Podcasts about Smartling

How have product teams transformed over the past 15 years and where are they headed next? In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Saxe, VP of Product at Smartling, to explore the evolution of product leadership, AI integration, and the growing expectations of today's enterprise customers. With three decades of experience, Andrew shares practical lessons from building smarter teams, scaling development, and making AI actually work for users. You'll hear how Smartling reimagined the translation experience using AI, how product now touches every part of the customer journey, and what it takes to stay competitive in a faster, more complex market. For detailed takeaways, show notes, and more, visit: www.pragmaticinstitute.com/resources/podcasts Pragmatic Institute is the global leader in Product, Data, and Design training and certification programs for working professionals. Learn more at www.pragmaticinstitute.com.

As we navigate the AI revolution, we're collectively creating a new reality that's far from utopian, and both leaders and individual contributors are struggling to find their way through the uncertainty. Questions around workplace ethics, output quality, and long-term impacts are top of mind for many, but this presents an opportunity to learn from each other's breakthroughs and shape the future we want to see.Andrew Saxe, VP of Product at Smartling, shares his experience leading a company that has evolved from manual translation services to integrating AI-driven workflows. He discusses how to distinguish real AI value from hype, the ethical considerations leaders must consider, and the rapid shift in the skills that are in highest demand in today's AI-driven landscape.Resources from this episode:Subscribe to The Product Manager newsletterConnect with Andrew on LinkedInCheck out Smartling

Global expansion means speaking your customers' language, not just translating words but capturing your brand's unique voice. Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, joins The Retail Podcast to unpack how AI-driven localization transforms content strategy, boosts global SEO, and dramatically reduces costs and complexity. Learn why automated, on-brand translation isn't just an option; it's essential for businesses serious about scaling internationally.00:00 – Automating translation to scale global content00:34 – Why translation complexity leaves money on the table01:37 – Meet Bryan Murphy and Smartling's global mission02:38 – Small business pitfalls in multilingual sites03:24 – Why brand voice gets lost without professional localization04:29 – How Smartling automates translations and maintains brand integrity06:22 – Seamless CMS integration with Storyblok, Shopify, and more07:35 – Why local language is essential for global e-commerce success09:13 – Smartling by the numbers: billions of words translated10:28 – The future of AI agents in localization11:34 – Ensuring translation quality with AI-powered validation13:11 – Maximizing SEO impact across multiple languages15:20 – Maintaining site performance during localization16:06 – Bryan's vision for the future: fully automated, seamless translationLocalization strategyGlobal e-commerceAI-powered translationMultilingual SEOContent management systems (CMS)International expansionTranslation automationBrand localizationShopify integrationLanguageAIBusiness StrategyTechnology & AIGlobalizationE-commerceSEO & MarketingRetail InnovationExecutive Insights

This episode features an interview with Kamal Thakarsey, CMO at Smartling, an AI Translation Platform that helps companies grow globally, faster. Kamal shares his strategy to stand out in a crowded market. He also dives into understanding trends, educating your customer, and testing even your smallest hypothesis.Key Takeaways:Fight complacency in your messaging. Companies may be comfortable with what they are doing, and comfortable sticking with the status quo, so you need to demonstrate the value of changing their approach. Test everything, from button colors to CTAs and beyond. Testing often surprises you and proves your hypotheses wrong. If you're in a crowded market, focus on truly understanding your market and customers. Investing in that research can support your efforts to differentiate. Quote:   Being an established market, there's lot of kind of noise that's happening and every company kind of raising your hand and saying, we do this, we do this.I think for us also a big part of our strategy is like standing out really like trying to show the market that like we are kind of being industry leaders and helping the space move forward. , I think it's also really about for us, also about how we really highlight kind of the value we bring to an organization and a team. Not just like, tactically, here's some solutions, we help you kind of of do better, but like, what do we actually bring the table and how are we going to help you be successful? I think to me, that's really just like foundational to them, like how we kind of run our programs and campaigns and how more effective they can be, rather than just kind of de facto doing things because we should be doing them. So, you know, one thing I really stress is just really continue to do like market research and understanding, you know, what are their priorities? What are the business initiatives? What are their executives and leaders asking them on an ongoing basis?How can we then understand those trends and that feedback and really put together, you know, smart, timely, relevant campaigns that are going to reach them? Because, like I said, we're in a crowded market with a lot of different vendors, both in the software and the services side, and we have to stand out.Episode Timestamps: *(03:35) The Trust Tree: Capturing the marketing and targeting accounts *(12:24) The Playbook: Driving intent through search*(36:59) The Dust Up: Advocating for self-service *(41:50) Quick Hits: Kamal's quick hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com. Qualified helps you turn your website into a pipeline generation machine with PipelineAI. Engage and convert your most valuable website visitors with live chat, chatbots, meeting scheduling, intent data, and Piper, your AI SDR. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Kamal on LinkedInLearn more about SmartlingLearn more about Caspian Studios

What role does language play in shaping our world? How is AI transforming the way we connect across cultures? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I am joined by Olga Beregovaya, VP of AI and Machine Translation at Smartling, whose journey from a single mother at 21 to a trailblazer in language technology and AI is as compelling as it is inspiring. With over 25 years of experience in natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and AI-driven transformation, Olga brings invaluable insights into the evolution of machine translation and the groundbreaking innovations shaping the localization industry. We discuss Olga's remarkable career trajectory, from her academic roots in structural linguistics to leading AI initiatives at Smartling. Learn how Smartling is leveraging its trademarked "Language AI" to revolutionize translation processes, enabling businesses to communicate globally with greater accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Olga shares her thoughts on the measured deployment of AI, addressing challenges like hallucinations in AI outputs, improving model accuracy, and redefining workflows for the modern workplace. The conversation also explores the broader trends in language technology, such as task-specific language models, unsupervised learning, and multi-modal advancements that integrate text, imagery, and even digital humans. Olga underscores the importance of data governance and the collaborative role linguists play in prompt engineering to ensure AI systems reflect diverse perspectives and maintain cultural authenticity. As a passionate advocate for women in STEM, Olga reflects on the progress and challenges facing women in technology, offering actionable insights for fostering diversity, mentorship, and representation in the industry. Her dedication to amplifying underrepresented voices in tech serves as a powerful call to action for listeners to build a more inclusive future. How can AI continue to bridge language and culture without losing the nuances that make us human? What role do you see yourself playing in this evolving narrative? Tune in to hear Olga's thoughts, and join the conversation by sharing your insights!

Summary In this episode of the AI Report, Liam interviews Olga Beregovaya, the VP of AI at Smartling, the number one AI translation platform. Olga has 20 years of experience in the machine learning and AI industry, with a background in linguistics. They discuss the role of AI in translation, the evolution of language AI models, and the challenges and opportunities of running an AI-focused company. Smartling's mission is to provide human-quality translation through automated means and make global communication seamless. The company culture is characterized by an innovative spirit, agility, and a focus on customer needs. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 05:28 Transformative Developments in Language AI 12:28 Competition and Advancements in the AI Landscape 15:14 The Open Source vs. Closed Source Debate in AI 18:18 Smartling: Revolutionizing Translation Automation 21:59 Moving Towards Human Parity in Machine Translation 26:15 Smartling's Mission: Human-Quality Translation and Seamless Global Communication 29:34 Growth in the Enterprise Level and Focus on Innovation 31:23 Trend Towards Full Automation in the Translation Industry 33:35 Running an AI-Enabled Company: Agility and Focus 40:04 The Role of a VP of AI at Smartling 43:49 Company Culture: Innovative Spirit and Inspiration 46:57 Connecting with Smartling Connect with Olga - LinkedIn

Ireland is a tech hub because it is an English-speaking beacon in the EU. But others are not so fortunate: only one billionth of the content created worldwide gets translated  leaving millions of people out in the linguistic cold. With 87% of site visitors preferring their own language when surfing the web, companies should prioritise localised content or face disastrous consequences. One person who knows this all too well is Bryan Murphy, the CEO of Smartling, a cloud-based translation technology and language services company headquartered in New York. Ronan recently caught up with Bryan Murphy. Bryan talks about his background, what Smartling does, Gen AI, translation localisation, existing and new tech stacks, quantum computing and more. More about Bryan Murphy: As the CEO of Smartling, Bryan leads a team of passionate and innovative professionals who are transforming the way content is created, managed, and delivered across the world. With over 20 years of experience in e-commerce and SaaS, he has a proven track record of building and scaling successful businesses that leverage cutting-edge technology and customer-centric solutions. Prior to joining Smartling, Bryan held various leadership roles at eBay, where he was responsible for driving growth and profitability for key verticals in North America. He also co-founded and led WHI Solutions, the largest automotive e-commerce platform in North America, which was acquired by eBay in 2012. Bryan has received several awards and recognitions, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Technology Fast 500 Award, and the a16z Marketplace 100. His mission is to empower businesses to reach new markets and audiences with Smartling's LanguageAI Platform, the #1 rated translation management system by users on G2.  

Ireland is a tech hub because it is an English-speaking beacon in the EU. But others are not so fortunate: only one billionth of the content created worldwide gets translated leaving millions of people out in the linguistic cold. With 87% of site visitors preferring their own language when surfing the web, companies should prioritise localised content? or face disastrous consequences?. One person who knows this all too well is Bryan Murphy, the CEO of Smartling, a cloud-based translation technology and language services company headquartered in New York. Ronan recently caught up with Bryan Murphy. Bryan talks about his background, what Smartling does, Gen AI, translation localisation, existing and new tech stacks, quantum computing and more. More about Bryan Murphy: As the CEO of Smartling, Bryan leads a team of passionate and innovative professionals who are transforming the way content is created, managed, and delivered across the world. With over 20 years of experience in e-commerce and SaaS, he has a proven track record of building and scaling successful businesses that leverage cutting-edge technology and customer-centric solutions. Prior to joining Smartling, Bryan held various leadership roles at eBay, where he was responsible for driving growth and profitability for key verticals in North America. He also co-founded and led WHI Solutions, the largest automotive e-commerce platform in North America, which was acquired by eBay in 2012. Bryan has received several awards and recognitions, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Technology Fast 500 Award, and the a16z Marketplace 100. His mission is to empower businesses to reach new markets and audiences with Smartling's LanguageAI Platform, the #1 rated translation management system by users on G2.

Have you ever wondered how leading global brands effortlessly communicate with customers worldwide in their native languages? Today's episode peels back the curtain on this fascinating process as we sit down with Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, the company at the forefront of AI-driven translation and localization technology. Is the language barrier the last hurdle in your company's race to global expansion? Discover how Smartling's innovative LanguageAI platform is revolutionizing how businesses approach new markets, making translation hurdles a thing of the past. With clients like Canva and Pinterest under their belt, Smartling's impact on global communication strategies is undeniable. Bryan shares how his company leverages AI to enable seamless localization and scaling, helping brands reach millions of non-English speaking users with unprecedented efficiency. Smartling, recognized as the leader in translation management systems by CSA Research and the top-rated system by users on G2, employs a data-driven approach to slash translation times and costs while maintaining the highest quality. This episode dives into the mechanics of Smartling's platform, which combines automation, neural machine translation, and generative AI to deliver human-quality translations at half the cost and time. Bryan explains the intricate process of localizing content for different markets, from the importance of maintaining a brand's voice across languages to the challenges of translating for B2B versus B2C audiences. We'll explore how Smartling's AI advancements, including using generative AI models like GPT-3, enable the creation of fluent, culturally relevant content that resonates with a global audience. Join us as we discuss the transformative power of AI in breaking down language barriers, facilitating global expansion, and cultivating a more connected world. Whether you're a business looking to scale globally or fascinated by the intersection of technology and language, this conversation with Bryan Murphy offers invaluable insights into the future of communication. As we navigate the complexities of global expansion, we invite you to reflect on the role of AI in overcoming the challenges of entering new markets. How can your business leverage AI-driven translation to communicate and connect with a global audience?  Share your thoughts and join the conversation on the transformative impact of technology on global business strategies.

If you want your company to compete on a global stage, you need to be able to speak to global customers. It's something that we may overlook but there's a whole industry dedicated to translation. Olga Beregovaya, VP of AI at Smartling, joins us to discuss how AI is changing the translation space and its effects on related jobs.Newsletter: Sign up for our free daily newsletterMore on this Episode: Episode pageJoin the discussion: Ask Jordan and Olga questions on AI and translationUpcoming Episodes: Check out the upcoming Everyday AI Livestream lineupWebsite: YourEverydayAI.comEmail The Show: info@youreverydayai.comConnect with Jordan on LinkedInTimestamps:02:00 Daily AI news04:25 About Olga and Smartling06:57 Translating content globally involves technology and linguists.12:54 Large language models successfully deployed for multiple applications.14:32 LLMs and machine translation have pros and cons.19:45 Rapid changes in translation industry due to AI.22:16 Ethical considerations in translation demand heightened vigilance.23:38 Ensure ethical AI deployment through training data.29:45 AI in language used for production and vetting.Topics Covered in This Episode:1. Role of AI in Translation2. Large Language Models in Translation3. Change of Jobs in the Translation Industry4.  Ethical Deployment of AIKeywords:AI in translation, job opportunities, democratizing translation, insufficient training data, reskilling, personalized language learning, learning disabilities, vetting language accuracy, Smartling, global communication, multilingual capabilities, large language models, generative AI, machine translation, fluency, idioms, metaphors, context, subject matter expertise, fact-checking, validation, project management, data analysis, ethical AI deployment, language bias, prompt engineering, strong language skills. Get more out of ChatGPT by learning our PPP method in this live, interactive and free training! Sign up now: https://youreverydayai.com/ppp-registration/

Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, joins SlatorPod to share insights into the language technology leader's position as a turnkey cloud-based language AI solution.Bryan talks about his background in software and e-commerce and how he joined Smartling to leverage technology in the translation and localization business.Bryan expands on how Smartling has built a sophisticated translation and localization management platform and expert-in-the-loop productivity technology. The CEO explains Smartling's decision to leverage its technology to gain an edge in the language services market.He highlights the impact of large language models and generative AI in enhancing productivity, improving translation quality, and reducing costs. Bryan also touches on recent product launches like Smartling Translate, which targets the individual contributor within the enterprise.Bryan discusses the impact of AI in the industry and its transformative potential, likening it to the advent of the commercial internet. He elaborates on the role of human language experts in the industry, emphasizing that AI enhances their productivity rather than replacing them.Looking ahead to 2024, Smartling aims to improve the quality for customers, simplify processes, and further boost translator productivity.

In the first episode of our Reality Series, Smartling leaders – Olga Beregovaya (Vice President of AI and Machine Translation), Andrew Batwash (Associate Director of Language Services), and Jack Welde (President) – uncover the myths and realities of LanguageAI.Language AI is the topic of the hour for the translation and localization industry. To uncover how it improves business outcomes and where the industry is headed, we explore: What is Language AI? Is it the same as Machine Translation? How can we leverage LanguageAI to build efficiencies and cost-savings into our processes? What outcomes have early adopters of LanguageAI seen? What best practices can we learn from them? Where do human translators fit in? Jump into the Episode[01:30] About Olga and her background.[02:28] About Andrew and his background. [03:41] What is Language AI?[08:18] How to leverage Language AI to build more efficient cost and time savings.[11:25] What ways are humans part of the translation process and what value do they add?[14:22] How companies like Smartling compete with cloud MT providers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.[17:27] Why companies should be trying to incorporate machine translation.[25:17] Skillsets required to stay relevant in the age of AI.[28:46] What is MT not good at?[36:23] Measures and benchmarks that prove Andrew is having success. [37:07] Is it possible to use context for content that's localized with MT?[41:16] Aside from machine translation, how else is AI being used? [45:05] Final thoughts from Olga and Andrew.Resources and links:Smartling Website 

This week our host Steve McGarry sits down with Ryan Frankel. Ryan is the exited founder of “Verbalize It”, and the Current Founder and CEO of “This App Saves Lives”. Ryan talks about his experience getting sick while traveling and how being unable to communicate with the medical personnel there led him to the idea of developing the translation app, Verbalize It. The two also sit down and discuss some of the details and the steps that Ryan took before the company was purchased by Smartling in 2016. Steve asks Ryan about the right time to sell a business, and Ryan talks about where he is at today with his current company. Ryans' current company, This App Saves Lives, focuses on putting a serious dent in distracted driving by rewarding individuals who choose not to use their phones while driving. Drivers are rewarded by major brands with incentives while driving undistracted. “This App Saves Lives” is a mobile application that was founded after Ryan was severely injured while cycling and being struck by a distracted driver. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanvfrankel/ Twitter - @Rvfrankel - https://twitter.com/rvfrankel Website - https://www.thisappsaveslives.com/ About Me - https://about.me/ryanfrankel The Exit Meetups - https://flippa.com/the-exit-meetups/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

Junbo Hou is a Chinese linguist with Smartling who wears many different hats. With the Chinese language having many branches, dialects, and uses, translating the language can be difficult. Junbo joins us to discuss the importance of culture, regional distinctions, and understanding your audience when translating Chinese languages.Jump into the Episode[01:07] About Junbo and his background.[02:48] How long has Junbo been in the localization space?[03:11] Does Junbo have any specific interests or fields?[04:04] A quick introduction and history of the group of Chinese languages.[05:05] The most commonly used forms of Chinese languages that are used in the wider world.[08:04] Is the type of Chinese spoken dependent on the region?[09:25] The different dialects and how many people speak Mandarin versus Cantonese.[11:25] What are the cultural and linguistic differences between Mandarin and Cantonese?[14:20] What should companies looking to expand into the Chinese markets understand when localizing content?[16:38] What is Junbo's translation process?[18:24] Understanding the audience that you are translating for.[21:55] Why cultural empathy is needed when localizing for a Chinese audience, regardless of region.[24:16] Final thoughts from Junbo.Resources and links: Junbo on LinkedIn Smartling Website

In this episode, we start the conversation with a little bit of current events and the ongoing trauma. We share resources for this episode on our Instagram page. Then we get to dig in with Savina Perez, who is the Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of Hone, the all-in-one talent development platform for modern teams delivering live learning at scale to enable behavior change, human connection, and continuous development. Prior to founding Hone, Savina led growth marketing and operations at several venture-backed B2B tech companies based in New York City and San Francisco including Curalate, Incapsula, and Smartling, and has deep expertise in all aspects of B2B growth, sales and marketing. Most recently, Savina was VP of Marketing at CultureIQ (acq: ParkerGale Capital), a culture management platform for the enterprise market. Savina is passionate about amplifying the impact of the world's next generation of leaders, DEIB initiatives, and supporting her team and customer base to bring it all together. Savina's areas of expertise include building high-growth organizations and equitable access to learning, entrepreneurship, and management development. She and her family live in Brooklyn, NY. Savina is a graduate of Boston University. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF

In this episode, we start the conversation with a little bit of current events and the ongoing trauma. We share resources for this episode on our Instagram page. Then we get to dig in with Savina Perez, who is the Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of Hone, the all-in-one talent development platform for modern teams delivering live learning at scale to enable behavior change, human connection, and continuous development. Prior to founding Hone, Savina led growth marketing and operations at several venture-backed B2B tech companies based in New York City and San Francisco including Curalate, Incapsula, and Smartling, and has deep expertise in all aspects of B2B growth, sales and marketing. Most recently, Savina was VP of Marketing at CultureIQ (acq: ParkerGale Capital), a culture management platform for the enterprise market. Savina is passionate about amplifying the impact of the world's next generation of leaders, DEIB initiatives, and supporting her team and customer base to bring it all together. Savina's areas of expertise include building high-growth organizations and equitable access to learning, entrepreneurship, and management development. She and her family live in Brooklyn, NY. Savina is a graduate of Boston University. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF

In this episode, we start the conversation with a little bit of current events and the ongoing trauma. We share resources for this episode on our Instagram page. Then we get to dig in with Savina Perez, who is the Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of Hone, the all-in-one talent development platform for modern teams delivering live learning at scale to enable behavior change, human connection, and continuous development. Prior to founding Hone, Savina led growth marketing and operations at several venture-backed B2B tech companies based in New York City and San Francisco including Curalate, Incapsula, and Smartling, and has deep expertise in all aspects of B2B growth, sales and marketing. Most recently, Savina was VP of Marketing at CultureIQ (acq: ParkerGale Capital), a culture management platform for the enterprise market. Savina is passionate about amplifying the impact of the world's next generation of leaders, DEIB initiatives, and supporting her team and customer base to bring it all together. Savina's areas of expertise include building high-growth organizations and equitable access to learning, entrepreneurship, and management development. She and her family live in Brooklyn, NY. Savina is a graduate of Boston University. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF

“I don't think you can over-network. I think it is very much a club, and that's good and bad, but there's a lot of flow of information that happens amongst friends. And so to the extent you can build a network of people to share information, I think you're at an advantage to others.” – Ben Boyer  Ben Boyer is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero, which designs hospital-grade disinfection solutions utilizing UV-C light. Ben is also Managing Director at Tenaya Capital, a leading early-growth stage venture capital firm. He has served on the board of numerous companies, including Smartling, TruSignal, and PlanGrid. Show notes with links, quotes, and a transcript of the episode: https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/ben-boyer-r-zero-playbook-show-notes Topics discussed with Ben Boyer 00:01:37 – Ben's start in venture capital 00:08:04 – Transitioning from the public market to venture capital 00:16:53 – Working with Chinese companies 00:21:25 – Advice for new venture capitalists 00:22:40 – Recommended books 00:24:58 – Defining success Sign up here for Outlier Debrief, our weekly newsletter that highlights the latest episode, expands on important business and investing concepts, and contains the best of what we read each week. Follow Outlier Academy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/outlieracademy. If you loved this episode, please share a quick review on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I don't think you can over-network. I think it is very much a club, and that's good and bad, but there's a lot of flow of information that happens amongst friends. And so to the extent you can build a network of people to share information, I think you're at an advantage to others.” – Ben Boyer  Ben Boyer is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero, which designs hospital-grade disinfection solutions utilizing UV-C light. Ben is also Managing Director at Tenaya Capital, a leading early-growth stage venture capital firm. He has served on the board of numerous companies, including Smartling, TruSignal, and PlanGrid. Show notes with links, quotes, and a transcript of the episode: https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/ben-boyer-r-zero-playbook-show-notes Topics discussed with Ben Boyer 00:01:37 – Ben's start in venture capital 00:08:04 – Transitioning from the public market to venture capital 00:16:53 – Working with Chinese companies 00:21:25 – Advice for new venture capitalists 00:22:40 – Recommended books 00:24:58 – Defining success Sign up here for Outlier Debrief, our weekly newsletter that highlights the latest episode, expands on important business and investing concepts, and contains the best of what we read each week. Follow Outlier Academy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/outlieracademy. If you loved this episode, please share a quick review on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Every single one of our products has a very clear aesthetic that we care about. Our goal is to build things that people want to be around.” – Ben Boyer Ben Boyer is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of R-Zero, which designs hospital-grade disinfection solutions utilizing UV-C light. Ben is also Managing Director at Tenaya Capital, a leading early-growth stage venture capital firm. He has served on the board of numerous companies, including Smartling, TruSignal, and PlanGrid. Show notes with links, quotes, and a transcript of the episode: https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/r-zero-pioneering-with-100-year-old-technology-ben-boyer-spotlight-show-notes Topics discussed with Ben Boyer 00:02:24 – Why R-Zero was created 00:13:36 – The perfect time for UVC technology 00:16:13 – The challenges of selling in healthcare vs. schools 00:18:37 – Lab data vs. clinical data 00:21:13 – The R-Zero product line 00:26:38 – Hardware and software development at R-Zero 00:29:42 – Competitive advantages in the industry 00:36:00 – Utilizing the Internet of Things 00:39:47 – The investor role vs. the operator role 0045:22 – Important milestones for R-Zero Sign up here for Outlier Debrief, our weekly newsletter that highlights the latest episode, expands on important business and investing concepts, and contains the best of what we read each week. Follow Outlier Academy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/outlieracademy. If you loved this episode, please share a quick review on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luis Miguel, CEO of Avantpage Translations, joins SlatorPod to talk about the LSP's mission over the past 25 years of helping immigrants and other limited-English-proficient (LEP) populations.Luis walks us through his journey in the language industry, from immigrating from Mexico to founding and leading a California-based LSP. He introduces Avantpage's leadership team and highlights the importance of developing talent within the company as it grows.The CEO discusses the key differences between servicing government clients versus the private sector. He reflects on the dynamics of Language Access regulation as Biden's new administration and the pandemic affected the regulated industry in the past year.Luis shares his approach behind building a proprietary technology stack, explains his attitude toward prioritizing organic growth over M&A, and shares his outlook for the future.First up, Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week — and the launch of the Slator Transcreation and Multilingual Content Origination Report. Florian shares key takeaways from SlatorCon Remote, which featured 13 guest speakers, drew in over 300 attendees, and facilitated around 300 individual networking sessions. Esther covers the latest funding news as language services and technology provider Smartling raised USD 160m in growth investment from Battery Ventures.

Jean-François is an expert French linguist and translator with 22 years of experience. Now based in New York, Jean-François was born in France and lived in Dublin before moving to the US. He has worked with agencies and been a team lead on localization projects, and he transitioned into working as a freelancer translator about 16 years ago. Jean-François will be discussing the challenges of translating French into English and what we should know when localizing for the French-speaking audience.Jump into the Episode[02:27] About Jean-François and his translation background.[03:24] Jean-François' past experiences with Smartling and his appearance in the book ‘Move the World with Words.'[05:00] A brief introduction to the French language and its prevalence.[05:25] The differences between Canadian French and traditional French.[06:57] What a typical workday and translation process looks like for Jean-François.[07:30] How starting his day by running has allowed for more thinking time before the day truly starts.[08:45] Why being a translator is more than just speaking multiple languages.[09:20] The rewards of seeing how your translation helps others.[10:43] Some of the biggest challenges when translating English to French.[11:40] Why context is key in translation.[13:00] Some words that are challenging to translate.[14:50] Improving inclusivity in French translation.[16:55] The biggest cultural differences when targeting a French-speaking audience.[19:25] What Jean-François would ask project managers to do to make his translating jobs more efficient.[21:00] Why translating word for word loses meaning.[21:50] Jean-François' final thoughts translating English French.Resources and links: Jean-François on LinkedIn Smartling Website

Welcome to a special episode of The Loc Show. Today, Adrian Cohn is handing over the podcast to his Smartling colleague, JooRi Choi. She will be hosting the brand-new season of the podcast, which is coming soon.JooRi has experienced life in starkly contrasting countries and went to school with a student body made up of 30 different nationalities. She has been in the marketing industry for about five years and has a unique perspective that will allow her to extract meaningful insights from guests on the show. We'll hear JooRi explain what she plans to accomplish going forward and how she hopes listeners will approach this new era of The Loc Show.Jump into the episode[01:00] Planning a brand-new season with great content.[01:32] An introduction to JooRi and the different countries she has lived in.[02:31] How long JooRi has been with Smartling and what she brings to the podcast.[03:01] Being bilingual and meeting people from all over the world.[03:28] Why JooRi's global life will benefit The Loc Show and its listeners.[04:21] JooRi's contributions to Smartling and where you can read her content.[04:48] The ideas JooRi has for where she will take the podcast.[05:55] A look back at some of the experts that have been featured on The Loc Show.[06:23] Adrian's excitement for the ideas JooRi has about sharing stories from the industry.[06:59] Advice from JooRi for listeners about tuning into the show from here on out.Resources and links: JooRi's content Smartling Website Follow JooRi

Adrienne Barnes is the Founder of Best Buyer Persona, and a B2B SaaS Content Marketing consultant. Here's a staggering statistic. In a survey conducted by content marketing consultant Adrienne Barnes, 85% of marketers said they create buyer personas. Want to know how often they used them? 77% said never. The cold reality is that traditional buyer personas have become a “check the box” marketing practice - and a waste of time. That's why Adrienne created Best Buyer Persona: to re-imagine how personas are created, and turn them into something informative and actionable. In this episode you'll learn how to conduct customer research the proper way to inform your content marketing strategy, and more.When she's not identifying companies' best buyers, she's using her customer research skills to create unique and effective content marketing strategies. She's worked with amazing companies such as: Audiense, Stripe, Demio, Monday.com, Unbounce, and Smartling.Connect with Adrienne on LinkedIn or TwitterBest Buyer Persona was founded in 2018 and helps SaaS companies define their best buyers using the Jobs-To-Be-Done framework. Check out Best Buyer PersonaConnect with Omniscient Digital on social:Twitter: @beomniscientLinkedin: Be OmniscientListen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

On this first co-hosted episode of The Loc Show, we sit down with fellow language enthusiast, Julio Leal.Julio drops serious knowledge on navigating the torrid seas of quality evaluation and explains why quality, in itself, is a case-by-case decision depending on content types. He also shares unique ideas on measuring success against an ever-evolving criteria (no small feat) and provides recommendations for evangelizing localization internally. Together we'll learn how a localization manager brings value to both the company and vendors while acting as an ambassador to all departments. Whew!On this episode you will learn: What he learned from his ten year stint as Head of Global Localization at Ciena  How Julio views the role of a localization manager as an ambassador to all departments A controversial take on translation quality evaluation What main challenges Julio has encountered through his storied career and how he moved past them Key takeaways from Julio's experience working with both an LSP and working on the client side What Julio thinks about the power of video and the future of multimedia translation and localization holds for translation  Jump into the Podcast[05:37] Julio's journey in the localization industry.[10:35] How working on both the vendor and client side of localization has helped Julio in his work.[12:00] The initial challenges Julio faced when joining Ciena.[20:10] The data points that helped prove the value of localization within Ciena.[22:54] Dealing with budgetary questions regarding localization needs.[25:00] How Julio preached the value of localization efforts to the rest of his company.[28:50] The relationship between the localization team and the marketing team at Ciena.[31:46] Where should a localization team sit within a company?[34:30] How the weighting of localization criteria changes over time.[36:56] How content is evaluated and quality assured at Ciena.[42:35] Why companies need to evolve and adapt to the emerging trend of video content.Keep in touch with Julio and Smartling: Connect with Julio on LinkedIn. Follow Smartling on LinkedIn. Contact our hosts, Adrian and Gavin and learn more about Smartling.

In this episode I'm thrilled to be joined by Brian O'Reilly, CRO @ Smartling. Under his watch, Smartling has seen a 2.5x increase in qualified meetings and a 65-percent increase in bookings, while reducing sales and marketing costs by 30 percent.

Smartling CEO Jack Welde joins the pod to talk about technology-enabled language services, scaling with fast-growing customers, the M&A and funding wave sweeping the translation management landscape.Jack shares why Smartling's attitude towards machine translation shifted from “MT bad” in 2010 to fully embracing the technology in creating their own NMT engines in 2020. He also talks about his experience of running a 200-person company through a laptop in the era of Covid-19, and steering Smartling through its best-ever year in 2020. First up, Florian and Esther discuss the breaking news that UK-based TMS provider XTM has sold a majority stake to California-based investors K1.Florian talks about another language industry investment story, as Germany-based Lengoo announced they raised USD 20m in Series B funding based on an AI-agency investment thesis. The two discuss the recent MT Model Studio launch from machine translation provider SYSTRAN, which allows people to enhance existing MT models with their own bilingual or monolingual data, using SYSTRAN's tech to clean and prep the data.Esther shares an update from Sweden-based media localization company Plint, which appointed Thomas Roberts as the new CEO in February 2021. 

To remain agile is to embrace change. That's why we are pumped to announce The Loc Show's new co-host: Gavin Grimes!You know Gavin from the Smartling Leadership team and as the VP of Language Services, but you're about to know him in a brand new way as he pairs his brand of savvy with Adrian Cohn's tried and true interview skills to level up The Loc Show! Gavin is stealing himself away from the Leadership team just long enough to help you become an expert in language translation management. Double the fun, double the insight! Our weekly podcast will help keep you up to date on best practices and tips on how to keep your business scalable and innovative.Press play now and level up with us!Save your spot at Smartling's free online Global Ready Conference online April 14, 2021 11AM EST.Jump to a section[01:07] About Gavin and his background in localization.[07:37] A story about why Gavin has a yellow hard hat hanging in his home office.[10:06] How the path Gavin was on led him to Smartling.[14:10] Achieving Smartling's goals, scaling the company, and evolving with the industry.[16:25] Gavin's projections for the localization industry.[20:00] What Gavin's role is going to be on the podcast.[22:04] Smartling's upcoming Global Ready conference.What you will learn on this episode: What Gavin will bring to the table on this podcast and a bit about his background His reasons and inspiration to work in Language Services What the culture's “insatiable appetite” for content means What inspires him to push past his comfort zone What Gavin thinks companies need to be aware of to succeed in 2021 Keep up with Gavin Grimes & Smartling:Gavin's LinkedInSmartling's siteSmartling's TwitterSmartling site

COVID has either left you with a perpetual brain fog due to lack of social interaction or has you scrambling for moments of sanity during your endlessly busy days. If you're in the former camp, perhaps you've been looking to online offerings to learn a new skill to clear the fog.You've probably heard of Preply, the EdTech service that boasts tutors from all over the world that helps people young and old learn new languages and skills. The Loc Show is honored to have Patricia Doest, Senior Internationalization & Localization Leader of Preply and we are excited for you to hear her share how she has woven together her experiences from SpilGames and Preply to bring together Product and Marketing teams alike to set the groundwork for success.On this episode you will learn: What Preply did to optimize cost efficiency How Patricia educated her company on the importance of localization after conducting a comprehensive sweep of her own department first  The way she moved the department out of its silo-like environment into an integrative space for all How Preply assessed their strategy to have the most impactful user experience How Patricia customizes content type for each project and the importance of focusing on the end user What different end users help inform, by way of quality assurance, for different businesses The way she sees building trust with users via linguistic quality  Patricia's thoughts on the state of the translation industry at large What are you waiting for? Get in on this illuminating conversation!Jump into the podcast:[02:44] About Patricia and her multicultural background.[07:51] Patricia's involvement in the localization in video games.[11:00] What is data driven localization and how can you implement it?[17:10] How using data to optimize localization strategies can impact cost effectiveness.[21:45] Improving collaboration with other departments within Preply through data collection.[23:55] Mapping translation efforts to match the business strategy.[28:00] How content type and target audience impact the translation process.[31:00] How Patricia and her team have evolved to make the localization process smoother.[36:00] The importance of cultivating relationships and properly onboarding your translators.[38:42] Patricia's recommendation for where to visit in Barcelona once the world re-opens.Keep in touch with Patricia, Preply, and Smartling: Visit Preply's site, check out their complimentary lessons on their blog, watch their videos on YouTube, and follow them on Instagram to get to know them! Connect with Patricia on LinkedIn. Contact our host, Adrian Cohn, and learn more about Smartling.

Yann Ehmann has 20+ years of B2B, D2C, and digital experience under his belt with a famed Swiss watchmaker. You want to talk shop? He's your man. This week on The Loc Show we sit down with Yann to learn how he has integrated a multi-channel approach to marketing and e-commerce for over 30 markets and learn firsthand how translation and localization are crucial elements in an ever-shapeshifting digital world.Yann shares his evergreen three-part process for attaining a global process that everyone, regardless of industry, can find value in: Know where you're going Understanding the importance of collaboration and transparency Expect all potential outcomes Join us and learn from this industry all-star: What makes digital such a compelling sector of the market (hint: it has to do with the constant growth and motion)  What solutions in an ever-changing industry look like and how automation helps to keep his team zipped up How Yann has centralized data and made it accessible to all parts of the team His thoughts on the speed at which content must be delivered to customers and how his team maintains agility across content types How testing and assessing the status quo is an essential best practice  What he envisions for the future Press play and prepare to be wowed![03:30] How Adrian and Yann met.[04:28] Yann's 20-year experience in creating the digital transformation at a famed Swiss watchmaker.[05:35] What is digital transformation?[06:55] The impact of digital transformation on businesses beyond technology.[09:20] How localization and translation fit in to digital transformation.[11:18] What the initial website launch in the UK taught Yann about localization and translation.[12:25] Finding automated solutions to improve the translation process.[16:40] The most important details to consider when translating copy.[22:50] The importance of creating relevant and consistent copy for your audience.[25:30] Utilizing the correct tools for localization in your business process.[26:55] The technologies at the heart of the future of digital transformation.[29:45] Mobile payment options, data protection, and regulations.[34:00] How digital transformation is shaping the next industrial revolution.Keep in touch with Yann and Smartling: Connect with Yann on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter. Contact our host, Adrian Cohn, and learn more about Smartling.

Smartling's been on a tear recently. We've recently launched an integration with Yext, Episerver, Drupal 9 and updated our integration with Zendesk. But yesterday, we announced something big: the appointment of Gavin Grimes to Smartling's leadership team as Vice President of Language Services.We have some more amazing episodes of The Loc Show coming up next week. 

Max and his team at Vitamix demonstrated how important it is to have robust technology and translation services in place to ensure products can be launched in global markets efficiently - and to a high degree of success.Their go-to-market strategy is two fold: first, they work with distributors worldwide who sell Vitamix products in market; second, they sell directly to consumers online in specific markets, like the United States and Canada. Vitamix uses Smartling's Global Delivery Network and language translation services to provide content and product experiences for users anywhere, today.Jump into this episdode to discover how the team launched four new products in 2020, and sold out of one of them in 24 hours. And to discover new ways to measure the effectiveness of translation.Jump to a section[2:05] Learning a bit about Max's background and how he came to work for Vitamix. [5:45] Announcing the Vitamix giveaway from Smartling.[6:49] What's going on with Vitamix right now.[12:45] What challenges Max faces in marketing, being that the product is sold directly from Vitamix and also through third party retailers. [16:28] The workflow changes that have been made at Vitamix since working with Smartling. [18:40] Max walks us through the marketing funnel and content experience of the customer. [12:13] How Vitamix has implemented began localizing and how this improves the user experience. [29:25] Utilizing proper translation services to maintain a consistent brand voice through all the layers of complexity involved in launching in different markets.[30:45] Why putting together a brand and style guide is important to marketing. [35:24] The direct to consumer business in Canada, and the new products launched in both the US and Canada this year.  [40:20] Testing the French-speaking Canadian market directly, the return on investment in doing so, and how this demonstrates the business value of translation services.[43:06] How the enhanced customer reach of Vitamix impacted media attention.[47:09] How the partnership has enabled Vitamix to focus their efforts in other areas and on other initiatives.[51:45] Q&A session. 

Jack Welde, Co-Founder and CEO of Smartling, joins us today to talk about gratitude and giving thanks. It's our bonus episode for Thanksgiving in the United States. Dive in!

Yext is the tool of choice for managing business information across websites, search engines, voice assistants, chatbots, apps, and maps. But translating the descriptions, hours, locations and relevant business data into multiple languages can quickly turn into a time-consuming headache. As the business grows, so too does this challenge. And the more information changes - which is common today - the more time you have to spend managing location data translation.Enter Steven Sorenson, Product Manager at Smartling. Steven joins us today on The Loc Show with an exciting announcement: Smartling just introduced the first-ever translation plug-in to be listed on the Yext App Directory.Smartling's Yext integration allows users to professionally translate location data stored in the Knowledge Graph with near-zero developer involvement, zero copy and paste, and the ability to update content without friction.Why is this being featured on the show? Simple. You're here to become an expert in all things translation and localization. Identifying ways to optimize your translation process with software automation is a key way to ensure your business can scale, and on this episode, you'll learn about how to scale location data with zero developer involvement. Thinking like this can save you a ton of time, and your company a lot of money. Let's jump right in.Key Moments[1:28] The inquiries customers have been providing about this integration for years - some clients own thousands of properties, and it can be difficult to keep translations in sync between systems. [2:10] Though homegrown custom solutions were always provided for customers, this integration means that this will be much easier to work with.[2:27] A little about Yext and what they do.[4:00] Why Steven specifically was brought on the show today.[4:54] The ability of Smartling and Yext clients to now leverage the translation automation that Smartling provides.[5:17] Three key points in sharing this, the first being that the ability to scale search and answer content is unparalleled now. [6:43] Companies now only needing to go to one place to get an automated solution and language translations.[6:55] Businesses updating their content all the time, and the importance of Smartling recognizing changes to listing details.[7:55] The translation process becoming automated; no longer having to track these changes across locations when any change is made.[8:58] Why this is the year to be efficient and help your business run more smoothlyConnect with Steven Sorenson on LinkedIn

We can all agree that the stock market is undeniably intimidating. But that's exactly where BUX has found a niche European market of 2.5 million users in 9 countries. Localization Program Manager Miruna Parchirie has grown into her role alongside BUX and walks us through how they aim to make the markets accessible to customers and how user experiences drive strategy and localization.Press play to learn more!Full Description/Show NotesWe can all agree that the stock market is undeniably intimidating. But that's exactly where BUX has found a niche European market of 2.5 million users in 9 countries. Localization Program Manager Miruna Parchirie has grown into her role alongside the start up and walks us through their three apps that aim to make the markets accessible to customers: BUX Zero BUX X BUX Crypto On this week's episode of The Loc Show, Miruna takes us through her testing methods for translators, gives us the scoop on how BUX drives and prioritizes user experiences, shares product design requirements, and more. She lets us in on the vision of inclusion at BUX for all team members that extends to not only staff but also translators.On this episode you'll learn: How the community within the localization industry is growing by leading professionals connecting within the field, with a focus on women banding together What Miruna does to bring localization to the forefront of all business at BUX How Miruna uses her savvy know how to localize in different markets Why BUX never relies on assumptions The importance of evaluating translation partners Keep up with BUX, Miruna Parchirie, and Smartling!Find Miruna on LinkedInVisit BUX's siteFollow BUX on LinkedInDownload BUX's apps: BUX Zero BUX X BUX Crypto Smartling's site  Download Smartling's free eBook and get a free demo! 

Have you ever Googled a question about a company's hours of operations or line of products and gotten a really confusing and inaccurate answer from a random person on Reddit?Yext has come up with a way for companies to control potentially damaging incorrect information online and it's a game changer. They are a “search experience cloud” meaning wherever people ask questions online about any facet of your business online, you have the ability to control the answers. Supreme damage control! On this episode of The Loc Show, Jessica Birenz, Director and Project Manager at Yext joins us to discuss how the six year partnership she has with Smartling has allowed her to grow the company by 15x in six years and expand in  over two dozen new languages while dramatically increasing Yext's translation volume.  Join us as we discuss how Yext has evolved, what their Japanese launch looked like and how key takeaways from the launch will inform how future expansions will be shaped with these learnings. We talk about the importance of teamwork in translation, walk uphill together through the struggles and blissfully reminisce on Yexy's astounding successes, and learn just how important it is for correct information about your business to be available to your customers without them having to dig for it. There is so much to learn and Jessica is an outstanding guest. We can't wait to hear your thoughts!

The tourism industry has been deeply unmoored by recent travel restrictions, but Skyscanner is working hard to ensure their customers have the best experiences once the time is right and it's safe to once again traverse our big, beautiful world.Skyscanner is best known for making travel as simple as possible by helping guests find the very best flights, hotels, and rentals via desktop and mobile app. On this episode of The Loc Show, Hristina Racheva, Head of Localization at Skyscanner, gives us a glimpse into how the localization team is carefully strategizing their next moves and working across all the departments to try and cement planning for the uncertain months ahead.Hristina is a Barcelona-based lover of travel, language, and culture. Having been born and raised in a small town in Bulgaria planted the seed of vying to see the world and she has since lived in Brussels, Frankfurt, and Dublin working as a translator before settling into localization.Let Hristina walk you through her transformation and allow yourself to travel vicariously through her stories. If you can trust anyone on the topic of travel and culture, it's Hristina! On this episode you'll learn: Hristina's role at Skyscanner and how she has managed her team  Details on the responsibilities of Hristina's role and how it has been impacted recently  What experiences users have within the Skyscanner app Hristina's many disciplines and theories about localization within a company How Skyscanner is adjusting their content and strategy during COVID Upcoming projects and more! Hop in, we're taking off![02:06] How Hristina came to work in the localization industry.[08:24] The challenges Skyscanner and similar industries have faced due to the pandemic.[09:20] The positive opportunities that the pandemic has presented.[10:53] How Skyscanner surveyed their client base to gauge travel economy recovery.[11:48] The different content types produced for the Skyscanner platform.[13:42] Creating and optimizing the localization team at Skyscanner.[16:33] Why hiring a localization engineer should be your first step in creating a team.[20:11] Positioning the benefit of localization to other departments in the company.[23:56] What happens when a new team needs localization at Skyscanner.[27:50] How translation is segmented for different languages.[30:36] Crucial metrics in localization.[34:40] The importance of culturally relevant copy.[40:15] Is translation a cost center or a profit center for businesses?[41:37] What Hristina is excited about in the future of the localization industry.Keep up with Skyscanner, Hristina, and Smartling! Hristina on LinkedIn Skyscanner's site Skyscanner on LinkedIn Smartling's site  Download Smartling's free eBook and get a free demo!  Hristina's talk at the Women in Tech forum organized by Kiwi.com

Emory University's Program Coordinator, Tsondue Samphel, joins this week's The Loc Show to share how translation is helping him run an international (and free!) educational program, SEE Learning. This is a stand out episode not only because Tsondue discloses what meeting His Holiness has been like (on several occasions), but the conversation elevates to touch upon creating real meaning in life for future generations: something we can all get behind during these divisive times. SEE Learning is an academic collaboration between Emory University and His Holiness the Dalai Lama that aims to give students (K-12) the necessary tools to develop emotionally, socially, and ethically. SEE provides programming that helps children cultivate the skills necessary to have a meaningful life and to help young people flourish and improve their overall well being.Join us as Tsondue shares the vision of SEE, his experiences coming to the U.S., and how he uses translation to knit cultures together by serving over 30 countries.  On this episode you'll learn: Tsondue's tale of arriving at Emory University's Center of Contemplative Sciences and Compassion-based Ethics, experiencing culture shock as the only Tibetan person, and earning his BS in Physics How Tsondue settled into his role as an International Program Coordinator for the SEE Learning division How the Emory University community softened Tsondue's landing in the U.S. from India About the Dalai Lama's role in the curriculum and the goals of the program as a whole About the free SEE 101 Online training course available on Emory's site that is accessible in over 145 countries   Jump into the hot topics![3:08] Tsondue on his role at Emory as an International Program Coordinator for SEE Learning[5:07] The challenges Tsondue faced when he moved from India to the U.S. for his schooling and how he managed the massive cultural and emotional shifts[7:33] Background on the SEE Learning program and how translation plays a part of (social and emotional ethical learning is the program name)[10:58] Tsondue on his numerous run-ins with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a proponent for pushing the need for holistic education[15:55] What responsibilities Tsondue had on his plate when he first joined the program about two years ago[17:36] Landscape of the content that requires translation to over 30 locales [21:55] How Tsondue and Smartling began working together [22:35] Different types of content within the SEE program [28:50] The translation process for the site and for SEE 101 program materials[30:54] Challenges Tsondue has had to overcome when translating content into different languages [34:48] How the team manages elements of localization [44:23] What Tsondue is most excited forKeep Up with Tsondue, Emory, and Smartling!Tsondue on LinkedInEmory University on LinkedInGlobal launch of SEE Learning Smartling's site 

The pet industry is a dog-eat-dog world, and Jordanna Ber knows all about it. Jordanna works at Rover, the international company known for providing 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers in over eight European markets. She leads up the localization team and has been with the company since they acquired the organization she previously worked for, Dog Buddy, in October of 2018. On this grrrific episode of The Loc Show, she introduces her very well-traveled pup and explains how her professional intention of becoming wholly well-rounded landed her permanently in Barcelona. Jordanna fills us in on what localization and translation projects look like when a company is internationally acquired, and shares with us the importance of placing translation at the forefront of all corporate planning.On this episode we will touch on: How neither she nor her partner knew any Spanish when they moved to Spain Raising brand awareness in Europe for an industry that is already flourishing in the U.S. How her “scrappy marketing” team organized care for 2,000 dogs in under two weeks (woof) Examples of localization and translation hiccups that had to be navigated when infiltrating different locales How she organized her team to recode the base that took engineers seven years to create and how she had to configure all currency, data formats, placeholders to their specific locale requirements  Press play and learn all about Jordanna Ber and Rover!On this episode you will learn: What Jordanna thinks of Barcelona as she was raised in Toronto How she transitioned from working with Dog Buddy to Rover When Jordanna and her team organized 2,000 pet sitters for an event with two weeks notice The reality of company acquisition and how it impacts internationalization, localization, and translation Jordanna's thoughts on the “translation first” approach to projects Interesting linguistic differences when localizing animal linguistics How she organized a team to rewrite the site coding that  The importance of the right fit when it comes to team members  Jump into the hot topics![3:18] Jordanna's path to permanently landing in Barcelona [7:05] Where Jordanna works and how she got there[9:04] Competitive landscape at Dog Buddy (was in 6-7 markets) in 2017 and what the value proposition that Dog Buddy took to market[12:44] How Jordanna's first team of “scrappy” marketers found pet sitters for 2,000 dogs with a couple of weeks notice[13:53] What translation support looked like in the early days of Jordanna's career at Dog Buddy[16:25] What Jordanna concentrated on most and experienced when Dog Buddy was acquired by Rover[19:10] What realities hit when Jordanna was put in charge of all localization at Rover and what she realized about the role[21:06] How Jordanna navigated a specific Dutch localization question to avoid calling clients of Rover a swear word when they meant to convey the company's tagline of “The Dog People”[27:38] What Jordanna learned and how she implemented very quick changes after Rover's acquisition[32:50] Jordanna's thoughts about translation first in the planning process[34:25] Language translation and revenue within the industry[37:45] SEO and keyword research frequency at RoverKeep Up with Jordanna and Smartling!Jordanna Ber's LinkedInRover's siteRover's TwitterRover's LinkedIn

Without the ability to connect at events around the world in 2020, Katie Adler, Smartling's marketing manager, had to redefine what it means to establish a sense of community for the localization industry. Katie shares how she pivoted and what events you should sign up for in the coming weeks to be part of the localization community.The events include How Lyft Scaled Content for 8 Languages with Zak Haitkin (Lyft) and Contentfu, and How to translate and localize multiple content types with Brandon Fiegoli (Butterfly Network).We're adding events every week. Register today at smartling.com/globalready. And if you'd like to be featured on the loc show, send us an email at locshow@smartling.comSee you next week!

Many translation professionals can pinpoint a specific time or place that set them on the path to translation. Industry newbie Clysree Brown is no exception, but what makes her story different is that her time is now.Clysree is a recent graduate of the 2020 Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation (GSIT) program at University of Maryland College. As a D.C. native, she searched for ways to help underserved communities in her area access healthy foods and joined forces with D.C. Greens. Since then, Clysree has earned both her Undergraduate in Spanish Language and Literature from Howard University and a Masters in Translation and Localization in Project Management from UMC. On this episode, Clyrsee discusses how she was able to go way beyond the fundamentals as she worked through her schooling and shares how focusing on the art of writing, and even mathematics, were a part of her training. Join us and hear her rationale for taking the leap into localization from translation and interpreting. If you're a recent graduate or just want to know how the rising stars of localization are climbing the ranks these days, press play!On this episode you will learn: How coming of age in D.C. shaped Clysree's career path. Clysree's work with D.C. Greens and how it impacted her profession. Education for modern translators and interpreters and all it entails. Clysree's experience as she worked through her Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation (GSIT) program. More about Cylsree's decision to move from translation and interpreting to localization. Keep Up with Clysree and Smartling!Clysree Brown's LinkedInSmartling's siteGet a Smartling demoFull Transcript *that almost certainly has typos* (forgive us!)Announcer:You're listening to The Loc Show presented by Smartling.Adrian Cohn:Hello everyone and welcome back to The Loc Show. I'm your host Adrian cone with Smartling It's great to have you back here. We made this show for a couple of reasons. Number one, we want you to become an expert in translation and localization. So every week we are bringing you interviews with people who have done some pretty incredible things at companies like FedEx, and GoCardless, and King and Procore. It's been so much fun doing this show. Today, we have a really interesting guest because she has not quite yet cracked into the localization space in her post-graduate life. Her name is Clysree Brown. She is unbelievable. I think this interview is just going to give you such an awesome background on who she is and what she's learned. And frankly, I learned a lot because I didn't realize that there was a master's program for Translation and Localization Project Management. So hey, I hope you enjoy the episode. A massive shout out and thank you to Clysree for being on the show. Let's get right to it. Hey Clysree welcome to The Loc Show how are you?Clysree Brown:Hi, Adrian. I'm doing fine. How are you?Adrian Cohn:I'm doing great. It's so nice to sit down with you. We've just been chatting for a few minutes getting to know one another. It's Tuesday evening, it's five o'clock. We've both had long days in the office but I'm still quite excited about what we have to talk about today. Because you are someone who we're bringing onto the show that is new to the industry simply because you are younger and you have just come out of a series of higher education and I'm really looking forward to hearing about what your perspectives are and where you're at in this journey. And yeah, I'm excited to dive into everything. So maybe we should just start a little bit with what's your background? Where are you from?Clysree Brown:Okay, so for a little background on me I grew up in Washington D.C. in southeast.Adrian Cohn:Which town? Is it southeast the town?Clysree Brown:No, southeast Washington D.C. because the city is broken up into four quadrants.Adrian Cohn:Sure. Okay. So, if I pull up Google maps and I look, because I know Georgetown is on the west side, right?Clysree Brown:Northwest.Adrian Cohn:Northwest okay. So I'm on the complete wrong side. All right. Keep talking. I'm going to look at the map.Clysree Brown:Yeah so four different quadrants of the city and I grew up in southeast and southeast DC it has a bit of a reputation of being the part where most of the poor people live and admittedly I did see people around me grow up poor but I personally didn't grow up poor. It's been something that I realize is... I guess the way that I should say this is that I realize that I have privilege and I think that it's my duty as a person who has privilege to like give back. So that's why I've always managed to find ways to give back even through my career for example is what inspired me to become a medical interpreter and even help out with food access with D.C. Greens because I have helped out in southeast around the Eastern Market area where they would give out the checks for D.C. Greens for people to get healthy fruits and vegetables. And I've also done work in Columbia Heights too at their food market and Columbia Heights is where they have a larger amount of the Latino population and some of the Mandarin speaking population of the city.Adrian Cohn:You said that you realized that you had privilege. Is that the word that you used?Clysree Brown:Yeah.Adrian Cohn:When did you first realize that? What was the moment in your life where you're like, "All right, I've got an advantage here."Clysree Brown:It will come to me in several little moments in my life. It's like that thing that I just read it last night in Michelle Obama's book Becoming. She said, "We were similar but of two different worlds." So a way of explaining that would be like if I'm just going to the Metro before COVID someone will come up to me and then we'd have a conversation and this person will be about my age and we might get off at the same stop. And then they're like, "So, where are you from?" And that's when I was like, "I'm from around here. I live not too far from here." And they would be like, "Really? You don't seem like it."Clysree Brown:And I never really knew how to necessarily take that growing up but I mean in a way it did make a lot of sense because I never went to public school in D.C. I always went to private schools and then for high school I went to a Catholic school out in Maryland. So it was that thing where I know that my mom wanted to give me the best education, the best chance in life so that's why I did go to private schools. But if you actually go to a certain public schools though you do have a good shot in D.C. but in order to get into a good public school unfortunately there's a lottery system that you've got to go through. So, unfortunately not every kid has access to the best of the best education.Adrian Cohn:How did you take on this privilege when you were in... It sounds like you realized this when you were in your teens if you're traveling on the Metro. How did you onboard all of this? And you talked a little bit about the volunteer experiences you had but how did you channel the energy and what were some of the first things that you did?Clysree Brown:Some of the first things I did actually was just take a good solid look at my life. Because sometimes when you're living your life so closely you don't stop and look around and think like, "Hey, I'm a little bit different." And it was that moment where I realized that yeah I was different and it was time to just actually put it to words. So when I did take into account I was like, "Yeah I did go to private school my whole life and that my mom is financially stable." Then I realized that, "Okay yeah, I do have the privilege of knowing that I will be taken care of financially and then education ways." So I decided that it was definitely important to start looking for ways to give back.Clysree Brown:And fast forward to when I was in college and we had our capstone project which was our project that we had to do in conjunction with a paper so that we could graduate I decided to tackle the problem with food access in Washington, D.C. Because Washington D.C. is a food desert and that means that there aren't too many grocery stores that are accessible to the people who need them the most. So, they'll usually settle on unhealthy options and that's why the organization that I volunteered with, D.C. Greens, they would hand out checks at farmer's markets so that families could afford healthy fruits and vegetables.Adrian Cohn:Wow. So fast forward to now, I mean you've come quite a long way. Tell us a little bit about where you are now in terms of your career and some of the achievements that you've had to date.Clysree Brown:So in terms of my career I've just graduated. I'm a May, 2020 graduate from the Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation program, or GSIT, from the University of Maryland, College Park.Adrian Cohn:Congratulations.Clysree Brown:Thank you.Adrian Cohn:You are newly minted. And before the University of Maryland you also were at Howard University.Clysree Brown:Yup.Adrian Cohn:So tell us a little bit about your trajectory in higher education.Clysree Brown:You mean more so how I chose my career path that led me to localization or in general?Adrian Cohn:Well, I understand that Howard University had a pretty substantial impression on your life. It helped to provide you with some identity. Tell us more about that.Clysree Brown:Oh, so particularly about Howard University it's a HBCU so it's a Historically Black College or University. I want to say that it's something that's hard to put into words and you have to live it to know it but it's such a great feeling knowing that you can be around a bunch of people who you identify with and you can learn your history and culture a lot deeper than you did in school. And that for me was just something that I will always remember and cherish. So, Howard University did have a lot to do with me finding pride in being Afro-American because beforehand it was simply like it was just a fact of life. And then afterwards, after being at Howard, it felt like something to definitely take deep pride in.Adrian Cohn:Wow. Do you still have good friends from Howard?Clysree Brown:I do. I still hang out with a few of my Howard friends.Adrian Cohn:That's cool. Yeah. I've been out of school now for a little bit and my friends are all over the country which is really hard. I have a friend in California, a friend in Oregon, friends in Tennessee, probably a couple in New York, but they're spread out. And it's really hard to see everybody, obviously things like Zoom or FaceTime and text messaging helps keep us together but it's not the same as having the ability to go down the hallway. I remember my college years, I remember them and I remember them fondly.Clysree Brown:Yeah. And luckily for me a few of my friends still do live in this area. Some of them did go back to where they were from though.Adrian Cohn:And so, it was at some point when you were at Howard that you went to a conference and started to do some interpretation work?Clysree Brown:So, at Howard University they had this interpretation program and I did three semesters there. And every year there would be a field trip, not every year but I mean every semester there would be a field trip and they would take us to the African Union Mission in Georgetown and we'd have a chance to show the ambassador our interpretation skills. And it was a very nice thing to do because we would be able to go into a real interpretation booth and use the equipment and I thought that was really cool.Adrian Cohn:I love doing field work. It definitely makes me feel alive so I can see you doing this right now and that's a nice picture that I have. So was the real beginning into your interest in the field of language and the possibility of what you might be able to do in terms of a longterm career in the field of communication and language and translation?Clysree Brown:Well, I would say that my interest in language went a little bit further back because in high school I was always in honors Spanish. So I decided since that [inaudible 00:13:17] were my highest grades I was like, "Why not become a Spanish major and a photography minor?" I mean, I eventually became an English minor but I decided that I wanted to be a Spanish major because it felt like it just made the most sense to me. But I was not really thinking too far ahead as to how would that necessarily help or benefit me further on. And then later I started looking through the course catalog the semester, I think it was second semester of my sophomore year and I saw interpretation was going to be offered. So I was just like, "Why not just dive in and take it?"Clysree Brown:So I just didn't really know too much about the whole language services industry so I was like, "Okay interpretation, maybe I want to be an interpreter." So, I did three semesters of that. It was very fun. I definitely bonded with my professor Dr. [inaudible 00:14:12] She's amazing. And after that I was talking to the head of the department of world languages and cultures, which my major is listed under, and she told me about the University of Maryland GSIT program and she said, "I think that if you really want to be an interpreter you should go to GSIT." So that's when I applied. And I applied to GSIT originally wanting to be an interpreter but they got back to me and said they liked my translations better and they thought that I should really foster that. So, I went in on the translation track.Adrian Cohn:Tell us a little bit more about the GSIT program because I'm not sure how many folks who are listening have heard about it.Clysree Brown:Well, the GSIT program, or Graduate Studies in Interpreting and Translation program, was founded around 2016 by Dr. David B. Sawyer and he actually is still one of the professors in the program. He is a very great professor. He has for over 10 years been the chief of European languages branch of interpretation at the state department. And he's a very good source of information. He shows us the ins and outs of this industry that I wouldn't have even guessed were there. And I just say that you have to actually be in class to experience it because he really goes in depth. He leaves nothing unanswered.Adrian Cohn:Wow. You sound excited about the leadership that he brought to this program.Clysree Brown:YupAdrian Cohn:So, give us details. What was the makeup of the class and what interests did other classmates of yours have? Tell us more about the program and the people.Clysree Brown:So the people in the program, there were about 15 in my cohort. Some of them were diplomats, some had already been translators for about 10 years and decided to get their masters then, some had been removed from or graduated from undergrad and were just deciding to come back for their master's. What else? Oh, and there was one person who was actually a former teacher in high school well a former high school teacher.Adrian Cohn:That's a pretty wide range of people who were in your group. You may even have just labeled 15 categories and there were 15 people in the class. When you say cohort, do you mean that was the number of people who graduated the year that you were there or the two years rather? Okay. That's an intimate program so it gives you a lot of opportunity to get to know the people.Clysree Brown:Definitely.Adrian Cohn:What were some of the classes like? What were the titles of the classes?Clysree Brown:So we have some courses in public speaking, translation for specific markets, translation for specific domains. And then we had intensive writing both directions. Because this program they definitely focus on if you're on a translation track they'll definitely focus on translation and the whole art of it and writing, just simply writing in both languages or if you're doing three tracks in all three languages. Because it's really critical to just separate translation and writing at a certain point because sometimes it's easy to get distracted by the fact of translating that you just get sloppy with the art form of writing. So, it's something that the program is really good at.Adrian Cohn:Awesome. So, you said that you had one class that was called How to Translate in Different Markets, what'd you learn?Clysree Brown:So for a translation into specific markets we learned certain phrasing that is appropriate for certain times. So for example, if we are doing an advertisement versus the language that we would use for doing a treaty or even a recipe book. So we learned how to translate a variety of texts.Adrian Cohn:So it was how to effectively translate different types of content in a particular market?Clysree Brown:Yep. And there was one course where we spoke about translation theory or I think it was maybe two or three courses where we talked about different translation theories but the translation for specific markets it was definitely hands on. So it was like every class we had to turn in an assignment that was an actual translation. So I think that they're very thorough with making sure that you understand the heart of the translation itself as well as actually giving you a chance to really apply yourself. Because sometimes it could be a thing where you focus so much on learning about doing it that you don't end up doing it but this program gives you an ample opportunity to just learn it as well as do it.Adrian Cohn:So could it be that one of your homework assignments would be, "Take this recipe and translate it into Spanish for Spain, see ya Monday." Would that be one of the assignments?Clysree Brown:Yeah, that definitely would be something that would be one of the assignments.Adrian Cohn:So what was the training to help you be successful? Because I know that I definitely had some professors who just gave you homework and didn't really care if you did well. I hate to admit it but I think that's true. But I had most of my professors were just so deeply invested in my success and they would provide great training in the classes that teed me up for a really good assignment that would be due the next week for example. What were some of the lessons that your professors imparted upon you that stood out that were helping you to complete assignments well or that you feel have shaped who you are today?Clysree Brown:Well I mean, one of the best pieces of advice one of my translation teachers gave me was to actually think about it or it might start sounding like translaterese where it's just like a person who's a native speaker will look at that and say, "That works but it's a little awkward." Versus something that sounds like it was actually written in that language. So, taking a moment and really thinking about it. And then with my translation technology course one thing that one of the professors said to me that stood out was, "Master technology before it masters you." So, that means make sure that you definitely say on top of new technology that's coming out and don't be afraid of technology. See technology as your friend because you will just have to either adapt or simply be replaced.Adrian Cohn:Right. So I mean, the degree was Translation and Localization Project Management. Clearly you had classes in translation. You had, Let's make sure you are effective at translating content and you understand the differences between different content types. You had a technology class that presumably was giving you some insight and visibility into what the technologies are and how to use them. Tell us a little bit about the localization project management side. What did you learn about localization project management from this course, from this degree?Clysree Brown:So there were two courses in localization that stood out to me, Localization Business Fundamentals and Localization Project Management. So, with the business fundamentals we were playing a game and we were pretending at certain points to be an SLV, an ROV, MLV, client side, buyer side. We were just trying it all and even coming up with budgets and assigning certain people in our team's roles such as the DTP specialists or the person who is the head of the company. And it was just fun to see all the different sides of this and how complex it all really is. Because first coming in especially because I didn't know much about localization or the translation industry before coming into this program I just thought that it was just interpreter, translator, simple, but I saw in the Localization Business Fundamentals Course that there was a lot more to it. And I felt like it was really in depth especially for it to just be fundamentals. But I think that it was very eyeopening and very amazing.Adrian Cohn:So, what were some of the things that you learned about in the field of localization project management that stood out to you as being so in depth that surprised you?Clysree Brown:Well, I found out because we got really deep into math and I didn't expect to really go into math again. Because admittedly math is not one of my favorite subjects even though I am striving to get better at it. But I was just really surprised at all the complicated formulas that we were getting. I was like, "Wow, this feels like we're living a real life algebra problem."Adrian Cohn:So what was the math? What was the problem to solve?Clysree Brown:Okay. So one day our professor pulled up a website and it was random. It was some website that sold mostly ties and handkerchiefs and he was just like, "So extrapolate how much you're going to charge to just localize all this content. And I was just like, "What?" I'm not just looking at it like this whole webpage and I'm just like, "Where do I even start? Am I doing word count? Am I counting images? I don't even know." But it was something where he was just like he wanted us to just really get creative and think out of the box.Adrian Cohn:Yeah. That's a cool problems to solve. How did you solve it? What did you do?Clysree Brown:It was like luckily we had a person on our team who was already in the translation and localization industry. So he came up with I can't remember in detail what he did but he came up with his own way of solving it. And then that's when he gave us the rest of the group members the equation that we were going to work on and then we solved it.Adrian Cohn:Yeah. I love the problem because it's actually a real life problem it's not just a fake one and you've said a few times already that the program was meaningful, it had real world scenarios that you had to solve. And we get questions at Smartling every day of like, "What is it going to cost?" And then our response is, "Well, how much content do you have?" And they're like, "Well, we don't know." I mean sometimes that's what happens. Other times it's as simple as the customer providing us with a file and then we can immediately tell them how many words it is and what the fuzzy match will be and how they'll save money doing these five things. So, you can use technology to help solve that problem but I think it's cool that they gamed that out in your master's program.Clysree Brown:That's definitely true and within the last year of the program I actually switched over from being a translation concentration or major to localization.Adrian Cohn:Why'd you make the leap?Clysree Brown:Well, because I had a feeling that localization would be another challenge for me because I did like translation a lot but I felt like I was having some sort of mastery over it. Because I don't really think that I could ever have full mastery over translation because a side note I am a creative story writer. So I do write short stories and stuff so I never believe that there's any such thing as a perfect story. So I always strive to write better stories and stuff. So I don't ever think I could fully master translation but I felt like I was having a level of mastery that I was comfortable with. So I decided to tackle localization because I decided why not. Because during this program I've done interpreting, conference interpreting, community interpreting when I was a medical interpreter for about seven months as my practicum. And then I did translation in this program so I decided why not branch out and do localization because it felt adventurous and I felt like I could do it.Adrian Cohn:That's good reasons. I think it is an adventurous discipline. I certainly had the great pleasure of speaking to and working with many people who are in localization and the responsibility set varies so much from company to company. In large organizations with thousands and thousands of people there may be large teams of localization managers maybe that are dedicated to specific countries. And then in small companies or companies that are newer to translation maybe it's a person's halftime job. And I think that spectrum is really quite interesting and challenging for people to navigate whether they are on the client side or the customer side, sorry the vendor side. And I think you've pinpointed some interesting takeaways there.Adrian Cohn:What are you hoping to do next? You've got your undergraduate degree in Spanish language and literature from Howard. You have a master's degree in Translation and Localization Project Management. Where do you see yourself next? What are you trying to achieve now?Clysree Brown:Well, I would like to get a junior project manager position or a quality assurance position because I feel like I have an eye for attention to detail and I think that project management is something that is definitely very stable. And I am a well organized person so I think that global project manager would suit me.Adrian Cohn:Well, you guys heard it here first, Clysree is ready and willing and able. And I think that if there's anything I've learned on today's call, Clysree, it's that you are one bright star, a rising star in the industry. You're super awesome to hop on the podcast with me. You've been following SmartLink for a number of months now. I've seen your name pop up in our events that we've had and you and I have had some dialogue on LinkedIn and in email. And you come across as someone who is incredibly intelligent and someone who's accomplished a lot in your short life.Clysree Brown:Well, thank you so much and I hope that I'm going to accomplish a lot more because already I have as you said accomplished so much.Adrian Cohn:Well, you've got plenty of time and use it wisely and use it in good health.Clysree Brown:Thank you.Adrian Cohn:Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Clysree Brown for being on The Loc Show. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. You are going places. Everybody take note. Find her on LinkedIn, make a connection with her. She is an awesome rising star. Thank you also for listening to The Loc Show. This show has been so much fun to produce and if you are learning from it, if you're enjoying it, do me one small favor, it would make my day, head on over to the podcast player and give this show a six star review. And if you're so inclined leave a comment. If you'd like to be featured on The Loc Show send me an email, locshow@smartling.com. See you next time.

Smartling's Conny Hayes started working in the industry before localization was popularized as a discipline. She knows her stuff. Conny sits down with us on this episode of The Loc Show to give our listeners a special inside peek into how she came to be our fantastic Director & Team Lead of Solution Consulting.Once upon a time Conny was a freelance translator living and working in Germany, London, and Boulder, CO. She went from being a Smartling user to becoming part of the company after she read a blog on machine translation a couple moons ago. At her core, Conny is a nimble expert and has leveraged her innate agility to grow alongside the translation and localization industry - sharing all she has learned with hundreds of companies managing translation. We can't wait for you to hear her awesome story.Don't wait a moment more- click to listen!On this episode you will learn:  What translation looked like in the 1990s and how the industry has significantly advanced. Conny's experience in translation and linguistics and how she got to Smartling. How Conny started as a Smartling user while she was freelancing and then became part of the team. About Conny's previous work with LSPs and what she has learned along the way. How Conny now sees the value of translation and localization from various POVs, including to a localization manager, content managers and project managers. How Conny manages projects and implements ideas on an individual client basis to ensure easy integration for customer success. Keep Up with Conny and Smartling! Conny's Twitter Conny on LinkedIn Smartling's site  Get a Smartling Demo 

Chelle Coury is Global Senior Program Manager at Fitbit. Fitbit is a small device that holds a lot of content, and that content needs translating. Fitbit tracks sleep cycles, heart rate, offers fitness guidance and weight insight, to name a few features.Currently based out of Singapore, Chelle joined Fitbit 4 years ago and found a fragmented and decentralized localization process that desperately needed optimization. Since then, she and her team have worked to centralize the translation and localization process, overcoming the challenges of screen size and context to help make Fitbit a globally recognizable brand. Chelle joins us today to discuss how she got into localization, the physical challenges of the device display, and how she tactically unified departments in order to lay the foundation to provide top tier in-language content to every person who wears a Fitbit activity band around their wrists.Chelle also unpacks how her keen interest in data science enabled her to drive language translation A/B tests, and divulges both common and high-level considerations for the software development cycle that you can take and use to achieve success in your own translation program.So what are you waiting for? Press play! What you'll learn in this episode: How Chelle unified several internal departments at Fitbit and the challenges she overcame during the process of implementing localization and globalization across the company. Insights as to how data informs large scale decisions at Fitbit. Examples of different content types at Fitbit and how they all work together to give people better quality of life. How Chelle thinks about translation and localization on a global scale end user experience not when the product has been built but before in the planning and design phase and making it part of the early stage development  Different stages and elements of the software development cycle and localization at Fitbit. Tips for ensuring code is set up for internationalization.  What to listen for:[01:28] How Chelle ended up as an expat in Singapore.[03:50] The methods Chelle is using to learn French.[05:26] Chelle's path to localization and Fitbit.[06:34] What the localization process looked like four years ago and what needed optimization.[09:30] Creating easily marketable copy for other territories.[11:32] The main challenges of centralizing the localization process.[13:56] The physical scale challenges that the Fitbit device range presents for localization.[14:55] Product localization and translation challenges.[18:00] The types of content Chelle finds most enjoyable to work on.[23:00] The process of reviewing translations and displays before release.[26:20] The importance of planning for the global end user experience from the beginning.[28:50] Doing constant context review of content.[30:40] What takeaways and advice Chelle has for the software development cycle.Keep up with Fitbit and Chelle Coury Chelle's LinkedIn. Fitbit's site, app, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Fitbit Smartling Website Contact Adrian Cohn at Smartling

Zak Haitkin runs the localization department for Lyft. This is no small task, considering the company offers car rides, scooters and bicycle-sharing on demand, and point-to-point transportation that leverages public transit options.Lyft operates in 644 cities in the U.S. and 12 cities in Canada. Zak, with a degree in Spanish and International Studies, tells us how his passion for language landed him a job at one of the fastest-growing companies in North America. This episode unpacks the various localization challenges Lyft navigates with software, services and teamwork. Zak shares how transcreation and translation work to improve Lyft's UX; and how Lyft's utilization of Contentful (and Smartling's integration with Contenful) make it so much easier to scale their content and keep up with the rapid feature release cycles.To top it off, Zak also shares details about Lyft's philanthropic endeavors, including their commitment to accessibility and community via their new initiative, LyftUp. This episode is

With the cloud of COVID hanging permanently over our heads, we're all glued to our devices as both a means to escape reality and a way to stay tethered and informed. Some of us are taking on passion projects while others are trying to add a little pizazz to our presentations and posts for work. Wherever you land on the spectrum, we're sure you can appreciate the value of a well done video. It's Impossible to inform, capture attention and entertain - all three if you're lucky!This week, The Loc Show welcomes Tobias Raub, Co-Founder of Clipchamp, to discuss all things video and provide an interesting glimpse into what considerations should be kept in mind as smaller businesses grow into global brands. His company, Clipchamp, makes it easy for even a noob to create professional grade videos through their digital platform. You can upload your own personal videos, choose from their stock footage and layer stock audio to create memorable, quality content. Join us and hear firsthand the unique vision Tobias has for his burgeoning business and all he has learned from being a scrappy entrepreneur in charge of many facets of Clipchamp's strategies.And one more thing… Clipchamp leverages Smartling to manage translation, which saves Tobi eight hours a week. Also worth noting: they use Contentful as their content management system. Tobi is based in Germany, and founder Alex Dreiling is in Australia. The friends always wanted to create a start-up since they met each other at a previous job with German software engineering company SAP. Cool backstory, right?In this episode you will learn The many ways you can leverage Clipchamp for personal and professional use. What Tobias is keeping in mind as Clipchamp builds out their app. Investing in technology as a start up. How to manage translating several types of content simultaneously. How to determine if your tools of choice are no longer serving your mission. What to do when processes begin to tip the scale into unstable territory. What to listen for[3:43] The “itch” Tobi discovered to create a start-up. [4:49] The backstory and creation of Clipchamp. [5:40] What clients can do with Clipchamp and goals of the platform. [9:18] Tobi dives into when he thought about translation and localization.  [11:15] Testing international language and translation methods.  [13:46] Content development and user interfaces of the platform. [15:36] Building the website and technology. [18:01] Github and integrations with third party providers. [19:57] Evaluating costs and benefits of making investments in multiple languages. [23:42] Difficulty translating the platform and terminology. [24:58] Knowing when a change is necessary.  [27:04] What Tobi would do differently if he could go back 5-7 years and the lessons he's learned. [31:57] Validation of content and specialists involved. [34:09] Emphasis on teamwork, meetings and statistics. [36:52] Conducting user interviews and product management. Learn more about Tobi - Clipchamp - Tobias's LinkedIn - Smartling Website - Contact host, Adrian Cohn at Smartling (locshow@smartling.com) - If you liked this podcast, you can find more episodes or leave a review

In this episode of SaaS Half Full, we talk with Adrian Cohn, Director of Brand Strategy and Communications at Smartling, a multilingual content solution provider. As marketers, we hear the word “brand” bandied around a lot. But what does that mean for B2B SaaS companies today? Listen as Adrian shares his experience creating an emotionally resonant brand for Smartling through a unique brand campaign, which drove a 60% increase in deals including the company’s services offering. Connect with Adrian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriankcohn/ Learn more about Smartling: https://www.smartling.com/ Connect with Lindsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseygroepper/ Learn more about BLASTmedia: https://www.blastmedia.com/ 

Hailed as the first conversational marketing platorm, Drift is also considered the new way businesses buy from businesses. In today’s show, Drift’s head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle shared how the platform built a product that acquires users. Matt Bilotti owns Drift’s entire self-service business unit and is responsible for retention and sales figures on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. In this episode, Matt talked about the importance of market alignment, the metrics the product team focuses on, and his thoughts on product channel fit, among others. Show Notes [00:30] How things are in his end [01:24] What Drift is [02:16] Why market alignment is important [04:32] How product co-owns the website with marketing and how it works [07:32] How their team dynamics work [09:15] On the metrics the product team focuses on [13:18] How they’ve evolved into a more unified team [15:38] What their quarterly planning looks like [17:40] His thoughts on product channel fit [23:00] His take on building APIs that people can build on top of [24:39] The impact of having an end goal in their sign up process [27:14] The purpose of the last two tasks [28:46] Piece of advice he’d like to leave the listeners with [31:06] How people can get in touch with him About Matt Bilotti Matt Bilotti is employee number 9 at Drift and he helped make the product a reality. From product manager, he’s now the head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle of the company. Drift is the first conversational marketing platform that emphasized the value of human connection and interaction. The brand is trusted by over 50,000+ businesses to create pipeline and drive revenue. Some of Drift’s valued clients include Smartling, Keap, ConnectWise, Aventri, and Marketo.  Links DriftDropboxAirtableLinkedInSpotifyDuolingoEvernoteTikTokShopifySalesforceBrian Balfour WebsitePareto Principle (80/20 Rule)How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz Profile Matt Bilotti WebsiteMatt Bilotti on LinkedInMatt Bilotti on TwitterMatt Bilotti's Drift ProfileGrowth with Matt Bilotti Podcast

Slator has become the complete resource for language industry news and analysis since Andrew Smart and Florian Faes co-founded the news media group in 2015. And with 25 years of experience across media and localization, Andrew has the inside line on industry trends. By operating in the space of localization, media, and brand, Andrew has learned a lot about managing relationships, collaborating successfully for the best result, and leveraging feedback from users to deliver valuable content.He's also been a key player in building Slator's own media platform, so his experience in reaching a worldwide audience is one we can all learn from.Andrew joins us today to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the localization industry's growth, the macro-trends that have been emerging in both localization and SaaS technology as a whole, the vital role of translators in our global economy, and opportunities to improve collaboration between brands and linguists. Subscribe: Apple Podcast / Google Play / Spotify / StitcherOn this episode, you'll learn How Slator came to be, and the role their voice plays in the industry Where the localization industry currently stands, and how it's set up for growth 2021 Why translation is only growing in importance, and how to leverage localization How to build a strong collaborative relationship with translators, and why it is critical to listen to their feedback The importance of directly listening to your customers and users to understand their pain points, and how to deliver the most valuable experience.  What to listen for [03:54] - Andrew's experience and the story of Slator [07:17] - Some insight around Slator's recent Industry Market Report [09:35] - Growth in the localization industry and the macro-trends emerging right now [13:47] - The influence of macro-trends on the consumer side of the industry [18:00] - The apps and services keeping Andrew connected during the lockdown [22:40] - What might the media landscape look like after COVID-19? [24:06] - Thinking positively about the power of technology and SaaS platforms during a global pandemic [27:09] - Translator pay and job satisfaction: Why you need to listen to their feedback [33:48] - Andrew highlights the importance of cultural and situational context in translation [36:40] - Adrian discusses the opportunity for improvement within the localization industry  [39:40] - How remote work is empowering the world with greater flexibility and agility [46:44] - Why brands translate and how they value content [49:30] - Determining the value and measuring ROI of translation for your brand [51:00] - Understand what your users need to deliver the most value Keep learning

Smartling enables you to automate, manage, and professionally translate content so that you can do more with less. It can translate over 150 languages across over over 50 specialised industries. You can translate contents for websites, mobile apps, web apps, marketing emails, product documentation and video subtitles. It's integrated with any platform: developer API, Translation Proxy and Integrations. We had the pleasure to speak with the CEO of this company Jack Wende.  You can find out more or connect to Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackwelde When you connect tell them you listened to this podcast!   We really hope you enjoyed this podcast and all of the others. We would be super grateful if you could take 2 mins to write a quick review which will help this reach a wider audience and bring some value like hope it's done for you.       You the link below or write a review on iTunes directly. ratethispodcast.com/vineresources  

If you've shopped for anything online lately (and let's face it, all of us have), then you most definitely have had at least one package delivered by FedEx. You've probably even shipped something from the other side of the world. Operating in over 220 countries at 39 languages, the logistics giant makes it possible to ship just about anything you need from one corner of the globe to another without any hassle. But have you wondered about the magic that went on behind the scenes to create such a seamless experience?Us, too. Turns out it took a concerted digital transformation strategy. As the Senior Localization Program Manager for FedEx, Nancy Ferreira was there to help ensure that every supported market and language has the best experience possible for customers, even when there is unique product availability by region.Nancy unwraps the story of FedEx's digital localization journey and dives into how she introduced an agile translation engine with technology, how she manages the relationship between localization professionals and content stakeholders, and how her team balances creativity and timeline constraints for every project.On this episode, you'll learn: How FedEx prioritizes content for translation How to leverage data to drive informed decision making and quantify translation quality How to define quality standards across different content channels Insights on navigating internal conversations around the value of localization How to navigate the challenges of managing localization during a digital transformation The importance of considering localization during content creation What to listen for:[6:05] - Nancy's start in localization[8:35] - Helping to build a more agile, digital experience[11:43] - The importance of localization during digital transformation[14:40] - Navigating internal conversations about the value of translation[23:18] - Deciding what to translate, how to translate, and when to translate[36:30] - Leveraging data to identify your highest priority content for translation[40:37] - Creativity requirements and timeline constraints within localization[46:55] - Nancy's vision for localization, both at FedEx and the industry[51:32] - Nancy talks about how one project can touch up to 120 professionalsKeep learning

Brandon Fiegoli is the Product Manager at Butterfly Network, a company whose aim is to democratize medical imaging across the globe. The ultrasound probe they have developed is much more compact than the industry standard machines. It sends imaging files directly to your iOS or Android smartphone via their app allowing for a quicker, more flexible process.Butterfly Network launched their compact ultrasound probe and integrated app last October. Their launch was global, initially covering 11 non-English languages and 13 countries. Now they have clearance in 23 countries and their product is helping physicians battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Brandon joins us today to discuss the translation from start to launch and shares his advice for others looking ahead at doing the same.Topics: [01.14] About Brandon and Butterfly Network. [03.48] Why create this product and what applications does it have? [09.25] Why did you need language translation? [13.03] What had to be translated to meet regulatory requirements? [14.22] What were your top priorities for the translation project? [15.55] What preparation did you make going into the translation? [18.04] What technological challenges did you face? [20.24] What was your timeline for the translation? [21.50] What aspects of the process and collaborating with Smartling made it work? [23.50] What happened after launch and what happens in the future regarding translation? [32.54] How do you report back to the team about translation progress? [34.19] What kind of results have you had since launch? [35.24] What do you wish you had done differently? [38.09] How did you choose which markets to launch in? Resources and Links: Butterfly Network Website Brandon Fiegoli on Linkedin Smartling Website Full transcript which almost certainly contains typos (thanks for the forgiveness!)Announcer:You're listening to The Loc Show, presented by Smartling.Adrian:Hey, what's up, everyone. It's Adrian Cohn from Smartling. Thank you for listening to The Loc Show. My guest today is Brandon Fiegoli. Fiegoli, an Italian name. Brandon is a product manager at Butterfly Network. Butterfly Network is a digital health company whose mission is to democratize healthcare by making medical imaging universally accessible and affordable.Adrian:They have this beautiful handheld device that is able to create images that render on your iPhone or Android. Brandon is also a standup guy with a great story. So, let's get into it and thanks again for listening.Adrian:Hey, Brandon, welcome to The Loc Show. How is it going?Brandon:It is great. Thank you so much for having me.Adrian:I am pleased to have you. You're such a fantastic person to connect with. We've had the opportunity to chat on a number of occasions. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you right now and who do you work with?Brandon:Sure. So, I'm sitting in my apartment. I'm in Manhattan right now. Lived in Manhattan, and outside of Manhattan my whole life. At the moment, I work with Butterfly Network. I'm on our product team there. I lead a couple of our different product offerings, focus really across all of our core platforms, so Android, iOS, cloud, work on our international expansion, really a very broad role that has gotten me involved very, very deeply into our translation systems.Adrian:So, what exactly is Butterfly Networks?Brandon:Butterfly Network is a company that builds a handheld ultrasound system. And most people are familiar with ultrasound. If they've had a child, sometimes if you go into an emergency room. Hopefully you're not there too much, you may get an ultrasound. Ultrasound is a really, really cool technology. I think in the last 10 or 15 years, it's gained a lot of popularity largely because it's quick and also because it's safe. And I would say, most importantly because it's safe.Brandon:If you think about an x-ray or a CT scan, they're also quick, they bring that ionizing radiation. And with ultrasound, you can get a window into the human body with mere sound waves.Adrian:That's amazing. So, the innovation that Butterfly Network brought to the market though is that this thing is it's a handheld device, right?Brandon:It is. So, I'll share the story in just a second. I'll pull it out. It lives in this case. This is a handheld device that fits in my pocket. So, let me just grab the device here. Here you go. This is the entire ultrasound probe. This is actually a special probe, the butterfly probe is a special one because it actually works with your entire body.Brandon:In a traditional ultrasound system, there's usually a large cart. They get wheeled in as you imagine your 1980s computer to look on a cart, and they usually have three probes with them, a linear phase and a curved transducer. Our entire probe is very different because it actually uses semiconductor technology to function as all three of those probes.Brandon:So, we could dive into the semiconductors if you'd like or we can just keep going.Adrian:It sounds really interesting and what I think is particularly cool though is that this is a mobile device and it's corded. So you can actually plug it into your phone?Brandon:It is. So, the device comes in lightning and USB-C, works with both iOS and Android devices. It's incredibly flexible. Some people use it on tablets. Some people use it on their phones. We fit the entire spectrum.Adrian:So, what's the point of developing such a product? I mean, isn't what we had before sufficient?Brandon:Great question. So, we talked about first of all the size of ultrasound carts. You wheeled them in, but that's not really where the problem exists. The problem exists in their cost today. Their cost and the ease of use of those systems. So, if you think about a traditional ultrasound system, you may be able to get a used system on the order of $30,000.Brandon:But if you go out there and you buy some of the most advanced cardiac imaging systems, they could be upwards of $200,000. And I don't have to tell you this, but you would imagine that in many parts of the world, and even in many parts of the US, it's simply not feasible to buy one of those systems.Brandon:So, you think about it, an emergency room today may have one. A really modern very busy emergency room may have three or four. In a smaller setting, you may have one or you may have none. Now, we talked about this a lot as actually being able to replace that stethoscope. So, 200 years ago or so, you started with the stethoscope. You could hear into the human body. You start to hear if somebody has pneumonia, an arrhythmia and now, 200 years later in 2020, we're able to look into the human body. That's sort of remarkable.Adrian:It is remarkable. And because you have both an iOS app and an Android app, the image is rendered in the moment on the screen of your phone?Brandon:Absolutely. Plug the device in, sign into the app, plug in the probe and you're ready to go. We like to say pick a preset, not a probe. So, the probe actually does all the work for you in regards to focusing, in regards to adjusting the proper frequency whether it's deeper in your body, whether it's more superficial, all controlled by software.Brandon:Just for anybody out there listening, just to compare that sort of with traditional ultrasound technology, this is typically done with piezoelectric crystals. So, those are actually crystals that are grown in a lab. When you pass a current over them, they vibrate and that's how you generate the sound waves.Brandon:In our device, we're still using sound waves. However, we're using the technology that a digital camera may use today except we've added little silicon drums on the top of it and when that electric current gets passed, those drums actually vibrate to generate sound waves. We have about 9,000 microdrums on the transducer itself.Brandon:A traditional ultrasound machine has anywhere between 90 and 190 crystals. And because it's all software controlled, we can adjust how those little drums on the probe resonate. This is really where the innovation started, all with the semiconductor chip and then we sort of have built out the ecosystem with the various software platforms, with the storage, with all of that.Adrian:Wow, that technology allows you to look at a whole range of different things inside the human body to reveal whether or not a person is healthy.Brandon:Absolutely. So, I think at the most positive use of ultrasound, we talked about it a lot with obstetrics. So, pregnant women. One of the most positive experiences they can have is going and seeing their growing child. So, I think a lot of people have very fond memories of ultrasound in that sense.Brandon:The other side of the spectrum, people are using ultrasound for everything. Cardiac arrest, it's been very popular for looking at people's lungs. We call them B-lines for the COVID outbreak. The uses are sort of endless. Things like inflamed tendons, inflamed muscles, even ocular scanning. Basically anything, and when you think about the portability and the cost, and not necessarily having to go, have radiology bring you to go get an x-ray, it really is quite exciting.Adrian:That's awesome. I love technology and I specifically love medical technology. My grandfather was a surgeon. My great grandfather was a surgeon. My mother is in the medical publishing space. So, it's always like really interesting to me to see all the advances in science and technology that enabled doctors, physicians, people to take scans of their bodies or to learn more about their health or condition.Adrian:I'm particularly interested in how as COVID-19 became this global healthcare crisis, Butterfly Network was able to utilize its technology to help people diagnose themselves or others with the infection. Is that right?Brandon:That is correct. I wouldn't go as far as to say diagnosing. As people were getting more ill, we're able to go and actually take a look at the lungs and get a better sense of what's happening. We still are obviously relying on the actual test. However, this was an incredible tool and remains a really incredible tool to track how serious people are doing.Brandon:Often time, someone may say, "Hey, I'm not doing that bad or I don't feel that badly." When the labs come back, when the imaging comes back, you see something different and vice versa. So, this is just a massively helpful tool. When you think about COVID also, one of the big things they talk a lot about is contamination and the spread of it obviously.Brandon:Talk a lot about getting a CT scan for somebody's chest, those rooms that those CT scanners are in may be done for 45 minutes or an hour between patients while they get sanitized. With this, you drop it in a probe cover, covers the entire cord, covers the mobile device. You're ripping off that covering, you're patient to patient very quickly.Brandon:In COVID where every minute matter, this really became an incredibly powerful and versatile tool.Adrian:So, where, Brandon, does language translation fit into all of these?Brandon:It's a great question. So, language translation is an essential part of our business, I would say. So, if you go all the way to the top and you think about our mission from our founder, Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, his mission, our mission is to democratize medical imaging.Brandon:And to do that meant a couple of things. The first meant getting some groundbreaking technology. If you are going to democratize something, you probably need to do a little bit differently than it's being done today. So, they've been working on this technology for six or seven years.Brandon:The other thing meant, "Okay, now that we have the technology, how do you share it with the world?" And that's everything from education to commercialization and everything in between that. So, when you think about that and we've talked about this before, you really think about, okay, if we're going to give education, there has to be multiple languages. Not everybody around the world speaks English.Brandon:If you're going to sell in other languages, you obviously need to have information that's relevant, that's correctly translated all in those languages every other area of the business. So, from shipping, making sure that people's shipping information is communicated to them in a way that they understand.Brandon:I think we take for granted quite a bit that fortunately many people in the world speak English. However, democratizing this technology really means we hope to be in rural insert X country. And you could imagine that in those countries, they don't speak English. I guess the other point that I would be remiss if I mention was just about the regulations.Brandon:So, we are a medical device. We are FDA cleared, and obviously, we have CE mark and clearances in every country we ship in but part of that clearance, part of those regulations for us, especially as a medical device is that our labeling, that our information for use is in the appropriate language. And again, that's for safety reasons.Adrian:Yeah, so when did this translation journey start for you? What was it like? How long ago was it?Brandon:Yeah. So we started this, I guess, almost a year ago now. I've been asked to look at our international expansion as a company. So, everything from how do we store data safely in the cloud in other countries through how do we ship these devices and make them appear on people's doorsteps. We are sold largely via an ecommerce model, so unlike a traditional ultrasound system today, you're going online. You're certifying that you're a medical professional and you're paying and that device arrives at your door.Brandon:So, there was a lot of work streams that went on here and one of the big ones is obviously translation. And it sits, as I just described, over all of those. So, part of my role was overseeing that entire project. So, at that point, as we started looking at this, we realized it was going to be critical to our success and frankly, critical to even being able to do it.Brandon:The place we always start is at regulatory. So you can go to market and do a bad job marketing something but you're not hurting or breaking any rules. You may just not achieve your goals. For us, it really started with how do we legally sell this device? How do we meet the regulations so that we're not getting in trouble and we're not hurting anyone? And that started with regulatory.Brandon:From there, it moved on to things like data privacy and then it moved on to other work streams, how do we sell it, how do we market it, what do our websites need to look like? But our first goal is meeting those regulations and really finding a translation vendor who is going to be able to run with us.Adrian:What content did you have to translate to meet regulatory demands?Brandon:So, the information we have to translate is what they call the Information For Use, the IFU. And like many guidances you see today, it doesn't get hyper-specific. So, it says any directions that are needed to use the device in a safe and effective way.Brandon:For us, it became really important. Obviously, the instruction manual was the first place we looked. And then after that, of course, the UI of the system.Adrian:The mobile or the-Brandon:And mobile app and/or desktop app. After that, everything was sort of from there, it was about how do we commercialize it and how do we get our messaging into the right languages.Adrian:You started with how to use the product and actual product content. That was the baseline that you needed to translate to meet regulatory concerns. And then after you accomplish or started thinking about how to tackle that, you would move on to go to market content?Brandon:That's actually right.Adrian:Cool. That's still a pretty significant volume of work, I would imagine. Like I get products all the time and sometimes the user manuals are super thin and sometimes even for a simple device, they're really thick. What were some of your priorities when you started to consider how to go about accomplishing this project? What was important to you?Brandon:Yes. I think there were a couple of things and to be honest, not all of them were apparent to me when we started. I think first and foremost, we needed to make sure that the translations would be of high quality. So, again, if you think about the regulatory side of things and just the quality side of things as a brand, focusing more on the quality and the regulatory means that the translations are accurate. It means that people are "brought up to speed" with your product. What are they translating? Is it giving context making sure that they're familiar with it?Brandon:So, ours is obviously in the medical space. There's a lot of big words in our app. There's a lot of very scientific words in our app. Just last week, we were translating stuff about our fetal calculation packages which are the short name would be OB calc, so for obstetrics calculations, for measuring the size of babies, there was all kinds of abbreviations in there.Brandon:So, having translators that could work with that and understand it and ask questions when they needed to was really critical for us. So, the first thing was making sure that people had the right domain expertise. The other things were things like having a team that we could tightly integrate with and basically become part of our team.Brandon:There's nothing worse than buying a service and then you're only told, "Hey, the only way I can get in touch with these people is file a support ticket." Like that, at the volume we were running, at the rate we were running with, it would never work that way frankly.Adrian:Yeah. What were some of the things that you had to prepare as you went out to start translating all of those content? You talked about having two mobile apps, an iOS app, an Android app, you have a help center that you needed to translate and also support documentation that it sounds like it was user manual, maybe offline content.Brandon:It is offline content, yeah.Adrian:Offline content.Brandon:We did it in phases when you talk about that. Where we really started was two things. We've spoken with a couple of vendors. We had even tried a couple of passes just with some vendors in the industry as we're honing in. We wanted to understand a little bit about how they work and nobody on the team was particularly familiar with translations.Brandon:So, we would send out little bits of content and we would get them back and we would think about the experience. I'll be honest, we didn't have a lot of time. So, just given our company goals, given our volume of work, we had to move fast. When we got to Smartling, all of those things that I just mentioned, the expertise in the domain area, the reliable support team and I would say they sort of swarmed us. They sort of encapsulated us and said, "Here's the plan. Here's how we're going to implement this." And it worked.Brandon:And then obviously, the technical expertise was a big one for us. So, I personally had never thought about how this really works, but certainly putting a bunch of strings in a spreadsheet, sending them off to get translated and getting those back and pumping them in is not how it works.Brandon:There's a lot of really complex integrations that need to work seamlessly if you want this to just become part of your everyday process.Adrian:That is sort of like a requisite for a fast-moving company because the way I sometimes think about translation is it's a very layered process. From the surface of your phone like you see one language but if you turn it to the side at an isometric sort of view point, there are a lot of layers that go behind it that are each of the different languages that I don't use. I speak English.Adrian:But the Spanish user of your tool or the German user or the French user of your tool, they need to access the versions of the content that are behind the English version, right? Was that a significant technology challenge for you all to think about solving?Brandon:I will be honest. I'm thankful I wasn't the person who had to do that. I was the person sort of overseeing it. If you talked about the steps we took, so we found somebody who ... We got recommendations internally. We had one of our engineers actually recommend Smartling as they had worked with them in another company. We got, I call it swarmed on the overview. We got so many questions answered.Brandon:Everything from our quality team, how is this done? Why should I believe that these translators know anything about healthcare? Through how do you guys do your translation and edit steps? Somebody is translating it. Somebody is editing it. So, nothing is getting to us before there's at least two sets of eyes on it. Through people like Sergio as our technical solution architect, going and sitting with our engineers and looking at how our strings were set up.Brandon:For the year before we started doing this, the engineers always said to me, "No problem." When we're ready to translate this, we were wrapping our strings. We wrapped them in a special ID that says, "They're ready to translate." I said, "Great." We decided we're going to run a test. We sent something up to Smartling. They sent us back what they called pseudo-translated files, and those files basically take all the strings in the app and they doubled them.Brandon:And we found out two really important things. One, there is about 10% of the app that we just didn't have wrapped in those strings, in those IDs. So that was a bit of a project to find those. That was great, solved pretty quick. The second one was more of the important one. And that was what happens to the UI when German is doubly as long as English?Brandon:And at that point, we found out there were places were things broke. They didn't wrap properly. Buttons were pushed off the screen. That was another project that we implemented and we went through and we took an inventory of everything that broke. At that point, we had decided to go with Smartling. We were moving along on the API integrations and then we really begin to work through automation.Brandon:How do we automatically send those strings up? How do we pull them back? How do we merge that code back into our code base? And then I guess the other one would be what you just mentioned is how do you actually display those on the screen? So that required a couple of changes in our app. But it all happened. It was very quick. It was a little bit stressful but we had a really good core group of people focused on it and I think that that was critical to our success and to meet our very, very aggressive timelines.Adrian:What was the timeline? Because oftentimes, translation does sort of come in, in the last minute, and people like you are expected to make miracles happen and you do because you work hard at it but it can be a very stressful time. What sort of time were you working on?Brandon:I wish I could be lying to you and tell you it was longer. I believe these conversations started late in July and we went live October 1st in 13 countries. So, those translations were actually done, I believe our internal deadline was September 15th, and that was because for all regulatory purposes, did our own QA actually sent devices out to people in those countries and had them run QA on it to make sure everything we were sending to the public was safe and accurate. It came back really cleanly thankfully because I think otherwise it would have been really tight to hit that deadline.Adrian:That is an awfully fast deadline and it makes a whole lot of sense to me that you would have sent that out to experts for quality assurance given the value of the content and the type of content and complexity that it carries. Why do you think it went well?Brandon:I think it went well for a couple of reasons. I'll talk about us first then we can talk about you. Internally, it was a priority. It was not an option, as are many things at Butterfly. It was not an option to fail. So one way or another, that content was going to get translated. Joking aside, what that really translated to was a lot of people focused on it.Brandon:So it was a top engineering priority. It was a top priority to get the contracts with you guys through legal. It was a priority for me to be on top of it every time an issue was opened with the translators to respond to it quickly because we knew if we drop any of these balls, we weren't going to hit our deadline.Brandon:On the Smartling side, you guys really excelled in basically understanding the importance, the significance and then really running with us. And I think a lot of times you don't find that. We had a CS manager. We had a solution architect. We had someone on the language services team. We had our account manager when we realized we left something out of the initial order, we would be able to add that on. It was a really well-oiled operation, I would say, from that front. And there was daily check-ins and things were clicking.Adrian:So, you started this project in July. You finished the initial effort in September, to send devices out so that they could be tested for quality. You got thumbs up from the people who you sent the devices to. You go live with your, how many languages?Brandon:I think we got a bonus because I think we got Austria using Germany's. So I think it was 11 non-English speaking languages. I think we did adoption into English for the UK, and I think it was 13 countries. So, 11 languages, 13 countries.Adrian:Okay, so you've translated content to 11 languages ready to deploy for 13 countries. You deployed this experience in October, what happens next?Brandon:That was really the start of a lot of really exciting chaos. It was a really good problem to have. We had been building excitement for Butterfly to go global for a while. So, at that point, we activated all of our channels, marketing, digital marketing. And at that point, the requests, the sales started coming in for devices and we very quickly became a global operation. But we also learned a ton.Brandon:So, you jumped to the punch a little bit before, but things like our knowledge-base, things like our website and our website was actually part of that initial push. But things like our knowledge-base, things like video content, all of that still had to be translated. And I think one of the things that you and I have spoken about previously is, it's one thing to meet the regulations. It's one thing to launch internationally. But I think to be a global business and a global brand is a totally different ballgame.Brandon:I think it's nice to be able to say, yeah, we excel internationally. But people don't want to read your English content. They don't care. Even if they speak English, they want to see it in their language. It would be like I read a very little bit of Spanish, and even if I could get through the passage, I'm going to be more comfortable with it in my native language.Adrian:It's so interesting that you say that because all I speak is English. And the language translation problem for me is far less visible because English is my native language and so much content is in English. And when I think back as to like when I've been challenged most, it's when I'm forced to try and buy something that's not in English. I'm thinking about like holidays that I've booked in Italy or in Spain, Airbnb's or before Airbnb with a real bnb or a hotel and you're trying to decipher their content, a double bed is that two beds versus like a single bed that's a little ...Adrian:All of those things come into play and it certainly rings true with me that the effort to translate the content does have meaning that may be a little bit harder to understand for those of us that are English native speakers and don't think about language on a daily basis.Brandon:I agree with that fully. And I think we're given a lot of really amazing tools. When I read something when I get an email that's literally in Mandarin and this happens, I'll pop into Google Translate and in five seconds, I have an idea of what that email is saying. But I would say us trying to sell something and say, "Hey, Butterfly is in these countries," or not even, forget selling. Saying, "Hey, Butterfly is in these countries," but not giving the tools for the experience that, "Hey, we're really here and, hey, we've really invested in being here," I think is a whole other discussion in itself. And I think that was really important for us.Adrian:And I want to ask a question about that but before we do, I want to go back for a minute because you said something that really was interesting to me about how when you launched, it was not just that you flipped a switch and all of a sudden your translations were available through the app and on your website. It was a fully integrated company wide effort.Adrian:You're on the product team, you spearheaded and centralized this whole process. What was it like working with all of these different teams to coordinate a launch that's company-wide?Brandon:It was really fun. It was really challenging. I felt like I was running a flight crew at NASA although let's be clear it wasn't that fun. I think the last email I sent out on the night of September 30th, I think the subject line was something like "All Systems Launched."Brandon:So, it was a little bit of everything. It was excitement. It was frustration. It was everything. We're trying to meet regulatory requirements. That's our top company priority, above everything else is don't break the law and don't hurt anyone. Those are, I think, any company's priorities or if they're not, they should be.Brandon:So, make sure we meet our regulatory priorities but then it's things like you're getting pulled from the marketing team. I need this email translated or we need to start doing this. It was really a prioritization thing. We said we can do it all, we just needed to sort of stagger it. And we looked at it and we said, "Okay, regulatory, check." Now, we start getting emails in other languages for support, making sure that we can start to get that content actually sent over to them in ways that they understand. It was a little bit of everything.Brandon:Making sure that we're dealing with sending our shipping information in the right language, getting our quotes translated, it touched really on every bit of the business and I think the one thing we had going for us amongst a lot of things but the really important thing was everybody saw the importance. And while there may have been a lot of challenges, everybody was driving towards expanding imaging, expanding this device to other parts of the world.Adrian:You sure chose a great time to do that.Brandon:I promised it was completely by accident. It is really humbling and exciting to know that our device is making a difference. Our founder, Jonathan, whenever he's in the office, he loves to say he measures our success by the number of lives saved. And for anybody who's in business, I don't know that everybody can do that and I think it's really cool.Brandon:One of the things we love to do is to share those experiences, and a couple of them come in yesterday. And it just makes everybody remember how important all of these is.Adrian:Well, certainly, the product and the mission of the business is quite aspirational and humbling. So that's a really strategic advantage that you have and your colleagues have working there and serving the global community. I think that's really cool. The effort that you had to undertake to get this initial push out the door or the "All Systems Go" email that you got to send, that was just the beginning. I mean, you were able to get through that sprint. But that's not where the story ends, I assume.Brandon:It's not. Translation and localization today, I don't want to say are a part of our workflow, I would say are very close to becoming. So, on the technical side, things are running smoothly, I mean almost no thought which is great. The only thought is, "Hey, do we make sure that we merge all those strings before we send out the app?"Brandon:On the marketing side of things, things are really, really close. And that's not for lack of trying, it's that we are moving so quickly that the only thing I have to keep reminding that team is I need 24 to 48 hours to get that stuff translated. And to be honest, I think I've pushed the Smartling team really, really hard and they have not yet disappointed. I hope they don't hear this.Adrian:They probably will, Brandon.Brandon:I probably shouldn't have said that. They always deliver it and what I'm really saying is just getting people to remember there are humans looking at these strings and we can do it really quick. Just give us 24 or 48 hours before you plan to send this thing out and you'll get a really great result.Adrian:You're exactly right, like there is a human process here that has to be considered. But what you're also sharing with me is that you're still translating a lot of content. It's not like you had this initial push and then you're done. You're translating on a daily basis, weekly basis?Brandon:Absolutely. So, the way our tech systems work, actually every time code, we use GitHub for it to manage our code. Every time, what we call pool request, which is a bit of code gets pushed into our system, it actually triggers a process and that process actually calls the Smartling systems and sends those strings.Brandon:Every time every night, I believe it is, we automatically call Smartling and we say, "Bring these strings back, anything that's been translated that day." And that's where we talk about that app automation working.Brandon:On the support side of the house are knowledge-based just actually in the last few weeks. We've set that up to fully automate. We rewrote the whole thing and it's just about done. I think tomorrow everything will be back. And then we have some more ad hoc stuff. We have subtitles. I'm working with our video marketing team. We're working to get a bunch of our videos subtitled. We've done a little of it already. We're trying to scale that up.Brandon:We use the GDN, Global Delivery Network, to handle our websites, so making sure that that content, the right content is served. That's something that just runs because we're doing our user manual, I would be hard-pressed to find a service that we're not using at Smartling.Adrian:So, how do you report back to your team on the efficacy of this translation program that you're running for Butterfly?Brandon:Yeah. I think I said this jokingly to you before, the best report that I can give, no report, which is nothing is broken, nobody has said the word is wrong. We have forgotten a string, like that is my goal from a quality perspective. From an overall perspective, what do I say to people? I tell people all of our tech systems are translated. If we add a new piece of content, so the announcement that I'll be making next week when we launch it is that our knowledge base is translated.Brandon:It is now so ingrained in our processes that there's not a lot to say thankfully. And I think this is one of those things that is the less you say, the better. I don't think anybody is going to say, "Oh, wow, that's in French." But if it wasn't in French, I promise you we would hear about it. Just like if you go to Amazon.com, you're not going, "Wow, thankfully, they put it in English," but if the only way you could get to Amazon.com was in French, I bet you your top complaint would be that's it all in French.Adrian:So, measuring in terms of the number of people who can access your product or service is one of the most important benchmarks that you have as a company for language translation?Brandon:Absolutely. I think that's really well stated.Adrian:So, I think this is all really fascinating. The products now are available effective in October. How have the results been? Have you been able to ship devices around the world with some level of success and you get app downloads so that people are using those devices? Are you tracking this?Brandon:We have. It's obviously really important to our mission. So I believe we have global clearance in 22 countries, 23 possibly. And these devices are having more impact that we can ever imagine. You probably saw us tweet out the other day. Our probes are in every corner of the globe on the Mars desert testing, understanding what they can do in space. I know they went to Base Camp at Mount Everest. Whether they went up higher than that, I'm not sure.Brandon:Every corner of the globe, and it's amazing to me where we see people we can sell in those countries and deliver it at scale. But when you hear about these stories of people taking their probes with them missions all over the world, that's really where things get very interesting and I think the most exciting for me.Adrian:Yeah. Brandon, when you look back on all the success that you and Butterfly have had in delivering solution to all of those different countries, what do you wish you had done differently?Brandon:What do I wish we had done different? That's a great question. I wish we had more time. Anyone listening and any company who's about to do this, one of the reasons that we were very thoughtful about it is because we know that taking on translations, taking on localization, taking on support in other languages is a new thing that you have to account for. It's not always easy and I think having some time to develop that strategy, having some time to educate the company, your peers, your coworkers about it would be really important.Brandon:I think the other thing would just be to know a little bit more about how translation works. So, one of the things that was exciting to us about Smartling was the language pre-flight we did. It was a little painful for me in the sense that I had to go through our app and actually capture screenshots of all of our error states and everything. But being able to send up that context to the translators so that they can say, "Oh, this is what the word means in this context," improved our quality and actually, I think shortened our time to deploy so much.Brandon:I think having a platform, a transparent platform that I can go in and click through. We started this session talking about how if I had to do this over email, it would have never worked. I mean, how many emails a day could I send versus how many times do I go into the Smartling platform and actually look at something or adjust something? Doing it without that, I think, would be impossible. I would urge everyone to think deeply about their technology and the technology that they want in their partner. I think those would be the big things.Adrian:The first takeaway that you have, I think, is it's almost like a poetic one which is it's more than just setting up the integrations, translating the content and getting it out to the users. It's a commitment to your business and to your customer base that you are going to support them no matter what. It's a lot easier, let's put it in another way, Brandon. It's probably a lot easier to say you will support a new market than it is to take away that market.Brandon:I agree with that. The one thing I did know about translation when we started all these is once you start, you can't stop because people do notice. And you hold a commitment to your customers, to your users, to your patients that that content will remain high quality and frequent. And all of the things that you could imagine are really sort of prominent company.Adrian:And this is a question that probably would have been well-suited at the beginning but how did you choose the markets that you currently support?Brandon:Yeah. It's a great question. So, we looked at a couple of things. Like everything, it was multi-faceted. So everything from number of physicians and medical professionals, so looking at the biggest impact we could make, places where we were able to get regulatory clearance.Brandon:So for example, Europe, everyone in Europe or all countries in Europe use the CE mark. CE mark was something we had worked for, for many, many months. And we knew it was going to be really exciting because when you got CE mark, it opened all Europe. It also opened to all of Australia and New Zealand.Brandon:So, impact regulatory clearance developed ultrasound programs so we know that we're still in early days and we have a long way to go on how do you educate these users and how do you move past just ultrasound experts but also enabling people who are not familiar with ultrasound. And in a lot of the European markets and the Australian market, it's quite developed. So, this got a jumpstart to this democratization and now obviously, we circle back and are deeply committed and deeply focused on that educational aspect.Adrian:Wow, Brandon, I feel like I've learned so much from this conversation. And I am so impressed by all the amazing work that you and your team have put into delivering this solution to the global marketplace. Thank you, thank you for being on The Loc Show.Brandon:Of course, thank you for having me. It's fun.Adrian:Yeah, it was great to have you. And we're going to make sure that people know how to find you. The URL for your company is?Brandon:Butterflynetwork.com.Adrian:Butterflynetwork.com?Brandon:Yes.Adrian:And I really encourage everyone to go to their website and just check it out. First of all, for those of you who are marketers here, they've got a beautiful website. There's great product marketing. You can really understand the solution that they offer, see images of the product, see images of the image that the product shows on the mobile app. There's just so much cool stuff there. Brandon, we'll make sure that people can find you too on LinkedIn.Brandon:Perfect. Yeah, feel free to reach out. Lots of info to share, a really fun journey, really excited. There's more coming, so stay tuned.Adrian:We will do that. Thanks again, Brandon.Brandon:Thank you.Adrian:I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Brandon as much as I did. If you like this episode of The Loc Show, hit the Subscribe button so the next episode will be waiting for you. And if you loved this podcast, please leave a review. Five-star reviews go a long way. If you're not ready to give a five-star review, give our next episode a shot. We appreciate you're listening. If you have any feedback or want us to interview one of your favorite people in localization, just email me, acohn@smartling.com.

Welcome to The Loc Show. I'm your host, Adrian, from Smartling. This podcast exists to help you become an expert in all things translation and localization so that you can connect your products and services with people anywhere, today. We're going to interview some of the brightest minds in localization. Hit the subscribe button on your favorite podcast player so that every time we release an interview with leaders from top companies around the world, you can put their ideas and experience into action right now. Thanks for listening.Resources and Links:- Adrian on Twitter- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts- Subscribe on SpotifyTranscript**We automated the transcription of this epsidoe, so there is a 100% chance of spelling and gramatical errors below. We appreciate your not holding this against us

En este episodio entrevistamos a Berenice Font, psicóloga, traductora y gestora de Transcreare.Berenice habla 6 idiomas, ha vivido en numerosos países y es una empresaria de éxito en México con su agencia de servicios lingüísticos.Aprende sobre traducción, transcreación, traducción para marketing y gestión de empresas en esta entrevista.Y como bonus, las herramientas que nos recomienda usar Berenice: Google Drive como herramienta de almacenamiento y comunicación y memoQ y Smartling como sistema de gestión de traducción.También puedes ver la entrevista en nuestro canal de Youtube.Si quieres aprender más sobre traducción, visita los cursos de TranslaStars.Más información sobre nuestros cursos en:Español: www.translastars.esItaliano: www.translastars.it

Adrian Cohn of Smartling stops by the podcast this week. As the Director of Brand Strategy and Communications at Smartling, a B2B language translation company, Adrian started as an Operations Analyst at Smartling almost 5 years ago. Now he oversees brand and creative for the whole company. We're going to talk about community's role in growing a brand, adjusting your community strategy with COVID-19 and much more.

Adrian Cohn of Smartling stops by the podcast this week. As the Director of Brand Strategy and Communications at Smartling, a B2B language translation company, Adrian started as an Operations Analyst at Smartling almost 5 years ago. Now he oversees brand and creative for the whole company. We're going to talk about community's role in growing a brand, adjusting your community strategy with COVID-19 and much more. Who is this episode great for?B2B, Scaling, In-person CommunitiesWhat's the biggest takeaway?Adrian dives into how brand strategies as a whole need to adapt in order to survive and thrive in a post COVID-19 world. While in-person events are on the backburner a longer term strategy to build community should be put in place. While trying to weather the storm, Adrian believes that companies will make it out on the other side if they focus on planning more creative community strategy, relevant content, adjusted sales tactics and strong customer success teams.

While staying at home and practicing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, why not learn a new skill? Translate your marketing content for international audiences. If more people can read your content, more will understand your mission and buy your products/services. Today’s guest is Adrian Cohn, Brand Strategy and Communications Director at Smartling. If you want your content to be translated accurately and resonate with customers, focus on localization. Some of the highlights of the show include: Translation and Localization: What’s the difference? Localized Experience: Where’s the best pizza or hot dog? New York or Chicago? Multiple Markets: Localize content if operating in different regions Content Localization: Speak the language to embrace local culture on product Mistakes/Myths: Scale of problem, language translators, and searchable content Audience: Who they are, what they need, where they reside, language they speak Top 3 Tips: Understand your business goals Identify staff resources to enable process Measure and communicate results with team Links: Adrian Cohn Smartling Lyft Slack Shopify CoSchedule

We talk a lot on the Move the World with Words podcast about freelancing. An awful lot of translators have made a very respectable career out of freelance translating. But it's not without its headaches. The headaches can come with things like accounting, invoicing, chasing clients down, and periods of having no work. But on the most recent episode of the podcast, we talked with Rosalie Henke, who does a lot of her freelance work with us here at Smartling.  We talked about: the bonuses of working with an agency, why she doesn't want to translate medical or legal projects, and what "Move the World with Words" means to her.  You can find out more about the passionate translators who Move the World with Words by subscribing to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here. 

Bonjour, Guten Tag, Hola - On this episode, we’re talking all things translation with our guest Adrian Cohn Director of Brand Strategy and Comms at Smartling, a cloud-based translation technology and services company. You’ll learn what goes into the art of translation and how you can get started today.

We know very little about the farmer who grows our coffee beans. We're probably not entirely sure how our clothes are knit together. We may not know the engineer who designed our smartphones. But here at Smartling, we're on a mission to uncover the lives of at least one contributor to global commerce- translators.  We're elevating not just the work, but the everyday lives of translators around the globe. We want to know: what are their hobbies? What are their favorite restaurants, their favorite movies? What are their passions? So, on this first episode of the Move the World with Words podcast, we caught up with two translators who work in Buenos Aires- Gabriela Ortiz and Ariana Loker.  What we talked about: speaking the buyer's language, translating the intended message of the seller, dialects, passion in words, and brand.  You can find out more about the passionate translators who Move the World with Words by subscribing to our podcast on Apple Podcast, on Spotify, or here.

How many languages do you speak? No judgements here—just curious. But, a safe bet would say that the majority of people reading this have a primary language, and then a rudimentary understanding of a second (if that). Now, this is probably fine for the most part, but if you generate some content that needs to be consumed by prospects in other countries, you’ll need a translation service like Smartling. But, Smartling’s marketing doesn’t just revolve around citing how they solve business needs, it celebrates the translators—the people—who make it run, and the stories that each translator has. On this episode of RTU, Adrian Cohn, director of Brand Strategy and Comms, and Jack Welde, Founder & CEO, discuss how they do that. Smartling’s values highlight humanity and personality, and they’ve found considerable success taking those values to heart when marketing. Tune in to hear more about their efforts, how they engage employees before rolling out a campaign, their approach to measurement, and more. Plus, hear more about their most renegade marketing effort yet: a beautiful, printed book that tells the stories of 12 Smartling translators, both through beautiful prose and stunning imagery. What inspired the story-based approach? What are we in business to do? We're trying to help companies to reach people around the world. It's very human. It's a communication process. I would argue that, in a world of marketing personalization, translation is the most basic form of marketing. Speak my language if you want to reach me, right? So I said: hey, there's got to be a way to tell a story like this, that perhaps allows our translators and our buyers to connect more and really remember that balance between art and science, not just the technology, but also the humanity. How’d you settle on the book? How’d you start putting the content out there? We didn't have a calculation as to whether or not this would work, but we did have affirmation from customers who continuously told us about how important the translators were to them. This leap of faith was rooted in our customers and their feedback. When we went to produce this, it was extremely challenging. We had to send someone to 11 or 12 destinations around the world. There were dozens of trips, flights booked, hotel rooms—very complicated to execute. But what I was really excited about is that we decided to produce and roll out this campaign in a very agile way. We didn't actually produce everything and keep it to ourselves until one big launch. As soon as we started getting images from Elizabeth, we started dripping them out across social media. We started incorporating them in our presentations around the world. It was a very different way of unveiling a brand marketing campaign, but every single time we dripped something new, we got great feedback.

How are smart speakers handling regional accents and languages to become more mainstream? Niall chats with Smartling co-founder Jack Welde at their Dublin office to discover how they are making content on the Web easier to access by mixing automation with human editors.

On this episode I’m talking to Anja Jones, Managing Director of AJT, a translation and localization agency based in the UK. AJT was recently recognized by ITI (The Institute of Translation & Interpreting) for contributions to the translation community through their Graduate Junior Translator Scheme, so I was excited to learn more about what Anja had created. We also talk about some handy tools - one called Smartling, which is bringing greater transparency to translation, and TimeTac, an app that makes it much easier for Anja to keep track of her remote team.

Amanda Kleha is the Chief Customer Officer @ Figma, the startup that allows you to turn ideas into products faster through design, prototyping and feedback gathering, all in one place. To date, Figma have raised over $42m in VC funding from some of the best in the business including Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners and former guests on 20VC, Daniel Gross and Adam Nash. As for Amanda, prior to Figma, she held numerous roles at Zendesk including SVP of Marketing and Sales Strategy. Amanda joined Zendesk as the first marketing hire and over the next 7 years Zendesk grew to over 2,000 employees. Before Zendesk, Amanda worked on the marketing team for Google’s Enterprise SaaS businesses. If that was not enough Amanda is also an advisor at Airtable and Smartling. In Today’s Episode We Discuss: How Amanda made her way into the world of SaaS and came to join Zendesk as their first marketing hire seeing the company scale to over 2,000 over the next 7 years? What were some of Amanda’s biggest learnings from seeing Zendesk scale from 12 to 2,000? How does one determine those that can vs cannot grow with the business? What is the sign a stretch VP is a stretch too far? How does Amanda balance between a culture of risk taking but also not accepting failure to easily?      How does Amanda like to run the interview process? Why does Amanda like to not show emotion when interviewing a candidate? What are the benefits of this for the brand of your company? What single question does Amanda find most revealing in showing the abilities and character of a candidate in an interview?    What does Amanda mean when she says “pricing is made up of 3 components”? Where does Amanda believe most people go wrong with pricing? Is there such thing as no man’s land in SaaS pricing? How does Amanda think the go-to-market has to change with every stage of development? What are the challenges with this? How does the structure of decision-making change with scale? What are the inflection points? When does both decision-making and communication tend to break down? What can be done to ensure seamless cross-functional communication across the org? Where do most people fail here?    Amanda’s 60 Second SaaStr: What does Amanda know now that she wishes she had known when she started in SaaS? Is there such thing as no man’s land in SaaS pricing? How to ensure customer support is strategic and not just reactionary? Read the full transcript on our blog. If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Amanda Kleha

"Jack is a technology early-adopter, serial entrepreneur, software patent-holder, product evangelist, and combat-decorated Air Force pilot. Before founding Smartling, he served as SVP of Product at eMusic and COO/CTO at SheSpeaks and RunTime Technologies. He also co-founded Trio Development, a software company that created the first personal information manager, which was acquired by Apple in 1993. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also studied linguistics and interned with Professor William Labov, and an MBA from Cameron University in Germany. Jack was named one of Fast Company’s “Who’s Next” in 2011, and was named a 2013 NYC Venture Mentor by the New York City Economic Development Corporation."

Jack Welde helps companies make more money by speaking their customers' language — literally. Welde is the Co-Founder and CEO of Smartling, a disruptive translation services company that uses a combination of human and machine translation to help companies enter new markets faster. This episode was produced and edited by Lauren Feiner and Esmeralda Martinez. Our music is "Is That You Or Are You You" by Chris Zabriskie. This podcast is sponsored by Indicative, the leading behavioral analytics platform. Go to www.indicative.com to learn more. Be the first to know when a new episode is released and stay up to date on the latest data news by signing up for our newsletter: goo.gl/forms/FDhgnhRCfkydkjGr2 Read more about the podcast and Jack Welde at decidingbydata.com. Follow us on Twitter @decidingbydata

My guest today is a serial entrepreneur, product evangelist, and combat-decorated Air Force pilot. He started his career in the Air Force before moving into software and entrepreneurship back in the ‘90s, when he co-founded Trio Development, which was acquired by Apple. He is now the co-founder and CEO of Smartling, a translation software and service company helping ambitious brands access more markets. In this conversation, we discuss cocktail entrepreneurs, why everybody’s job is marketing and sales, and why every team needs a leader. Now, let’s hack… Jack Welde.

Alex Rosen is a Managing Director with IDG Ventures where he focuses on investments in cloud infrastructure, SaaS applications, ad tech, and consumer marketplaces. Alex currently serves as board director at Chubbies, Krux, MindMeld, Minted, Smartling, Tempered Networks, and Uplift. He also led IDG Ventures’ investments in multiple companies including Appboy, Datanyze, Indiegogo, Nuzzel, The League and many more incredible companies. Previously, he was a General Partner at Sprout Group, where he was head of the Internet and Software group. Huge thanks to the team @ Sapphire Ventures for the intro to Alex today. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How did Alex make his way into the world of SaaS investing and come to be Managing Director @ IDG? SaaS businesses can be massively affected by changes in a few very small data points. So what would you say is one of the single most important metric points? What is a booking?  How should we break it down into the 3 different MRRs? What element of those metrics do you want to see growing? How important a role does unit economics play? What are the couple of forms: customer + sales person? How much ARR should a good sales rep add to in ARR in relation to comp? What is negative churn? How can you take a customer you have already sold and make more money from them? Upsell or cross-sell? What does this to the pricing axis? Why do you want more than 1 axis? 60 Second SaaStr What does Alex know now that he wishes he had known in the beginning? What are the greenfield opportunities in SaaS for Alex? What is Alex’s fave SaaS reading material? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Alex Rosen

The Inc. team weighs the merits of a building a social mission into a company. Is it really best for the world—and especially for shareholders? They also discuss the origin and growth of one company that’s recently been lauded for giving back to the world: LuminAid, the maker of a solar-powered inflatable lantern useful in disaster-recovery. Also, the team talks with Ryan Frankel, the co-founder of VerbalizeIt, about how he executed the company’s sale to Smartling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Bloomberg) -- Taking Stock with Kathleen Hays and Pimm Fox. GUEST: Ryan Frankel, CEO of VerbalizeIt, will discuss his translation company being acquired by Smartling.