SlatorPod

#97 Smartling Mega-Round, Avantpage CEO on Serving LEP Populations

December 03, 2021 Slator
SlatorPod
#97 Smartling Mega-Round, Avantpage CEO on Serving LEP Populations
Show Notes Chapter Markers

Luis Miguel, CEO of Avantpage Translations, joins SlatorPod to talk about the LSP’s mission over the past 25 years of helping immigrants and other limited-English-proficient (LEP) populations.

Luis walks us through his journey in the language industry, from immigrating from Mexico to founding and leading a California-based LSP. He introduces Avantpage’s leadership team and highlights the importance of developing talent within the company as it grows.

The CEO discusses the key differences between servicing government clients versus the private sector. He reflects on the dynamics of Language Access regulation as Biden’s new administration and the pandemic affected the regulated industry in the past year.

Luis shares his approach behind building a proprietary technology stack, explains his attitude toward prioritizing organic growth over M&A, and shares his outlook for the future.

First up, Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week — and the launch of the Slator Transcreation and Multilingual Content Origination Report

Florian shares key takeaways from SlatorCon Remote, which featured 13 guest speakers, drew in over 300 attendees, and facilitated around 300 individual networking sessions. Esther covers the latest funding news as language services and technology provider Smartling raised USD 160m in growth investment from Battery Ventures.

Agenda and Intro
SlatorCon Remote recap
Transcreation and Content Origination Report
Smartling's USD 160m round
Luis Miguel joins the pod
Luis' route into the language industry
Origin story of Avantpage Translations
Website localization in the 1990s
Avantpage Translations in a nutshell
Government clients versus the private sector
Impact of regulated industry in the US
Virtual versus on-site interpreting
Interpreting as a natural extension
Retaining and developing talent
Buy versus build in tech
Future plans for growth
Outlook for the industry