Glasgow-based Victoria Nicol was 28 when she received a Start Up Loan to help grow her language translation business, My Language Connection. With loan funding supporting investment in new technology, the organisation has since gone on to triple its headcount and expand its reach to serve international clients. The award-winning agency has become a specialist provider of technical translation services for sectors including MedTech and life sciences, engineering and construction, logistics, legal, oil and gas, education, and renewables – with around 70% of business coming from repeat client contracts.
“After working for a translation company for several years which went into liquidation in February 2017, I saw a gap in the market for a personable, specialist technical translation agency and decided to branch out on my own as a young entrepreneur. Within a few weeks I’d managed to secure the first client projects and just over a year later turned to Transmit Start-Ups for support to take the business to the next stage of growth.
Securing funding through the Start Up Loans programme was a crucial steppingstone in the growth of My Language Connection, enabling us to secure additional contracts and build a team of employees to support the commercial and operational side of the business. For early-stage companies and first-time entrepreneurs, the support offered through the programme is invaluable. Securing funding meant that I was able to focus on business development and building our client relationships during the crucial first couple of years of trading.
So far, we have achieved our initial goals of growing our headcount and doubling our freelance translation network and the fact that 70% of our work now comes in through repeat business is a great vote of confidence that we are serving our clients well. We’re working hard to develop and take the business to the next stage, but there is no doubt that the early growth was boosted by the support that we received from Start Up Loans.”
