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Inspiring Start-up: DogadamyCie.pl
An online translation agency set up by Agnieszka Chmielewska is among three young firms that received the Inspiring Start-Up awards from us and the Polish Entrepreneurs Foundation.
Agnieszka Chmielewska, the owner of DogadamyCie.pl
/fot.: ACh /
We present the Inspiring Start-Up awards to owners of businesses that have been present on the market for less than three years. By doing so we want to acknowledge the courage, determination and persistence of young entrepreneurs who build their businesses from scratch, have a big potential to achieve success and be an inspiration to other people who want to do the same.
Szczecinbiznes.pl: What does DogadamyCie.pl do?
Agnieszka Chmielewska: DogadamyCie.pl is an online service providing translations in over 50 languages and 100 language pairs. We translate phone calls, e-mails and text messages and all other types of texts, namely business, academic, scientific, technical, medical, and others. We offer certified translation and interpretation services. We provide our services during conferences and business trips.
How long have you been on the market? How soon did you become reasonably profitable?
We have operated for three years. The first two were a time for learning things the hard way, including some mistakes and some achievements. 2015 was a very good year for us – we saw a rate of growth of over 300 percent. The firm generated a healthy profit. We translated over 13 million words.
What is your formula for success?
Positive thinking, embracing change, having integrity, being kind. A little faith in our ideas and plans will help, too. The first steps are always hard in every type of business and it’s worth making some provisions for the rainy day.
What has been you biggest success so far?
There were many ingredients in our recipe for success such as the sales model, persuading my business partner to join in, winning customers and gaining their trust, building a nice team.
How many similar firms are there in Poland?
There are a few copycats around but they cannot offer such a variety of products and languages as we do. There are a few similar firms in other countries but their offering isn’t as broad as ours.
Where did the money for the start-up come from and how did you spend it?
The start-up capital came from our own savings and we spent the money on developing the business concept and building the first version of the service. A few months later we managed to convince our investor of the soundness of our business model. His involvement extended beyond purely financial investment and included effective support for our business using his industry knowledge and skills.
How is the firm organised? Who do you work with?
Our firm is an on-line service. We work all year non-stop, our clients have constant unlimited access to their accounts and orders. We work with over 200 translators. Some of them have been with us since October 2012. Our translators live in different countries, different time zones, they work remotely, and just like our clients, they have access to their accounts and can carry out their tasks in their own language pairs.
How many customers have you had?
We have over 6,000 registered users. About 80 percent of them are micro-, small- and medium-sized firms as well as big multinational corporations. The remaining 20 percent are individuals.
What is the hardest thing about running a business?
Perhaps one of the hardest things is to build the right team. It is important that the firm has people who can create, build and look for solutions. The same goes for customer service which is the key process in every organisation. You mustn’t underestimate it if you’re in online sales.
What are your business plans for the future?
Growth and development – in a few days we’re launching a new website and a new customer panel. We will be able to offer our partners an API to our website. Our clients are our best advisors and we grow as they grow.
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