I recently visited the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment (MOITI) with a friend, Bob Winter, who founded Robert-Louis Advisors.  At MOITI, we met with Patrick (Pat) Bench, who is Director of Business Development.  Patrick’s job is to get companies to open offices in Massachusetts, or rather, that’s how his success is measured.  What his job appears to be is to do everything possible to make it easy for non-U.S. companies to set up shop in Massachusetts. 

Non-U.S. companies face a lot of challenges, when coming to the U.S.   Where should they locate their offices? How do they recruit good people? How do they choose a healthcare insurance provider?   While MOITI doesn’t make specific recommendations, the staff are knowledgeable and can guide companies through the process. 

I recently referred one of my clients, AXXANA, to MOITI.  The executive team is considering a U.S. office and had asked me about the cost of healthcare programs.  While I have a general idea, the staff at MOITI are much more informed regarding the specifics of insurance options and Massachusetts requirements, and could answer their questions much better than I.

No doubt, every state, and most every country, has a trade and investment office.   The staff at MOITI can undoubtedly accelerate the process of setting up an office and getting it productive.  I’d be interested in hearing the experiences of others with MOITI or any other state’s trade and investment office.