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A SaaS company does not need to wait until international revenue reaches 40% before investing. Jason Lemkin’s October 5, 2026 SaaStr article proposes a more aggressive trigger: when one country accounts for about 5% of revenue, consider focused steps to serve it better. That is a strategic heuristic, not a proven universal threshold. The practical question is whether the market’s demand, sales model, and operating needs justify a measured investment.
Why invest before international revenue becomes a large share?
Lemkin’s case is that international markets can become a substantial part of a software company’s revenue, and waiting for that outcome may mean missing an earlier chance to convert demand. He reports that eight of the twelve public B2B companies in his comparison derive at least 40% of revenue internationally. His examples include Figma at 53%, Cloudflare and HubSpot at 49% each, and MongoDB at 46%.
Those figures are the article’s reported comparisons, not a consistent, independently verified dataset. It does not provide a company-by-company calculation appendix or define measurement periods and geographic categories consistently. Treat the numbers as context for Lemkin’s argument, not as forecasts for your company or proof that international investment caused growth.
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The percentages below are figures reported by Lemkin in the October 5, 2026 article. Growth rates are separate measures from revenue share: they compare growth across geographies, not the proportion of revenue from those geographies. The article does not establish consistent measurement periods or definitions across every company.
#1 Best Overall
| Company | International revenue share reported | Growth comparison reported |
|---|---|---|
| Figma | 53% | International growth 48%; total growth 46% |
| Cloudflare | 49% | US growth 41%; EMEA 30%; APAC 32% |
| HubSpot | 49% | International growth 23%; domestic growth 17% |
| MongoDB | 46% | |
| Klaviyo | 42%, up from 39.5% in a year | International growth 33%; US growth 22% |
| Twilio | 36% | |
| Snowflake | 26% | Non-US growth 39%; US growth 34% |
| Okta | 20% | US growth 12.6%; non-US growth 9.1% |
For Klaviyo, Lemkin also reports US revenue of $215.8 million out of $370.6 million. The article does not specify the full comparison’s reporting periods or provide primary filings alongside the figures, so avoid treating the table as a like-for-like ranking. A country’s revenue share, its growth rate, and the share of users in that country answer different questions.
Is 5% of revenue enough to justify local hiring?
Lemkin’s proposed 5% trigger is a prompt to investigate a targeted investment—not an automatic instruction to open an office or hire a full local team. A single country at 5% may warrant attention if customers are encountering barriers that the company can address, but the percentage alone does not establish the cost, likely return, or best next step.
Rank #2
Before committing, examine country-level revenue and pipeline alongside customer friction: failed or difficult payments, support requests outside staffed hours, pricing objections, and opportunities that stall because buyers need local coverage. Compare the cost of addressing the specific barrier with the opportunity at stake. Lemkin does not quantify costs, set a payback test, or establish a sequence that will work for every company.
Which investment should come first?
Start with the obstacle customers actually face, then test a limited response. Lemkin’s suggested moves are options to evaluate, not universal compliance requirements or a prescribed rollout order.
Rank #3
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- Currency and payments: Check whether customers can pay in local currency and use payment methods they expect. Look for evidence of payment friction before changing checkout or billing operations.
- Support coverage: Review whether customers in the market can reach support during their business day. Adjust coverage where time-zone gaps are affecting service or sales.
- Market-specific pricing: Test whether local pricing tiers better fit buyer expectations and purchasing conditions. Pricing changes should be based on market evidence, not simply copied from another country.
- One person in the market’s time zone: A focused local presence may help with sales, support, or customer relationships without requiring a broad office build-out. Choose the role based on the bottleneck you are trying to resolve.
- Data residency: Investigate hosting and governance needs when regulated customers raise them. Requirements vary by customer and jurisdiction; treat this as a matter for appropriate legal, privacy, and technical review, not as a blanket rule for every market.
Does your sales model change the decision?
Self-serve businesses
Lemkin’s framing is that self-serve companies can attract organic users abroad yet fail to convert that interest if the buying experience is not adapted to local needs. Look for conversion and payment signals by country, then address the specific point where prospective customers drop off. A high share of users outside the home market does not by itself mean that revenue will follow.
Enterprise sales-led businesses
For enterprise companies, Lemkin argues that local sales or customer-facing coverage may be needed before opportunities turn into revenue. Assess the country’s qualified pipeline, buying process, and customer requirements; do not infer that a local team is necessary solely from a broad international revenue percentage.
Why user share and growth rate matter alongside revenue share
Revenue share is a useful signal, but it can obscure early demand. Lemkin reports that 85% of Figma users were outside the US while 53% of revenue was international. He also reports that Figma’s international revenue growth was 48%, compared with 46% total growth. The difference between user share and revenue share may point to monetization questions, but the figures alone do not explain the cause.
The article also describes Figma’s Bengaluru operations, India data hosting and governance, and localization for Brazil. These are examples as reported by Lemkin; they are not independently verified company disclosures here, nor do they establish that the same investments would suit another business.
Use several signals together: country-level revenue share, its direction over time, user or pipeline concentration, and evidence of obstacles to purchase or service. Keep each measure tied to its period and geographic definition when you make internal comparisons. “International” is not one market: demand, payment preferences, support needs, sales coverage, and data obligations can differ materially from one country to another.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical decision rule
- Measure by country. Separate individual markets rather than relying only on one aggregate international revenue figure.
- Look for a meaningful signal. Treat Lemkin’s 5% figure as a trigger to investigate, and consider growth, users, pipeline, and customer friction alongside it.
- Name the barrier. Decide whether the constraint is payment, pricing, support coverage, sales access, or a data requirement.
- Choose a proportional response. Test the smallest credible change that addresses the barrier before assuming a full office or broad rollout is needed.
- Review the result. Track whether the change improves the relevant outcome, such as conversion, deal progress, or support access, and decide whether further investment is justified.
This is a way to structure a decision, not a quantified playbook: Lemkin’s article does not report costs or demonstrate payback for these steps. Hiring and operating in another country can also raise legal, tax, employment, privacy, and payments questions that require advice specific to the company and market.
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