I’m an ambitious person and sometimes that leads to impatience. This specific impatience drove me to try and take Detected into the U.S. market prematurely back in 2022. As UK-based entrepreneurs know, expanding “across the pond” is a dream that most of us have.

Having previously lived and worked in San Francisco and spent a lot of time in New York, I’m well aware of the scale of the U.S.

For Detected specifically, it’s an opportunity I still believe in deeply— mainly because KYB in the U.S. is, in my now educated view, fundamentally broken.

Two Key Challenges for US Organisations KYB: Scale and States

1. Scale

The United States’ sheer size compounds the problems created by poor KYB solutions and processes. There’s far more data to handle compared to the UK, and broken processes become more pronounced.

2. States

Each U.S. state holds different information about businesses. Relying solely on state registry data makes it impossible to standardise KYB across the whole country. Gaps in the data are inevitable, which then require manual processes to fill.

I Got It Wrong, But I'm Glad I Tried

Before I explain why I still believe Detected will succeed in the U.S., let me share a little about how I mishandled our initial attempt. I can trace it back to a conversation with Dan Glazer of Wilson Sonsini on July 12, 2022. His expertise in supporting UK businesses when they move to the U.S. both extensive and impressive, and he told me, “I don’t think you are ready to even consider taking your business to the U.S.” He was absolutely right.

Despite the warning, I pushed forward - if I had listened to every but of advice I had been given the company would not exist. We registered a U.S. LLC and made our first hire—exciting moves that, unfortunately, resulted in only a few customers and cost us a fair amount of time and money. There are many reasons why it didn’t pan out, and one day I’ll examine them more deeply to help fellow UK entrepreneurs avoid the same pitfalls. For now, let’s just say the lessons were hard but valuable.

Silver Linings: Extending My U.S. Network and Learning the Market

During that process, I spent a lot of time in the U.S. That experience gave me crucial insights on KYB in that part of the world and helped to deepen relationships with industry leaders in payments, compliance, and platform businesses, as well as with investment bankers and VCs. Building a network in the U.S. is essential more than almost anywhere else—that’s how business gets done. So, while the short-term outcomes were disappointing, it was by no means a total loss

Why Detected wins in the U.S.

1. Fundamentally Broken KYB

The existing US-based solutions do not fix it. I spoke with a household name (turnover over $1bn) in the Compliance industry just last week, and we discussed the like-for-like comparison of their product (within their vast range of products), which competes with Detected most closely. When broken down feature by feature from top to bottom, we agreed that Detected is significantly more advanced.

I am also discussing with the leadership of two different large providers of business data (one global, one U.S. domestic) about how we best partner due to the increased demand they are seeing from customers for a full end-to-end KYB solution.

2. Growth via Partnerships

GBG already has a strong presence in the U.S., and GBGDetected combines the best of Detected together with GBG products (like ID3 and Loqate) to create a comprehensive offering that solves the challenges faced by U.S. customers. I’m optimistic about the growth we’ll achieve together in 25/26.

3. US Companies with International Ambitions

Many U.S. businesses are looking overseas for additional growth. They don’t want to solve international KYB themselves. Detected, by design, is truly global. That sets us apart from any domestic U.S. solutions. I recently gave a demo to one of the largest online remittance companies (operating in over 170 countries) in the U.S., and after seeing a demo, they said, “There is nothing we have seen that can do this.”

4. Strong U.S. Network

As I mentioned above, we benefit from support on multiple fronts, ranging from our investor Thomson Reuters to the work we’re doing with Visa. I continue to be impressed by how many people are willing to help us succeed.

5. Refined Go-to-Market Strategy

We now have clarity on our growth model— clarity we didn’t have in 2022. We prioritise growing through partners rather than direct sales, and we understand how to price for maximum ROI and scalability. Our platform can offer an end-to-end KYB solution or allow enterprises to integrate only specific components via API. This flexibility has already enabled some partners to 20x their Total Contract Value (TCV).

6. Regulatory Drivers

Increased regulations also create a huge market opportunity:

• Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act

• FINCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) Customer Due Diligence (CDD)

• AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which mandates disclosure of beneficial ownership for certain corporations and LLCs

Stricter regulations, combined with the gaps in existing KYB offerings and the five factors above, only strengthen Detected’s position in the U.S. market.

Looking Ahead

All that said, it’s not a guaranteed home run. Posting a photoshopped slogan on a Times Square billboard is a quick dopamine hit, but short-term highs without genuine results obviously don’t build sustainable success.

We have to deliver and the hard work continues— but this time, we’re doing it from a place of deeper understanding and clarity on our strategic focus. When I think about the importance of partnerships, the strength of our technology, and the pressing market need, I see a future where Detected (or Detected behind the scenes) is the definitive KYB solution in the U.S.

I’m glad I tried early on because I now have a much better idea of what it takes to succeed. A lot can change in a couple of years, and I’m excited to see what we will achieve.