If you speak about hiring a manager for your American subsidiary, you must convince him/her that you have a unique technology and a clear strategy to become public or merge within 18 to 36 months. Technology is not enough but is a good start. With the tough competition in the U.S. market, you cannot make it without a strong product line. Be sure to prove your claims, and gather testimonials in English. Then speak about your strategy, your market and your business plan. What are your plans and marketing budget to start up? Finally, speak about communication and organization between the European company and the U.S. operations. This last point will be a real concern for an applicant. It is a strong selling point to show a well-written job description to the candidate and discuss every point with him/her. Focus on job responsibilities, key attributes and reporting. Do not hand out a pound of documentation. Review each piece of information you give to the candidate, focusing on your uniqueness. Convince your American candidate that you work as a team. Of course, do not be surprised that the candidate asks for salary and benefits information during the first meeting. You should have a written document about benefits. The description must include a health care plan with a maximum of 25% employee contribution, dental plan (health care and dental are not included in the same plans in the U.S.), long-term and short-term disability insurance, life insurance, three-week vacation, and standard holidays. Coverage for eye care is not a requirement. You may not need a retirement plan (401K or cafeteria plan) when you launch your startup if you offer an attractive stock option plan. See Marie Landel's article about it published in January 2001.