Iti Sahai, Head of Product, Internationalization (Global Infrastructure) at Klaviyo, joins Host María Roa for a fascinating conversation about global expansion, product-led internationalization, localization strategy, AI integration, and the enduring power of storytelling in business.

Drawing on a career spanning Hollywood, Bollywood, enterprise technology, and global product leadership, Iti shares valuable insights on how organizations can transform localization from a perceived operational cost into a strategic growth engine. Throughout the discussion, she highlights the importance of customer-centric thinking, leadership through storytelling, and the preservation of human creativity in an increasingly AI-driven world.

From Storytelling to Product Leadership

Long before leading internationalization initiatives for global technology companies, Iti laid the foundation for her storytelling. While many people associate storytelling with film and entertainment, she believes it remains one of the most important skills in modern product management.

Whether presenting a strategy to executives, aligning stakeholders around a vision, or launching products into new markets, storytelling creates clarity and drives action. For Iti, internationalization is ultimately about telling the story of a product across languages, cultures, and customer experiences around the world.

Rethinking Localization: From Cost Center to Growth Lever

Many organizations still treat localization primarily as an operational expense. Leaders focus on reducing translation costs, lowering turnaround times, and optimizing workflows. While efficiency matters, Iti argues that this perspective misses the bigger opportunity.

Instead, localization should be viewed as a growth function.

Organizations expanding internationally need to understand what customers actually need. Sometimes the solution is not additional translation. It may be localized payment methods, currency presentation, cultural adaptation, or product experiences that build trust and reduce friction. By aligning localization investments with customer outcomes, businesses can create measurable growth opportunities rather than simply reducing expenses.

Measuring Localization Through Business Impact

When discussing ROI, Iti encourages leaders to move beyond traditional localization metrics.

Rather than focusing exclusively on cost-per-word, turnaround times, or workflow efficiency, companies should examine business-focused metrics such as:

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

• Conversion rates

• Funnel drop-off points

• Customer retention

• Product adoption

These indicators provide a clearer picture of how localization contributes directly to revenue growth and customer success. By connecting localization efforts to business outcomes, teams can secure greater executive support and strategic investment.

Making Stakeholders the Hero of the Story

Drawing from her storytelling background, Iti offers a powerful lesson for product and localization leaders.

Too often, teams focus on explaining their own challenges, processes, and metrics. However, executives care most about business outcomes.

She encourages leaders to make stakeholders the hero of the story. Rather than presenting localization initiatives through the lens of operational needs, teams should frame their work around the goals and success metrics that matter to leadership. When localization strategies are aligned with executive priorities, influence becomes easier, even without formal authority.

AI and the Future of Internationalization

Artificial intelligence remains one of the most discussed topics across the localization industry, and Iti offers a thoughtful perspective on its role.

While AI has already demonstrated remarkable efficiency gains, she cautions against treating it as a simple plug-and-play solution. Successful implementation requires long-term thinking, strategic planning, and scalable workflows.

Her approach centers on two critical principles:

1. Human-in-the-Loop Systems

Language constantly evolves. Brand voice, cultural context, and customer expectations require human oversight. While AI can automate many processes, maintaining quality and authenticity still depends on human expertise.

2. Product-Led Localization

Localization teams should move beyond operational functions and adopt a product mindset. By focusing on customer problems and building scalable solutions, organizations can create AI-enabled workflows that drive long-term growth and innovation.

The Secret to International Product Adoption

Having worked across more than 20 global markets, Iti identifies one common factor behind successful international expansion: listening to customers.

She believes many localization and product teams spend too little time speaking directly with users. Instead, they rely on secondhand feedback and assumptions.

Her recommendation is simple: talk to customers regularly.

By understanding customer pain points, friction points, and unmet needs, organizations can identify the real problems that need to be solved. Rather than immediately jumping to solutions, teams should invest time in deeply understanding the problem itself. This approach leads to better products, stronger localization strategies, and more successful market expansion.

The Power of Community

Beyond her professional responsibilities, Iti has been deeply involved with the Women in Localization community.

She credits community engagement as one of the most important contributors to her personal and professional growth. Through community leadership, she has gained exposure to diverse cultures, leadership styles, and perspectives that continue to shape her approach to international business.

For aspiring leaders, her advice is clear: participate, contribute, and give back. The relationships and learning opportunities that emerge from community involvement often become some of the most valuable experiences in a career.

Keeping Humanity at the Center

As the conversation concludes, Iti returns to a recurring theme: localization is ultimately about people.

Technology will continue to evolve. AI will continue to transform workflows. But the ability to communicate meaningfully across cultures remains fundamentally human.

Her message to localization, product, and growth leaders is to embrace innovation while preserving creativity, empathy, and authentic communication. Those qualities will remain essential no matter how advanced technology becomes.