Translation quality is the thing we refuse to rush, and this is why: doing the work properly the first time costs less than correcting it later.
Keeping things simple
At YTranslations, we believe in making things simple and sustainable. We put the client first.
Firstly, when I was discussing about the business model with my associate, we both agreed to the elements that would shape our company. My associate said to me: let’s try not to be so ambitious. We should be more honest and deliver our promises.
Secondly, we do not have profit projections. We do not work with financial targets. Our business model actually drives positive behaviors with our employees. It sets the right tone of our company culture. This makes us more involved in the quality assurance of our services and more proactive towards our costumers’ needs.
Thridly, we receive a lot of:
- Thank you for your fast response/rapid answer.
- I really appreciate your efforts.
- Our linguist likes your translation very much!
- Thanks a lot! You saved us and our client!
- That’s brilliant – thanks a lot for confirming!
Nevertheless, these are our KPIs. And we are grateful for that.
National start-up competition
Meanwhile, to put this into a context, recently, we have been participating at a national competition of startups. The event is organised by Impact Hub and ING Bank. There was a lot of excitement in our office. Therefore, we were so surprised when they told that we are finalists and that we are in Top 80 startups.
In the following days, we had to fly to Bucharest for the “Grand Finale” and we had to prepare a 3 minutes pitch. Simultaneously, we used this opportunity to have a short Team Building. It was a delight.
We had to stop for a coffee house and wrap-up our presentation. We even asked someone from the coffee place to feedback us. Randomly, it seems she has 10 years of experience in public debates. We received a solid and valuable feedback.
Final results: YTranslations is in the Top 10 start-ups
We just arrived on time at the Radisson Blu Hotel and I remember how crowded seemed to be. We were placed at table number 6 and we already started to be nervous. The participants were very friendly and eager to know your business model.
We were very surprised to find out that we actually qualified for the Top 10 finalists. This was the next stage of the competition. At this stage, anything could happen. Everyone had a chance to go home with the 1st prize: 70.000 EUR.
To conclude, we did not get the first prize but we got connections, potential new clients, and a lot of fun. It was, indeed, a thrilling experience. Afterwards, YTranslations received a lot of media coverage in the national news. StartupCafe.ro is an example.
To summarize, that’s what I call a great ‘going out’ for a day.
Take a look here to feel the atmosphere.
Therefore, I think we should to this more often.
Nevertheless, YTranslations received the popular vote. Not officially. But we felt it from the crowd. You can check our presentation here.
Thank you everyone for your support.
See you next time.
What translation quality actually costs to maintain
Translation quality is easy to promise and expensive to keep. It means a second linguist reading every delivery, a terminology list that someone maintains between projects, and the willingness to tell a client that a deadline does not allow for proper review.
The alternative is cheaper right up to the point where a mistranslated tolerance or a wrong legal term reaches a customer. That is the calculation behind doing things well first and fast second.
How that works in practice is on our services page.
