in 2026, these trends will not fade but will instead become the new baseline. Without them, companies will struggle to remain competitive and grow.
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