New Response:
Hey XXXX,
Move went well, got us an apartment, got myself a new wetsuit and a car, looks like I'll probably have a job offer in the next few weeks, so all's pretty good considering the economy.
This is an intriguing idea. I don't know anything about the translation industry but it seems to be very fragmented and one-off. Our startup has never used any translation services so I can't answer your questions. But I think the idea of focusing on very high value clients such as multinational mining companies and legal firms is a great strategy. I'm just spitballing here but I'd start by finding out what services people currently use, how much those outfits charge and how they handle workflow i.e. is it all in-house, contract work, native speakers, checked by software, etc? There are a lot of online freelance marketplaces for stuff (e-lance, e.g.) but my suspicion is that you'd make a lot of money by guaranteeing excellent work, which means it can't be shopped to a new person every time.
By the way if you've never used it, SurveyMonkey is a great free online tool for doing this kind of polling/survey stuff. Then hit up every lawyer/corporate friend you have, right?
The only contact I know who might have something to share on this is a friend from Chicago who worked at TrialGrafix, which does legal support of all types. He might know what the typical law firm contract looks like. Happy to put you in touch.
Hey XXXX,
Move went well, got us an apartment, got myself a new wetsuit and a car, looks like I'll probably have a job offer in the next few weeks, so all's pretty good considering the economy.
This is an intriguing idea. I don't know anything about the translation industry but it seems to be very fragmented and one-off. Our startup has never used any translation services so I can't answer your questions. But I think the idea of focusing on very high value clients such as multinational mining companies and legal firms is a great strategy. I'm just spitballing here but I'd start by finding out what services people currently use, how much those outfits charge and how they handle workflow i.e. is it all in-house, contract work, native speakers, checked by software, etc? There are a lot of online freelance marketplaces for stuff (e-lance, e.g.) but my suspicion is that you'd make a lot of money by guaranteeing excellent work, which means it can't be shopped to a new person every time.
By the way if you've never used it, SurveyMonkey is a great free online tool for doing this kind of polling/survey stuff. Then hit up every lawyer/corporate friend you have, right?
The only contact I know who might have something to share on this is a friend from Chicago who worked at TrialGrafix, which does legal support of all types. He might know what the typical law firm contract looks like. Happy to put you in touch.