It can be pretty easy to get caught up in the challenges and opportunities in your local surroundings, never taking a moment to look outside to find patterns or similarities that could shed light on what you’re facing today.

This week Jonathan Kalan discussed the similarities between the startup ecosystems in two countries that, at first glance, could not be further apart. In Kenya, as in Jordan, entrepreneurs are driving economic growth and addressing serious needs in their country. Kalan identifies some remarkable similarities between the Kenyan and Jordanian ecosystems, including a catalyzing event, similar tech ideas, developer gaps, a lack of investors, hype, and a stigma towards failure.

Why is this reality news to many of us? The answer may be that entrepreneurs sometimes become so focused on their market that they think the challenges they are facing could not possibly be the same as those faced by others. Or perhaps many simply don’t realize that every successful entrepreneur faces these same challenges and has found ways to overcome.

A dose of international perspective could be the perfect medicine for this mindset.

To encourage startups to share their experiences on an international level, Wamda’s recent Mix n’ Mentor events brought entrepreneurs from countries across the Arab world and the globe together to share and address recurring challenges in hiring, marketing, sales, fundraising, and scaling, faced by every startup ever founded.

When entrepreneurs are able to work together, build a community to identify and address these challenges, and learn from international perspectives, perhaps the regional ecosystem as a whole can grow together.

Do you know if there are startups like yours in other parts of the world? Do you know how they’ve addressed their challenges? Perhaps you’ll find an unexpected tip for solving yours.