Built from the field, not from a textbook

What this is

Growth Design Lab is the thinking and building arm of Growth Design Group. While GDG works directly with clients on international growth strategy and execution, the Lab is where we publish what we learn — frameworks, tools, data analysis, and practitioner resources that anyone in the globalization and AI space can use.

Everything here is built from real experience: shipping products in 40+ languages, managing distributed teams across four continents, building AI systems in production, and advising companies navigating the complexity of international operations. We don't publish theory — we publish what we've seen work.

Why it exists

The globalization industry is going through a structural transformation. AI is reshaping how international content operations work, what "quality" means, and how teams are organized. The practitioners navigating this shift need practical resources — not vendor marketing, not academic research, but frameworks and tools built by people who've been in the room making these decisions.

The Lab exists to fill that gap. We share what we know because the best ideas improve when they're shared, and because the community of practitioners working through these challenges deserves better resources than what currently exists.

What you'll find here

• Frameworks — mental models for making better decisions about AI, globalization, and international operations
• Guides — practical roadmaps based on transformations we've led or advised on
• Tools — calculators, estimators, and utilities for practitioners
• Data — industry analysis and trends with context on what the numbers mean
• Podcast — conversations with the people shaping how companies grow internationally
• Community — spotlights on communities and events worth knowing about

Contributors

The Lab is maintained by the team behind Growth Design Group. Primary contributors include Jose Palomares, a globalization industry veteran recognized by MultiLingual Magazine as a top industry influencer and host of The Global Crowd podcast, and Paul Barlow, a revenue growth specialist who has built and scaled businesses across North America and Europe.

Between them, they've been every party at the table: the enterprise buyer, the vendor, and the technologist. That perspective informs everything published here.