How Younium took their Swedish scale-up global.

Sweden is a very innovation-friendly country, sometimes even referred to as the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’ thanks to its strong digital infrastructure, startup ecosystem and highly skilled talent pool. But for scale-ups with niche B2B offerings, the domestic market only stretches so far. Many Swedish founders eventually reach a pivotal moment where growth depends on looking outward. That’s exactly where Younium found themselves just a few years into their growth journey. 

“It was quite obvious to us early on,” said Niclas Lilja, Founder & CEO of Younium. “There are maybe 200 companies in Sweden within our ideal customer profile. We couldn’t build a big business just staying home. We always knew geographical expansion was on the horizon as a growth theme.” 

This is a familiar moment for many Nordic founders. While the local market is full of opportunity, its size can at times present limitations. For those looking to expand, North America often becomes a natural next step, offering scale, capital access and a strong appetite for digital transformation. 

Founded in 2017 by Niclas Lilja, Younium is a subscription management platform purpose-built for B2B SaaS companies. It helps businesses manage complex subscriptions and recurring revenue processes on a global scale. Their platform helps automate quoting, billing, revenue recognition and financial reporting, giving companies a unified view of their subscription business. 

“Our customers are often at a tipping point,” said Niclas. “They have established a product-market fit. Maybe they have just raised a round, added board members or brought in external investors. Suddenly, the monthly close takes longer. People want visibility. They realize spreadsheets won’t cut it anymore.” 

Younium serves companies with 50 employees and upwards, ranging from early-stage scale-ups to established multi-entity SaaS brands. The product integrates with major CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, and connects seamlessly to various financial systems, allowing companies to scale without a major ERP overhaul. As demand for recurring revenue models surged, Younium quickly found traction in Sweden. However, to scale meaningfully, international expansion became not just a goal, but a necessity.

Global expansion is often framed as “conquering” new markets. For Younium, the approach was more deliberate. Rather than spreading thin across multiple regions, they focused on building strategic business hubs as regional strongholds designed to support long-term growth. Their first move was to Amsterdam. With its central location and strong SaaS ecosystem, the Netherlands offered an ideal launchpad to serve customers across continental Europe. From there, Younium expanded to the US, establishing a North American base in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This decision was driven by talent access, time zone advantages and proximity to key customers. 

“For us, it wasn’t just about entering new countries. It was about establishing real business hubs.” Niclas explained. “We currently have two business hubs in Stockholm and Amsterdam working on the European market. And then we have our business hub in Philadelphia working on the North American market. From those hubs, we could build sustainably.” 

This model allowed Younium to build a regional presence and expertise without overextending. It also enabled stronger collaboration across teams and a more consistent go-to-market motion.

One of the hardest parts of international growth isn’t entering a new market, it’s knowing what to change, and what to leave alone. For Younium, that meant resisting the temptation to over-customize for every geography. Fortunately, their core product, workflows and customer pain points remained largely universal across markets. 

“We’ve had the opportunity of working with companies that are very similar despite where they are located. It's a SaaS company in Italy, the UK, Germany, North America, Sweden, always kind of the same.” 

That insight gave the team confidence to lean into repeatability. Rather than reinventing their approach for every new region, Younium focused on building a flexible platform that could easily integrate with the most common CRMs, financial systems and sales tools, without requiring customers to overhaul their existing operations. 

“Figuring out what to do and what not to do has been a key lesson. It’s easy to get hooked on the idea that it should be different. But actually, the key to scaling is finding what’s not different.” 

Still, ignoring local nuances wasn’t an option. On the financial side, regional differences quickly emerged. In Europe, businesses rely heavily on e-invoicing and country-specific tax handling. In the US, payments are often made via credit cards, checks or ACH, and other systems that are rarely used across Europe. Even the sales process required adaptation. In Europe, buying cycles could be slower, with more stakeholders involved. In the US, the sales motion tended to move faster, once you reach the right decision-maker. 

“In Europe, everyone says they can make a decision but usually cannot,” Niclas observed. “Whereas in the US, there are quite a few who say they cannot make a decision but, when you find the right person, it tends to go quickly.”

International expansion often starts with excitement, but success comes from a targeted strategy. For Younium, expanding into new markets wasn’t about reacting to opportunity; it was the result of deliberate choices, grounded in focus and forward planning. When asked what advice he’d give to other Scandinavian founders preparing for international growth, Niclas was transparent: 

“Be very clear on your growth strategy and why you’re doing it,” he said. “You shouldn’t have too many parallel growth plans going at once. If you are doing the US, you probably shouldn’t also expand into a new segment at the same time.” 

That level of clarity, about what you’re doing, where and why, was critical to Younium’s successful market entry. Each step had to serve a clear objective. He also cautioned against trying to optimize every growth motion at once. Direct sales, indirect partnerships and local marketing all play a role, but they need to be in conjunction with a unified plan. 

“You can do things like indirect sales in addition to direct, but know why you’re doing it,” Niclas explained. “Try to be specific, because it’s going to be big and complex anyway. High ambitions and realistic plans are important, if you don’t have them, you don’t have a case for expansion.” 

This mindset shaped how Younium approached the US market. Rather than rushing in, the team looked for early signs of traction such as demo requests, inbound traffic and local engagement. These were signals worth investing in. 

“If you can create some kind of momentum remotely, do that first,” Niclas advised. “Even better if you can land a customer base before going. But even if not, start small. Learn first.” 

In summary: Be bold but focused. Test before scaling. Build on what works. And most importantly, bring in support for the things that aren’t your core, like compliance, regulatory setup and back-office systems and accounting, so you can stay focused on product and customers.

With Younium now active in over 15 countries and regional hubs firmly established, the focus is shifting from expansion to optimization. Instead of launching into new territories, the company is focused on building more robust functionality across its existing footprint — deepening integrations, improving user experience and continuing to help SaaS companies bring order to subscription chaos. One major area of investment is automation and AI. Younium is exploring how to make complex subscription data more intuitive through conversational analytics, intelligent reporting and real-time insights.

“There’s turbulence in the market, no doubt,” Niclas said. “But that just makes it more important for companies to grow smart. And that starts with control; control of your data, your customer contracts, your revenue, your operations. That’s what we are building for.” 

Whether supporting sales-led or self-service motions, multi-entity structures or regional reporting, Younium is investing in flexibility without sacrificing simplicity. That’s what their customers need most right now: clarity, consistency and scale.