Daveco
New Contributor
I had the business model all planned out from features to marketing. This weekend I was going to pull the trigger on upwork for the build.
A little insight to my industry so that you have a better understanding of the concept....
I am a Master Interpreter. (Spanish/English)
What is the difference between an interpreter and a translator?
Interpreter:
Conveys the meaning of the speaker faithfully and accurately, including all details and nuances, reflecting the style, register, and cultural context of the source language, without omissions, additions or embellishments. Deliver with pleasant voice and without hesitations, unnecessary repetitions, and corrections.
Basically, make it seem as if that person was speaking English and vice versa.
Translator: Someone who converts the written word from one language to another. Much simpler. That's why there are a bunch of translator apps but no Interpreter apps.
As an independent contractor I charge anywhere from $30 to $120 an hr depending what I get booked for. Although it is not Fast Lane I do enjoy it and its been rewarding.
People are so grateful for my service. I have walked into ORs many times and the surgeon does a few standing bows to me and says thank god you are here.
I interpret in hundreds of different scenarios/settings legal, medical, business meetings, negotiations, presentations, seminars, closings the list is never ending. I provide my service in person, video and phone. The only down side is if I don't work I don't make $.
The demand is so high I turn away many appointments and get about 50-60 emails a day desperately requesting my service. There are just not enough hours in the day.
So my idea was to create a market place/hub for interpreters of any language like myself to work from anywhere in the world right from their phone or computer.
The pay would be based on their certifications and experience. Anyone in any country who is bilingual could be an interpreter from college students to just about anyone and of course professionals like myself.
My competition: http://www.certifiedlanguages.com/
Companies like these have in house interpreters or they employ interpreters to sit at home and take calls...the problem is they have major over head and customers are usually not happy with these companies.
Their video interpreting is limited and customers cannot choose their interpreter. They also have operators that answer first and then connect you to an interpreter like in the 50s.
They pay interpreters about .30 a min across the board and they charge over $1.00 to customers. The interpreters have no control and often under perform because they have no incentives or motivation.
These companies only focus on the professional settings and not everyday interaction people may have.
Even with their outdated business model these companies are not meeting the demand.
These interpretation companies are like the Taxi companies and my company would be like Uber. I had planned to disrupt this industry.
My business model:
Give interpreters control.
Interpreters could build reputation like on Upwork.
Give customers more control.
Better pay for interpreters.
Cheaper for customers.
For customers more options.
With my model customers would have the ability to choose their favorite interpreters and schedule appointments directly with them.
I had already purchased a few domains: iinterp.com, InterpHub.com and a few more. I had meetings set up with a graphics designer next week and had began structuring the site.
This morning I was doing research on a few programmers when someone on an interpretation group posted this.
https://www.eqqui.com/main
I was like WTF!!!
Okay okay these people didn't really steal my idea. We just happened to come up with the same concept around the same time.
But what kind of a name is eqqui anyway? "Friendz" "Biz" "Proz" really?
Their copy and model is not what I had in mind but its the same concept.
Seems like they are at least 6 months ahead of me. Faak...
A little insight to my industry so that you have a better understanding of the concept....
I am a Master Interpreter. (Spanish/English)
What is the difference between an interpreter and a translator?
Interpreter:
Conveys the meaning of the speaker faithfully and accurately, including all details and nuances, reflecting the style, register, and cultural context of the source language, without omissions, additions or embellishments. Deliver with pleasant voice and without hesitations, unnecessary repetitions, and corrections.
Basically, make it seem as if that person was speaking English and vice versa.
Translator: Someone who converts the written word from one language to another. Much simpler. That's why there are a bunch of translator apps but no Interpreter apps.
As an independent contractor I charge anywhere from $30 to $120 an hr depending what I get booked for. Although it is not Fast Lane I do enjoy it and its been rewarding.
People are so grateful for my service. I have walked into ORs many times and the surgeon does a few standing bows to me and says thank god you are here.
I interpret in hundreds of different scenarios/settings legal, medical, business meetings, negotiations, presentations, seminars, closings the list is never ending. I provide my service in person, video and phone. The only down side is if I don't work I don't make $.
The demand is so high I turn away many appointments and get about 50-60 emails a day desperately requesting my service. There are just not enough hours in the day.
So my idea was to create a market place/hub for interpreters of any language like myself to work from anywhere in the world right from their phone or computer.
The pay would be based on their certifications and experience. Anyone in any country who is bilingual could be an interpreter from college students to just about anyone and of course professionals like myself.
My competition: http://www.certifiedlanguages.com/
Companies like these have in house interpreters or they employ interpreters to sit at home and take calls...the problem is they have major over head and customers are usually not happy with these companies.
Their video interpreting is limited and customers cannot choose their interpreter. They also have operators that answer first and then connect you to an interpreter like in the 50s.
They pay interpreters about .30 a min across the board and they charge over $1.00 to customers. The interpreters have no control and often under perform because they have no incentives or motivation.
These companies only focus on the professional settings and not everyday interaction people may have.
Even with their outdated business model these companies are not meeting the demand.
These interpretation companies are like the Taxi companies and my company would be like Uber. I had planned to disrupt this industry.
My business model:
Give interpreters control.
Interpreters could build reputation like on Upwork.
Give customers more control.
Better pay for interpreters.
Cheaper for customers.
For customers more options.
With my model customers would have the ability to choose their favorite interpreters and schedule appointments directly with them.
I had already purchased a few domains: iinterp.com, InterpHub.com and a few more. I had meetings set up with a graphics designer next week and had began structuring the site.
This morning I was doing research on a few programmers when someone on an interpretation group posted this.
https://www.eqqui.com/main
I was like WTF!!!
Okay okay these people didn't really steal my idea. We just happened to come up with the same concept around the same time.
But what kind of a name is eqqui anyway? "Friendz" "Biz" "Proz" really?
Their copy and model is not what I had in mind but its the same concept.
Seems like they are at least 6 months ahead of me. Faak...
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