Christian Arno - Knows how to speak the Lingo

Lingo24 has grown quickly since its launch in 2001 and in 2008 it achieved a turnover of £3 million. The company now has over 100 employees working around the world, supported by a network of 4,000 translators.

Testing out the idea

Christian first dabbled with translation during a year spent at the University of Pavia in Italy. “I got together with other language interns to set up a small scale translation and European marketing service,” he explains. “It was more of an experiment than a real business venture – the aim was to get some pocket money!”

The experiment in Italy made Christian realise there was real potential to establish a serious online translation business. His research revealed that no other translation companies were making full use of the internet – or even marketing themselves online – at the time.

Developing the company

Start-up funding for Lingo24 came from two sources – a £5,000 loan from the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust, plus a personal investment of £15,000. Christian raised this money by selling his shares in a software company, which he’d purchased with £500 from his student loan!

One of the aspects of running a business that Christian enjoys most is seeing the personal development of people who’ve been with the company for a few years. “We now have some fantastically able young managers and seeing the way they cope with the different day-to-day challenges is inspirational.”

Christian’s aim for the future is for Lingo24 to continue to grow and be the best it can be. He has plans to develop the company’s global reach by tapping into new and emerging markets.

Learning from experience

Christian’s top piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to surround yourself with as many successful business people as you can. He explains: “Whether it’s people who have run their own companies or those who have been heavily involved in the success of other businesses, there’s no substitute for experience.”

www.lingo24.com