Languages and Entrepreneurship

Languages and entrepreneurship.
A guide for students

Llzzle Fane
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Tbe value ot languages ano
lntercultural skllls ln buslness

Tbls report looks at some ways ln wblcb
language skllls, lntercultural skllls more broaoly,
ano eperlences abroao bave enableo or
lnsplreo stuoents ano graouates to set up tbelr
own buslnesses. |t lncluoes lntormatlon on tbe
value ot language skllls ano lntercultural skllls ln
buslness, ano relevant aovlce ano guloance tor
buoolng entrepreneurs on wbere to no
start-up support.
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Foreworo

There has been much discussion recently about the causal link between student
international mobility and employability. For example, the UK Higher Education
International Unit and Joint Steering Group on UK Outward Student Mobility have,
over the last year, been exploring, among other things, the idea of a national strategy
for student mobility and a body to support it. The British Academy-University Council
of Modern Languages position statement published in March 2012 articulated the
importance of residence abroad as a means for students to develop key skills required
in todays global employment market. The business sector has also been vocal about the
skills it requires from graduates. The CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2012, for
example, highlights the need for enhanced skills in communication and collaboration in
intercultural contexts.

However, the case studies presented in this report are evidence that intercultural
dexterity can also be a principal driver of commercial success for individual students
or graduates. This report reveals the stories of former students of a wide range of
disciplines who used their experience abroad or built on their intercultural skills
to identify business opportunities and launch an enterprise of their own. These
entrepreneurs discuss lessons learnt and give practical advice to current students on
developing and making the most of their linguistic and intercultural skills. Naturally,
setting up a business is no easy task and not all start-ups succeed, but as this report
demonstrates the experience is always a rewarding one and the commercial
awareness developed in this process is highly valued in todays fiercely competitive jobs
market (Wilson Review of Business-University Collaboration 2012).
I hope that this report encourages more students to venture abroad for an extended
period and to consider the door of opportunity that this experience opens.
Dr Flllppo Nereo
Dlsclpllne Leao tor Languages, Hlgber Loucatlon Acaoemy
November 2012
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Contents
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Section
Foreworo

1 |ntroouctlon

2 Lntrepreneursblp as a career

3 Stuoent moblllty

4 Startlng a buslness

5 Areas ot buslness
Solving a problem youve experienced
Case study 1: ThirdYearAbroad.com
Travel
Case study 2: Gadabouting.com
Language barriers and language skills
Case study 3: Claire L Grant Language Services
Understanding your target market
Case study 4: All Abroad
Social media and technology
Case study 5: Applingua Ltd
Intercultural skills
Case study 6: ISSOS International
Culture
Case study 7: RAW France
Experience
Case study 8: Mediterranean Homesick Blues
Starting a business abroad
Case study 9: myfamilyabroad.com
Importing and exporting

6 8ullolng your buslness
Understanding your customer
Case study 10: Packed Munches

7 Support trom your unlverslty
University enterprise centres and entrepreneurs-in-residence
Case study 11: Co-Go Cofee to Go

8 Usetul resources

9 Lntrepreneurlal skllls ln tbe workplace

10 Tbe nal woro: Rosetta Stone
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1. lntroduction
The time spent studying, working or volunteering abroad during your degree course
is an excellent opportunity to identify and start up a new business. However, too few
students are aware of entrepreneurship before or during their international placement.
This report will emphasise the fact that students who speak foreign languages, travel
and understand other cultures have a unique entrepreneurial opportunity. It will
encourage you to look at your year abroad in a more critical and innovative way, to be
aware of business opportunities and to make use of the start-up support networks and
services available to you when you start your first business.
Tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls ln buslness
For the 2011 Global Graduates into Global Leaders report (cihe.co.uk/global-
graduates-into-global-leaders), leading employers were asked to rank a list of global
competencies by order of importance. The results showed that the most important
global competency for graduates is the ability to work collaboratively with teams of
people from a range of backgrounds and countries.
Understanding foreign languages and having intercultural skills are crucial factors in
achieving this competency. If you can communicate your ideas to team members of
different nationalities, you are, in effect, the bridge between their languages and cultures.
This is a very desirable skill for global business leaders, as they need employees who are
able to compete in global marketplaces. If a business can expand internationally simply
by bringing on board a team member with the relevant linguistic and cultural skills, then
imagine what that individual could do by him or herself.
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2. Entrepreneurship as a career
For many students, the thought of running their own business is much more a pipe
dream than a career option. At this stage in your life, however, using your spare time
to solve a problem youve experienced by creating a new product or service on a
shoestring budget could lead you to being able to work for yourself. You could do
something youre passionate about, forge your own career path, develop the skills youre
interested in and create the lifestyle that you want, which is a dream come true for
many people. However, being your own boss and the routine and discipline it entails is
not easy; how can you tell if you would be able to cope?
Tbe cbaracterlstlcs ot an entrepreneur
The words most commonly associated with entrepreneurs are: drive, self-confidence
and ambition. Entrepreneurs are quick learners who make the most of their time
and resources. They are good communicators who are careful with money, deal with
problems head-on and like to be challenged.
The best entrepreneurs are successful because they are passionate about what they
do, and their enthusiasm spreads to their clients and their team. This helps because
when things get difficult, its easy for them to remember why they do what they do,
and that pushes them to keep going.
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3. 5tudent nobiIity
Measuring UK Student Mobility (hesa.ac.uk), a recent study by the Inter-Organisational
International Student Moibility Group, suggests that the UK has approximately15,000
outwardly mobile students each year, although the total figure is likely to be a good deal
higher than this.
Each university has different options for the placement abroad. As an eligible student,
you can study at a foreign university as part of the Erasmus Programme (britishcouncil.
org/erasmus.htm), you can do an Erasmus work placement (britishcouncil.org/erasmus-
student-work-placements.htm), you can become a British Council Language Assistant
(britishcouncil.org/languageassistants.htm), or you can do your own research to find a
job or volunteering opportunity abroad.
Learnlng new skllls
During your time abroad, you will have the opportunity to learn lots of new skills.
Alongside developing your knowledge of the language, you could find time to teach
English, do online courses, travel, take foreign business classes, learn new sports and
discover cultural traditions unique to your destination.
Although some of these activities may seem more like hobbies than skills, it is the
experience and the learning process that are so important. These skills could keep your
start-up costs down, and may come in useful at any time, if not in starting a business
then in prompting a business idea.
On top of this, the confidence you gain from working outside your comfort zone will
make you more competent, more self-sufficient and more open to new opportunities.
Tbe opportunlty
Your year abroad is an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurship. In the words of
Robert Lo Bue, founder of Applingua Ltd, UK students who have done Erasmus often
dont see themselves as British, but more European. I think that only helps us set up
businesses, because we dont see things relative to our local environment; we have a
more global outlook. Weve often also seen things that work abroad but dont exist in
the UK - these are gaps in the market!
Here are ten more reasons why your year abroad is a particularly good time to think
about starting a business:
you are abroad for up to 15 months where you understand the language and
culture. During this time you will encounter a number of problems, one of which you
might be in the perfect position to solve yourself;
as a 19-24-year-old student who is well travelled, speaks a foreign language, has had
a year or more of higher education, has worked in an international environment and
developed independence, self-condence, determination and resilience through living
abroad, you are already showing key entrepreneurial characteristics;
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you can spot an import opportunity: you are immersed in a foreign culture,
surrounded by new products and services that you cant get at home in the UK;
you can export products or start a business abroad: you wish you had the products
and services that you can get at home;
you have one or more of the following: a maintenance loan, a tuition fee loan, an
Erasmus grant, a salary, scholarship/award money and savings, money from which
could be used as start-up funding;
you are Internet-savvy, you appreciate the value of businesses having an online
presence, and you are familiar with social media marketing. This knowledge is a
serious advantage;
you are abroad for an extended period, so you may better understand the
language and culture. This gives you a signicant advantage over potential or
existing competitors;
you have free time during evenings and weekends (maybe even weekdays!) to do
market research, use online resources, make notes, scribble ideas on napkins, take a
business class, buy domain names, make prototypes, take photographs, conduct online
surveys, nd out about funding opportunities, enter business plan competitions and
read inspiring books;
you build an international network of contacts. These people could be your
rst customers, your cultural advisers, your team members, or maybe even your
business partners;
its really, really fun. You learn numerous new skills and make new contacts, and if later
on you decide that entrepreneurship is not for you, your experience and transferable
skills will look fantastic on your CV alongside your international experience, and will
give you a huge amount to talk about in job interviews.

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4. 5tarting a business
Wbere oo you begln?
All enterprises begin with an idea, a so-called lightbulb moment, it is very possible to be
inspired by other peoples ideas.
If youre looking for ideas, consider your degree course, hobbies, skills, interests and
what youre passionate about. Ask yourself the questions:
have you found a gap in the market to create a new product or service?
have you experienced a problem that you think you might be able to solve?
have you used a product or service that you think you could improve?
do you have a skill that you could teach? Or a product you could sell?
have you had an experience that you could introduce others to?
If you have a good idea but dont have the relevant skills to put it into action, then
find someone who has and ask them to teach you. While youre at university, you are
surrounded by students with the most diverse range of skills imaginable. If you need to
build a website, why not ask someone doing a degree in Web Design and Development?
If you need help with your business model, why not consult a lecturer from the
Business faculty or Innovation Centre? If they cant help you, its likely that they will be
able to point you in the right direction.
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5. Areas of business
There are two types of business which are generally started by university students;
some businesses solve a problem the students have experienced themselves or have
developed the solution for on their course, while other businesses are based on
the students own skills; creating and selling products, or offering services like web
development or proofreading.
As a student with enhanced linguistic and intercultural skills, you have major advantages
over your peers; you have the linguistic and cultural skills to successfully import and
export products to and from the UK, you could write about your experiences abroad,
you could start a business which connects two different countries or cultures, you
could use your language skills to teach, interpret or translate, or you could start a travel
or tourism business in your year abroad destination to introduce foreign visitors to the
local traditions, language, food, drink, art and music.
Case stuoles
In this report, the founders of ten businesses in the fields of language, travel and culture
have been profiled. Some businesses are based abroad, some online and some in the
UK, they sell products and services, and they have all been started relatively recently by
students and graduates of UK universities who have gained experience living abroad,
either during and/or after their degree. Their businesses are:
an online network for students, who study or work abroad during their degree;
a luxury travel website;
a language services agency working in English, French, Italian and Spanish;
an iPhone and Mac app translation company;
an international summer programme based in the UK for young people of over
60 nationalities;
a vineyard tour company in France;
a book written about experiences as a language assistant on a year abroad;
a live-in language assistants organisation in Spain;
a subscription service for students to receive classic British treats on their year abroad;
a cofee business which puts advertising on the side of cofee cups.

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Solvlng a problem you've eperlenceo
Experiencing a problem and realising that you are in the unique position to solve it
is a great way to start a business. You understand your customer because you are or
have been the customer. This means that your solution is a product or service that
you would have personally found useful, so it will be of value to other people in
your situation.
The year abroad is particularly challenging for students, who often report issues in the
areas of travel, shipping, finding accommodation, keeping in touch with home, settling in
quickly, language barriers and finding a job, among many others. Once you have an idea
for a business, you need to consider the business model.
Case stuoy 1: TblroYearAbroao.com
Llzzle Fane bas a Masters oegree ln |tallan ano Hlstory ot Art trom tbe Unlverslty ot
Lolnburgb (2008), ano ls tbe tounoer ot TblroYearAbroao.com (thirdyearabroad.com),
wblcb sbe starteo ln November 2006, two montbs lnto ber year abroao.
Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? Yes, I spent 15 months in Florence,
Italy, where I studied History of Art in Italian at the Universit degli Studi di Firenze.
It turned out that thanks to the unique combination of my degree course subjects, I
wasnt actually required to attend university or submit my grades - I simply had to work
on my year abroad project and ensure that I was fluent in Italian on my return - so I did
the minimal number of courses at the university and spent my time taking up part-time
jobs like writing the sightseeing section of Time Outs Florence and Tuscany guidebook
and interpreting for an English journalist. I also did courses and classes in Italian to learn
new skills like drawing and calligraphy, and travelled as much as possible. I came up with
my business idea right at the start of my year abroad, and it was a case of necessity is
the mother of invention I couldnt believe that the website I really needed didnt exist,
so I felt it was up to me to create it.
Dlo you recelve any buslness support trom your unlverslty betore, ourlng or
atter you set up your buslness? Having incorporated Third Year Abroad Ltd on
my year abroad, I returned to university thinking that as a Humanities student,
my degree didnt give me nearly enough practical skills to survive in the working
world, so I took ten weeks of lifelong learning classes in both Economics and
Statistics alongside my studies. I went to a careers fair soon after I returned, where
I came across Launch.ed (launch.ed.ac.uk), Edinburghs free support service for
student entrepreneurs, and told them about the business I had incorporated. They
encouraged me to enter the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) Business Plan
Competition and I did so, even though the final coincided with my finals! I am really
grateful for the advice and support I was given throughout the whole process, as my
idea developed hugely in that time. Graduating with a business plan meant that all I
needed was a bit of hands-on experience working for two online start-ups to learn
the ropes and give me the confidence to start up on my own a year later.
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Please oescrlbe your buslness: ThirdYearAbroad.com helps students before, during
and after their third year abroad from university to make the whole process less scary
and overwhelming, while promoting and supporting the study of Modern Languages
in the UK. We provide information, case studies, advice and a networking platform so
students can learn from each others experiences. ThirdYearAbroad.com is now the
UKs biggest network of students who study or work abroad during their degree, which
is really exciting! Through our activities we have created a very focused network, and
based on feedback from our members we are creating new, targeted products to solve
their problems, such as YearAbroadInsurance.com. These products are the basis of our
business model, alongside advertising and sponsorship.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I was 20 and alone in Florence on my year abroad,
in week number two of 60. I had to sign up to courses at the university along with all
the local students, and my Italian was useless. After a wild goose chase, I finally arrived
at the right place for matriculation to be faced by an out to lunch sign. It was 11am. I
waited on the sunny step outside for three hours and, fuelled by espresso and panini, I
compiled a long list of everything I wished I had known before I left. That was page one
of ThirdYearAbroad.com.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? Language
skills and intercultural skills are so important in my business. The website and our social
media channels have members and followers from all around the world who speak many
different languages, so I need to ensure that the sites content, newsletters and social
media updates appeal to different nationalities and non-native English speakers too. We
have a lot of guest writers on the website, so what goes up on the site has to be accurate
in terms of the language and cultural details. The guidebook company I worked for on
my year abroad valued local knowledge and insight very highly and reaped the benefits,
so I understand the importance of working with clients and stakeholders in their native
language, and I would never hire a team member without language skills or international
experience for this reason.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? I wish I had known about my
universitys innovation centre and entrepreneurial society before starting my year abroad.
I missed so many inspiring entrepreneurial speakers and networking events in my first two
years, and then when I got back to university for my final year I hardly had any free time! If
I had been involved then I would have been more aware of entrepreneurship on my year
abroad and would have used my time out there much more wisely.
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Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Meet other young entrepreneurs.
As soon as you are at an event surrounded by entrepreneurial people, you realise
that nothing is impossible. Someone always knows the software you should use or the
person who will know how to solve your problem. Your network is invaluable for free
advice. I have some friends who have also started businesses to help students, and we all
network for each other so that we can effectively be in multiple places at once.
Do you bave any turtber comments about tbe year abroao ano entrepreneursblp?
In my experience people dont change on their year abroad, they just come out of
their shell. They are suddenly so out of their depth that when challenges arise, they
have no option but to take them in their stride, without the support they were
used to in the UK. They go through a sharp learning curve, and there is a lot of trial
and error involved. This is what you need as an entrepreneur, so while youre in this
mind-set and have perhaps found a creative solution to a daily problem, its a great
opportunity to start a business.

Travel
Your year abroad gives you a unique opportunity to travel. You can take advantage
of extensive university holidays and cheap student travel deals to explore your new
destination and the surrounding cities and countries. Your experience travelling will
open your eyes to other cultures and may even spark a business idea.
Case stuoy 2: Gaoaboutlng.com
Domlnlc Loen bas a 8A ln Polltlcs, Pbllosopby ano Lconomlcs trom tbe Unlverslty
ot Mancbester (2011), ano ls tbe tounoer ano Creatlve Dlrector ot Gaoaboutlng
(gadabouting.com), wblcb be starteo ln [anuary 2012.

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Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? I didnt actually, even though
there was the option to, because I wanted to get through university as fast as possible
and start a career! I did however backpack for five weeks in India with friends in the
summer after first year, and for two and a half weeks in Japan in the summer after
second year (after a ten week internship).
How olo your language skllls, lntercultural skllls or eperlences abroao enable or
lnsplre you to set up your company? I always wanted to be a banker, having grown
up in an affluent part of South London where there were lots of young guys making
money in the City, and the A Levels and degree I did were always meant to prepare
me for such a career. I interned at UBS in the summer of 2010 (the summer after my
second year at university) and I hated every second - it was not stimulating at all, I was
bored out of my mind, couldnt stand the people and the culture but, worst of all, I just
didnt feel I was creating anything valuable there.
At around the same time, I was broadening my horizons through travel. The summer
before the internship, Id spent five weeks with friends backpacking all around India. Id
never experienced such freedom before and I distinctly remember suddenly realising
(during a pit-stop on an 18-hour bus ride between two towns in the Himalayas) that
life didnt have to be linear at all. Instead, it was a huge canvas of unlimited potential and
possibilities that was really only restricted by your own state of mind. This changed my
whole outlook on life completely, and once I knew I couldnt face a career in banking
this was all I needed to inspire me to set up my company. Even if my company wasnt
in the travel sector, it was more the whole philosophy of personal freedom that really
motivated me to just go for it.

Please oescrlbe your buslness: Gadabouting is a luxury travel website focused on
beautiful photography, stunning video, captivating storytelling and enthralling events
to inspire travellers to try new things and to travel to new places. Users can create
a scrapbook to collect their favourite items, and we help them get in touch with
specialist travel agencies who have the expertise to turn their dream trip into reality!
Gadabouting is unique in that it focuses less on the actual selling of travel experiences
and more on the value of conversational and content marketing which, in this age of
social media and short attention spans, is rapidly being realised to be a very powerful
marketing tactic. We want to make travel inspiration and planning a beautiful and
enchanting experience by moving away from the hard sell, and we think this is a really
unique selling point (USP). We are targeting working professionals who are aged 35-54
and are time-poor but cash-rich. We hope to launch in August.
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Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? Its hard
to comment on this as Im yet to build solid relationships with clients as we havent
launched, but Id venture that Id be more likely to hire someone who has travelled
widely, as they tend to be freer and more innovative in their thinking than someone
who hasnt.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I know every entrepreneur is supposed to have had
their eureka moment as it sounds sexier, but Gadabouting was really an evolution of a
few concepts and trends being tied together over a period of a few months. I spent a
lot of time reading industry reports and thinking about the concept - its so important
to dedicate an hour a day to being on your own, running through the ideas in your head
with a pencil and paper to hand, and playing around with the ideas to see what comes
of them.
atter you set up your buslness? I only started thinking about entrepreneurship
as a viable career option towards the end of university, so I never managed to get
involved with the relevant societies and networks (although I was on the board of the
Trading and Investment Society and there was a lot of overlap between that and the
entrepreneurial societies).
After university, I found support from Manchester Metropolitan University, which
offered me space in its incubator, Innospace (innospace.co.uk) for 50 per month, which
was incredibly helpful and introduced me to some brilliant minds.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? How long things tend to
take (clue: three times longer than you think!). Also, dont skimp on web developers and
designers - they are worth their weight in gold if you find a good one, so ask around
and shop around as they can really give you the edge.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Read, read and read some more!
Read all the technology blogs like TechCrunch (techcrunch.com), GigaOM (gigaom.
com) and The Next Web (thenextweb.com), read all the design blogs, keep up to date
with business and politics and make sure youre aware of the latest trends in design,
marketing, and revenue models. Get on Twitter and follow the opinion formers, and
start forming your own opinions. There is such a vast amount of information out there
that will shape the way you think, so start soaking it all up!
Even if you dont take a year abroad, travel as much as you can and meet as many
different people as you can. Theres a huge trend towards conformity in society through
what you wear, what TV you watch, etc., which tends to place you in a bubble. Break out
of this and explore.
Language barrlers ano language skllls
Being fluent in a foreign language has innumerable benefits in both your personal and
professional life. If you discover you have an aptitude for and enjoy language learning,
its worth considering an entrepreneurial career that takes advantage of your language
skills, such as starting up a language school, a tourism agency or a translating and
interpreting business.
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Case stuoy 3: Clalre L Grant Language Servlces

Clalre Lucla Grant bas a Masters oegree ln |nterpretlng ano Translatlng trom Herlot-
Watt Unlverslty (2011), ano ls tbe tounoer ot Clalre L Grant Language Servlces
(clairelgrant.co.uk), wblcb sbe starteo ln [une 2011.
Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? Yes, I spent six months in Tours,
France, and six months in Granada, Spain. I studied interpreting and translating at the
universities there and also completed my dissertation in Spanish while in Granada. I
used the opportunity to learn as much as I could about the cultures, languages and
different ways of life there, as well as doing lots of travelling.
Please oescrlbe your buslness: I provide a variety of language services including:
interpreting (conference and public service), translation, editing, proofreading, subtitling,
language tuition and teaching. I offer all of these services in my languages - English,
French, Italian and Spanish. I see my services as a way of bridging the gap between
cultures across Europe. I have work experience in a variety of areas, such as European
policy, linguistics and recruitment, and so I can provide clients with reliable, useful
services which are tailored to their needs. Businesses that are looking to export to
Europe also benefit from my services as having a cultural awareness of the countries
concerned can help with company relationships - and this is of course something I can
offer for France, Italy and Spain.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I didnt have a lightbulb moment as such; however,
Ive always been quite proactive and saw my business as a way to complement my
studies in interpreting and translating.
Dlo you start your buslness on your year abroao? |t so, bow olo your lnternatlonal
eperlence belp you? Dlo your contacts abroao belp you start up? I officially started
my business after graduation, however a large part of my research was carried out
while I was abroad. As I translate from French, Italian and Spanish into English, a lot of
my clients are based in these countries rather than in the UK, so I used my year abroad
as an opportunity to research translation agencies abroad. I made contacts while abroad
and also widened my network of language professionals, which is very useful in this
industry. I get a lot of requests for translations from other languages, such as German,
and having this network means I dont have to say no to clients, I can simply outsource
this work to my fellow colleagues.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? I have only recently been
made aware of companies which help start-ups, such as ESpark (entrepreneurial-
spark.com) and The Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust (psybt.org.uk). Government
Gateway, the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (sie.ac.uk) and other organisations also
offer great workshops on setting up your own business and helping with finances.
Networking events are good for letting people know about your business and I try to
attend as many as possible.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Online activity is very important in
business nowadays so Id advise everyone to try and set up a website, or maybe a blog.
Write about your industry, use LinkedIn and Twitter to get your name known and make
contacts. Financing can be difficult at first, so its a good idea to have a more reliable job
at the same time.
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Unoerstanolng your target market
You know what its like to arrive in a new country and feel lost, or to try and
communicate with someone without speaking their language, or to try to use a
new product without understanding the instructions, or to misunderstand foreign
paperwork imagine how useful it would be to have an intermediary who understands
what youre going through and can make it easier for you. As someone who knows
and appreciates two languages and two cultures, you can act as a bridge between
them for people. You can help them to buy a house abroad, communicate with foreign
tradespeople, visit cultural sites, organise a wedding abroad or negotiate business
dealings, and you are in a unique position to do so.
Case stuoy 4: All Abroao
[ames Martln stuoleo |nternatlonal 8uslness ano Mooern Languages (Frencb)
at Aston Unlverslty (2012) ano ls tbe tounoer ot All Abroao: Frencb Property
Management ano Malntenance Servlces, wblcb be starteo ln [uly 2012 upon
tlnlsblng bls oegree.
Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? Yes, I spent 13 months in Paris
working as a marketing intern at Deutsche Bank.
Please oescrlbe your buslness: All Abroad provides property management and
maintenance services to non-resident (mainly British or non-French speaking)
homeowners in the Gironde region of south-west France. As a single-solution
contact for all property related concerns and requirements: security, upkeep and
renovation, we operate to ensure the homeowners rental income and piece of mind.
Furthermore All Abroad acts as an intermediary giving administrative support in the
challenging foreign context allowing foreign homeowners to manage effectively their
property investment at a distance. Were still in the development stages but have a
few clients onboard and were looking to be fully operative come next March or April,
before the peak seasons begin.
Being self-employed doesnt mean less work or work of a less challenging or intensive
nature, however being directly accountable for every element of the business and its
progress is incredibly rewarding and means I wake up every morning looking forward to
developing and growing my business. The first few weeks have been very hard as there
are lots of legal and tax-related obstacles to overcome but also finding the customers
can be tricky. Once I have a solid customer base and monthly contracts are in place, the
stability will enable me to focus on growing the company even further.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: When I was on holiday one year in a rented villa
with my family it occurred to me that somebody must be doing a lot of work there
to maintain this property and to keep it running in between incoming guests. Secondly,
when hearing someone in my family (who owned a property abroad) complaining
about the poor service he was receiving from a similar business in Portugal, I thought I
could do that, and I could do it better.
19
How olo your language skllls, lntercultural skllls more broaoly, or eperlences
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? My language and intercultural
skills made it a lot easier to set up a business in France as battling the paperwork and
pen pushers would have been impossible otherwise. They have also helped me settle in
a lot quicker as Im accustomed to the notion of living in France after my year abroad
and found integrating myself to social and business circles came naturally.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano/or lntercultural skllls tor your buslness?
Ultimately my language skills and local knowledge are fundamental to my service
offering. As I mentioned, my companys main function is to act as the intermediary
between a client, their property and anything it encounters, be that paying guests,
building work or even dealing with utilities companies for example. France and speaking
French have always been my passion so I guess in order to apply this to a full-time
vocation it was inevitable that I would start up in France.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? You always bring work
home with you (because home is where I work). Its very hard to escape and put
business issues to the back of the mind, but nowadays, whoever you work for, your
Blackberry can be going off at any hour so I cant really complain.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Business planning is essential. I dont
normally adhere to such objective methods but Ive found that until you can coherently
write your idea down on paper no one will take you seriously as youre not taking the
business seriously. Sometimes when you have that lightbulb moment you can get carried
away and blinded never ignore it, but step back at some point to reassess that youre
really going in the right direction.
All the clichd statements are true: going abroad on your placement year broadens
your horizons, you make new friends and some may even go as far as saying they
found themselves.
But I do believe it is true. Everybody who goes on a placement year says they learnt
more than the first two years of university together, but I can honestly say there was a
more remarkable (positive) difference in the character of those who had been abroad;
a significant increase in confidence and drive, all reinforced by the new friends you
made from being in a different country together.
atter you set up your buslness? There was always a lot of encouragement from my
university to pursue the entrepreneurial route and help from the careers service
who can put you on the right path to getting things moving. There was also an
entrepreneurial society which no doubt would have been good for creating contacts,
but unfortunately I didnt take advantage of this.
Soclal meola ano tecbnology
Many year abroad students blog about their year abroad in order to keep their friends
and family up to date with their experiences, and then spread the word about new
posts via Facebook and Twitter. This helps them to record details about their year
abroad that can be useful for projects, essays and interviews later on.
Students also use websites and apps to find information about flights, accommodation,
visas, packing lists and local culture. They share their travel itineraries, ask questions in
forums, upload photographs, download tourist apps and use language-learning software.
As a student, your knowledge and understanding of technology in terms of usability is
incomparable and you can use this to your advantage.
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Case stuoy 5: Appllngua Lto

Robert Lo 8ue bas a 8Sc ln |nternatlonal Management ano German trom tbe
Unlverslty ot 8atb (2009) ano ls tbe tounoer ot Appllngua Lto (applingua.com), wblcb
be starteo ln [anuary 2011, two ano a balt years atter bls year abroao.
Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? Ano lt so, wbat olo you oo ano
wbat olo you get out ot lt? I spent 12 months working as a trainee project manager
in Munich, Germany. I loved my year abroad. I found a flat share with some locals, my
job at a marketing agency was a dream come true, and I discovered German beer. It
was the first time I began to actually feel like an adult. A time where I could choose
exactly what I wanted to do, and when I wanted to do it. Freedom! I cant even count
the number of new experiences I had that year, the people I met, and the places I
visited. I not only improved my German but I also met a lot of people in the process.
I went skiing on weekends in winter and sunbathing by lakes in the summer. With
Munich being in the centre of Europe, I hopped on a train to a new place every month.
I went to Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, France and Switzerland. Not to mention
the sneaky trip to Canada I managed to save up for with my internship wage. In fact, I
loved my year abroad so much I wanted to recreate it after university, so I moved back
after graduation 12 months later. They used to tell us at university that our year abroad
would be the best of our lives. I just thought that was cheesy. I can now honestly say
that it was, and still remains, the best year of my life and without it I wouldnt be the
same person I am today.
Dlo you start your buslness on your year abroao? |t so, bow olo your lnternatlonal
eperlence belp you? Dlo your contacts abroao belp you start up? I came up with
Applingua during my second time in Munich, over two years after Id finished my year
abroad. Applingua is a translation agency, so obviously my love of foreign languages has
helped me somewhat. Most of my job is project management, a skill Id learnt during
my year abroad at an international marketing agency. I met a lot of people during my
two jobs in Munich, both German and other nationalities. I am still in touch with them
all today, and I frequently turn to them for advice. Its handy running a translation agency
and knowing people in many different countries on a personal level.
21
Tell us about your buslness: Applingua Ltd is a small company now based in Cardiff,
Wales. We take iPhone and Mac apps and translate them into different languages so
everyone the world over can enjoy the apps we have all come to love. When I started
no other translation agency specifically targeted app developers. I got my first client
within two weeks of starting up - even before my website went live! My clients, app
developers, are situated all over the world. Applinguas aim is to make app translation
approachable, accessible and affordable at all times. I also deal with 20-30 different
native translators a month, across 12 different time zones. It sounds stressful, but its
not. Its hugely enjoyable and I love working with people from different cultures every
day. All the idiosyncrasies of their languages and their work ethics make every day even
better than the last.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: My second job in Munich was at a software agency,
making apps for the iPhone and Mac. I was put in charge of getting our apps translated
into different languages. Traditional translation agencies didnt understand the iPhone,
even though they all said they did. They didnt understand that you cant click something
on a touch device and they nearly always returned text that didnt fit on an iPhones
small screen. I thought I could do it better. So I quit my job and I did.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? I wish I had known more
about events like hack weekends or start-up incubators, where people can go for
24/48/56 hours and join a group and build an idea into a company. Its all meant to be
a bit of fun, but you can learn so much from them and some impressive start-ups have
come from hack weekends.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? If youre new to websites, register a
domain and install Wordpress (for free). Its famous for blogging but many big websites
use it as their Content Management System (CMS). Its really easy to use and you can
have a great looking site in hours rather than days. And did I mention its free?
Youll have to look around for funding if you want to go down that route. There are also
crowd-funding sites such as Seedrs (seedrs.com) and CrowdCube (crowdcube.com).
Check your university to see if they have any small investment funds. If youre lucky
enough to live in an EU convergence area, there may be quite a bit of funding available.
Check your local authoritys website for more details. You can find many resources
by asking people (like me!) on Twitter or searching Google. There is a lot of good
information out there for start-ups now.
Do you bave any otber comments about tbe year abroao ano entrepreneursblp?
Being an entrepreneur is like being a fish swimming upstream. Youre going to meet a lot
of resistance but its nothing you cant handle. Thats exactly what your year abroad is
like. You often dont speak the language well, you dont get the culture and youre put in
situations which you just have to get through. Meanwhile you learn to be confident, to
stay open minded and to rethink previous preconceptions youve had all the time; skills
essential to do well in business.
While youre abroad, be sure to make lots of contacts. Usually lots of people around
you are in a similar situation so everyone is looking to make friends. Be friends with
them because theyll be able to help you later!
When youve got your idea, dont be afraid to tell people about it. Friends and family will
tend to agree with you, but you actually want people to disagree with your idea. Thats a
great way to get you thinking about your plans and often you improve the original idea
on the fly. Tell a total stranger, preferably one who works in your industry, and see what
they say.
My Erasmus year was invaluable and I recommend everyone do one!
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|ntercultural skllls
As a year abroad student, its important to remember that while you want to discover
everything about the new culture, the local students will be interested in yours too.
The fact that you can communicate in their language and have been immersed in their
way of life means that you are a much more effective teacher, as you can understand
things from their point of view. Many students cook British specialities for their new
flatmates, teach them English and introduce them to their own culture and traditions. If
this interests you as a career path, you could consider starting an English school abroad,
becoming an international tour operator, or setting up a summer camp for foreign
students in the UK.
Case stuoy 6: |SSOS |nternatlonal

[en Munro bas a Masters oegree ln Hlstory trom tbe Unlverslty ot St Anorews
(2003), ano ls tbe tounoer ano Managlng Dlrector ot |SSOS |nternatlonal (issos.com),
wblcb sbe starteo ln February 2005.
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? I worked in the US for four
summers at a summer camp and the experience I gained there has been invaluable,
and by working abroad I realised what I wanted to do. In addition, I worked a ski season
in Canada and worked for Starbucks, which gave me incredible insight into how a
company replicates itself down to the smallest details, and introduced me to the training
manuals that tell you how to do everything. I have used all of this in setting up and
expanding ISSOS.
Please oescrlbe your buslness: ISSOS is an international summer programme catering
for 13-18-year-olds from over 60 nationalities. Students are offered the opportunity to
spend three weeks every summer at St Andrews or Cambridge taking part in a well-
balanced summer programme with a combination of academics, afternoon electives,
evening programmes and cultural trips.
23
ISSOS is the only summer program of its kind in the UK, offering the combination of
courses and structured in the way that it is.
We are helping students to improve their English as well as introducing students to the
UK as a place to take an undergraduate degree. Currently we have 16 former students
at St Andrews University, six at Glasgow, ten at Edinburgh, two at Stirling and many
at other UK universities who would not have considered the UK as a place to study
before ISSOS.
Our customers are 13-18-year-olds from all over the world and their parents; we
target fairly wealthy families whose son or daughter attends an international school. It is
going very well; we have grown from 50 students in year one to 470 in year six with a
turnover in excess of 1.8m and a debt-free company.
I love what I do, I wouldnt change it for anything. I love the people I get to meet and
work with, and the young people I see develop and grow in confidence.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I had always wanted to be a theatre producer and
planned to return home to Scotland from the US and move to London. While standing
in the mountains of North Carolina, surrounded by 300 kids I realised that I needed to
do something to help children but had no idea how or what to do. At summer camp I
met some children who wanted to travel to the UK but were too young and they had
too much schoolwork over the summer. I thought there must be a way to combine the
two, and the idea of ISSOS was born.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? They are
invaluable. Although I do not personally speak another language it would assist my day-
to-day interactions with many of our parents, who have English as a second language.
Intercultural skills are paramount when dealing with over 60 different nationalities and
all the challenges that come with that.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? Not everyone who is
older than you or who has been in business for longer knows it all; always question why
people are giving you their advice and always trust your instincts.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Never give up and dont listen to
negativity, believe you can do whatever you set your mind to. When getting a website
designed, know exactly who you are aiming it at, and spend money on your website
if it is your window to the world. Dont get a friend to create a site for 200, spend
the money and make it good. People are your best asset, treat them well and have fun
in business. Dont be afraid to say you dont understand or just ask questions; no one
knows everything and you can learn so much from others so dont be scared to ask
for their help.
Culture
During your year abroad you learn all about the local culture. You find out about your
new citys festivals, politics, celebrities, food, economy, legal system, sports teams, artists
and music. This information is of huge value to tourists, certain businesses and various
publications, as people may not have the time, resources or communication skills to
find out for themselves. You could use this insider knowledge to your advantage by
creating a printed or online information resource, writing articles or educating visitors
to the region.
24
Case stuoy 7: RAW France

Racbel Hackett bas a 8A ln Frencb trom tbe Unlverslty ot Leeos (2011), ano ls tbe
tounoer ot RAW France (rawfrance.com), wblcb sbe starteo ln September 2011,
tbree montbs atter graouatlon.
wbat olo you get out ot lt? Yes, I did an eight-month placement as a language assistant
for the British Council in a French high school in Reims, France. I ended up spending
just under a year in Reims as when my placement finished I didnt want to go home! I
became almost fluent in French (though I think I became totally fluent when I moved
back to France after finishing my degree). I also met my boyfriend in Reims - yes, a
Frenchman! And a Frenchman who owns a champagne house at that! So Id say I got
language skills, confidence and, soppy but true, love!

Please oescrlbe your buslness: I have a business running visits around my boyfriends
small family champagne house. I also help people organise their stay in the Champagne
region and book tours in big houses for them too. There is no other business like mine
as I am providing a service to English speakers who dont have access to a car, yet wish
to get out of the city to see the vineyards and visit a small champagne house. Being
a native English speaker, I am easily able to communicate the information about the
champagne house and teach them how champagne is made. I help tourists make the
most out of their time in the area. My customers are mainly Americans and Australians,
and some Brits too along with other nationalities - Norwegians, Russians, Malaysians
- and I love it. Theres actually nothing better than talking people through the
production of my favourite wine in the world. I wake up excited every day, keen to
find out who Im going to be spending the day with!
25
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I had finished my eight-month placement in the
school and my parents came to visit me and meet my boyfriends family. When they
got to the champagne village (near Reims) I showed them around and they were just
blown away by how lovely it was to see such a small champagne house. I thought -
hang on a minute, there are probably thousands of people wanting to see this - and
so I set off on my journey! I had actually made the first draft of my website before I
even went back to university to finish my degree.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? I need
English to talk to my English-speaking customers and French to talk to everyone
around me! My customers are often very grateful that I can help them with things like
booking tables in restaurants. Little things, where speaking the language can make a
huge difference.
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? Well, to start with, if I wasnt
placed in Reims, then none of this would have happened, which is a scary thought
as I actually cried when I found out Id be in Reims and Nice was my first choice! I
wouldnt change that for the world now though! My language skills were and still are
very important. From communicating with my boyfriends family to ensure theyre
happy with the work Im doing, to setting up my business and having to read through
lots of complicated French documents, it wouldnt have been possible without my
knowledge of the French language. I really feel as though I have a life skill, and one
that Im extremely proud of. My experience as a language assistant taught me that
I didnt want to be a high school teacher! It also taught me that Im quite good at
communicating information to people and essentially what I do now is teach people
about Champagne, so I suppose the teaching experience helped in that sense. My
inspiration came from my own personal (touristic) discovery of the region, city and
then vineyards and champagne houses. I had been a tourist in the area and learnt
everything from scratch, which means that I can relate very easily to the way my
customers feel when they arrive in Reims. It helps to understand a place from a
tourists point of view, as well as the locals point of view, and thats what inspired me
to get started.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore startlng up? Id like to have known
more about the business start-up system in France. Like most things in France, its
very complicated, especially if you enter into a regulated field of work. I had a lot of
problems at the start and it would have been nice to have help from university even
before I started.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Weebly (weebly.com) is a great
build-your-own-website company. Its very easy to use and free to start with. I didnt
need financial support as I have very low overheads, but make sure that you keep
control of the financial side as it can all get confusing very quickly! Look at your
competition and find what you can do better than they can, and what you can do
that they dont. Interact with your customers. I was very personal with my first few
customers, and we still send emails checking how each other is doing. Theyre the
ones that give the best feedback when you need it most.
GO ON A YEAR ABROAD - it will change your life if you let it. And if you do want to
start a company abroad, be willing to take risks. Try to find out all the information you
can before starting up, but dont let people tell you that you cant do it. You can - you
just may have to change the path to get there. And never forget the importance of
speaking a language. There are so many people who wish that they could, so enjoy it
and be proud!
Dlo you recelve any buslness support trom your unlverslty betore, ourlng or atter
you set up your buslness? Not really; I did a module in my final year called Professional
French, which I suppose helped me understand some of the systems within French
26
businesses and learn some business-based vocabulary. It also meant I had a perfect
CV for when I needed a job when I moved back to France. So in terms of helping me
on the path to where I am now, I guess it did help. But I wouldnt say it was a direct
influence. I havent had any contact with my university since setting up my business.
Lperlence
The year abroad is not just an opportunity to develop your career prospects; it also
makes a huge difference to your personal life. Many students have never lived away
from home or even been abroad before, so the experience makes for quite an
inspiring story.
You could generate revenue by writing about your year abroad placement in regular
instalments for a publication while youre away, or by compiling your thoughts and
observations into a book format.
Case stuoy 8: Med|terroneon Homes|ck 8|ues

8enjamln Cbattlelo bas a 8A ln Frencb Stuoles trom tbe Unlverslty ot
Warwlck (1996) ano ls tbe Dlrector ot bls own marketlng agency, OscarMlke
Lto, ano a treelance wrlter, autbor ot Med|terroneon Homes|ck 8|ues
(mediterraneanhomesickblues.com).
wbat olo you get out ot lt? Yes, I was a British Council language assistant in Cannes
from October 1994 until the following May. After my assistantship I worked in a hotel
in Cannes, and then became a waiter in St Tropez until the end of September 1995. It
was the most formative year of my life and I learnt skills which became the foundation
of everything I have done since. Most significantly, I started what was in effect my own
business, as I ran a large network of private lessons in Cannes, tutoring students in small
groups after school and at weekends. I created my own course, complete with study
aides and a structure. On a personal note I became completely fluent and by the end I
think I was as close to bilingual as you can get.
27
Please describe your business: Mediterranean Homesick Blues is a mixture of a diary and
guidebook. I believe that it is a unique take on living in France. We have billed it as A
Year In Provence meets The Beach meets The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. It
is unique in that it avoids the hackneyed clichs of living in France and shows how, even
if it is a bumpy ride, we have more in common with the French than we might think.
It will appeal to Francophiles, students of any discipline, teenagers, thirty-somethings
and anyone interested in how people do, and occasionally dont, get along in different
cultures. The book is marketed through my own company, a marketing agency called
OscarMike.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: I had two moments. The first was when I was
studying on an Autobiography into Fiction writing course at CityLit (citylit.ac.uk) and I
thought: My non-fiction story is interesting in its own right, and different from standard
travel writing. The second was when I read A Year In The Merde and thought: I can
write a more realistic version than this.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? My language
skills were fundamental in writing a book which serves to educate as well as amuse in
my stories about a year spent living and working in France. An ability to communicate
(and occasionally not!) in French was vital to the experiences which formed the
book.The year I spent abroad was the entire inspiration for the book. Set just before
the launch of the Internet, it meant that a lot of it was written down in the form of
diaries and letters I kept to this day.
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? As language is featured heavily
in the book (there are actual vocab pages within the book) it was quite fundamental.
As I have started promoting the book through my company, OscarMike, I have used my
French extensively working with websites like FranceInLondon.com (franceinlondon.
com) and le Tropezien magazine. I have many meetings in French and I would suggest
that my fluency has set me aside from competitors.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore startlng up? I think that there is an element
of discovery and making your own mistakes to everything. Writing a book can be a
bit daunting and it is easy to never get started! But ultimately it has been the most
creatively satisfying project I have ever worked on. You push yourself mentally and have
a lot of fun in the process. I am intensely happy and love everything about how life has
panned out. I have enormous freedom and that all stems from my time abroad.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Speak to everyone you can at your
old university; there will be more support there than you know. Approach people with
no fear - I didnt think Alastair Campbell would respond to my plea (he was a language
assistant too, so I asked him to write a one-line review of my book) but he read it, liked
it, and wrote the review.There are incredible resources online but often the official
places are the best ones to start in.
It is a perfect trial run for real life so use it as the testing ground that it is. You have an
enormous safety net around you - enjoy it! The friendships and business relationships that
I started then are largely still in my life and also formed much of what I have become.
you set up your buslness? No, although that doesnt mean that it wasnt available, I just
didnt look in to it. However I did visit my old French department and received support
from them regarding how to progress with the writing of the book, and they gave me
an introduction to the British Council.
28
Startlng a buslness abroao
There is a chance that you will have so much fun on your year abroad that you decide
to return to live there after graduation. Or maybe travelling in your holidays inspires
you to emigrate. Either way, if you are worried about negotiating the foreign job market,
dont discount entrepreneurship as a career option. You can create your own job!
There will be considerable red tape involved (less so with online start-ups), so having
knowledge of the language and culture will be of huge benefit, alongside having contacts
in your destination.
Its also highly recommended to get in touch with an experienced entrepreneur in a
similar area of business who can tell you all about how they started up abroad. No
information resource can compare with the benefit of someones hands-on experience.
Case stuoy 9: mytamllyabroao.com

Francesca Luke bas a 8A ln Meola Practlce ano Tlm Arnauoy stuoleo LL8
Law, botb at tbe Unlverslty ot Susse (2007), ano tbey are tbe co-tounoers ot
myfamilyabroad.com, wblcb tbey starteo ln [anuary 2012.
Dlo you speno a year abroao ourlng your oegree? No we didnt, but we did plenty of
travelling during the summer holidays, across the Middle East, Asia and Spain. We fell in
love with Spanish culture in particular and so it was always a bit of a dream to live here.
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? We didnt know any Spanish
before we came, but picked it up (and are still doing so!) over the last three and a half
years. We found that its not only the language barrier but the cultural difference too!
During our time here, we have learnt and understood the needs of Spanish people (of
all ages) who are learning English.
Our idea was never for an English speaker to go into someones home and just
teach English. The Spanish families we visit understand our programmes as a cultural
experience enabling them to be immersed in English in day-to-day life. We encourage
all participants to play sports together, or go to the park, as well as sitting down with a
homework book. Basically after three years of English teaching we realised that Spanish
people are fed up with grammar exercises and formal classes: they are looking for a
different approach.
When we first came to Spain without any Spanish or knowledge of Madrid we had no
clue about finding a place to live or a decent place to work. We spent a small fortune in
29
temporary accommodation too! We want to help others find a more affordable way to
experience life in Madrid. We feel that after three and a half years we have learnt a lot
to pass onto our volunteers who arrive here for the first time. In our training sessions,
we not only pass on advice about being a great language assistant, but we also teach our
volunteers how to integrate into Spanish culture.

Please oescrlbe your buslness: We arrange for volunteer language assistants to live
with Spanish families in Madrid, Spain, to help the families with their English. We are
unique as we provide specific training (using our past knowledge of teaching English to
Spanish people) and host a welcome reception for all volunteers upon arrival.
We strongly believe in helping the volunteers make the most of their time here in
Madrid, and we provide advice and support to help them learn Spanish and meet
other young Spanish people in Madrid. Its a great way for students and graduates to
experience life abroad while at the same time ensuring that their host families are
immersed in the English language without having to go to classes.
Our Spanish families are keen to involve the language assistants in Spanish life and
make them part of the family, which was definitely one of our aims! Our customers
are pre-university students, graduates who are perhaps looking to get into the TEFL
world and, in some cases, university students who are on leave to get some work
experience in teaching.
Things are going very well and we have had some really positive feedback with a lot of
people who would like to repeat their stay. We are really enjoying the experience and
have learnt so much in just six months. It feels great to achieve what we have so far.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: We met other language assistants in Madrid who
went through a company based in Britain and this gave them no cultural introduction to
Madrid itself. They werent provided with any help or resources once they had landed in
Spain. We met a lot of people who, like us, had no idea about how to set themselves up
in Madrid. We felt like there was an opportunity to provide such a service, which could
also benefit Spanish families who are looking to learn English in alternative ways.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? Being your own boss is
tough. Learning to be strict with yourself and switch off in the evening is sometimes
difficult. Although we had a business plan, our biggest difficulty which we werent
30
expecting was to get our name out there. Advertising and marketing can be very
expensive and learning to do it cheaply is not an easy task. So I suppose we wish we had
studied Marketing at university or at least looked for some kind of business advice while
we were there.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Learn how to switch off and enjoy
life away from the business, research what you want to do, dont spend huge amounts
of money without fully knowing the consequences, and create a financial plan in a
spreadsheet with very conservative costs. We learnt how to create websites and other
materials through online video tutorials, and the best thing was that it was all free! There
are plenty of free resources on the net.
We think its always best to get to know your city or country and its people before you
set up any kind of business there, and use what you know to your advantage!
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? Huge!
Obviously we have to speak to all the families in Spanish when we visit them. Having
daily contact with Spanish families when we were working as English teachers has
helped us immensely. We understand that the abruptness and directness weve
experienced is a cultural thing (so we believe!), whereas in British business dealings this
is really not the case. The Spanish way of business life is very much centred on personal
contact and building up relationships. Parents would much rather pick up the phone to
chat to us than communicate through an email.
you set up your buslness? We didnt receive particular business support from the
University of Sussex but I (Tim) worked for, and was involved with, the universitys
Business and Enterprise department, which put on weekly talks and events (including a
large summer conference) to help students start up their own businesses. The speakers
who came (some who had started businesses abroad) inspired me to do my own thing
in the future. At that time I just didnt know what.
|mportlng ano eportlng
You might prefer to import or export products instead of moving abroad full-time.
Having lived abroad, you will be very aware of the products that are readily available or
oddly lacking. After some market research, you might discover that you have a unique
opportunity to work with a business and fill a gap in the market.
Smarta provides a wealth of resources for budding entrepreneurs, including five
steps for finding help with importing and exporting products:
http://www.smarta.com/advice/suppliers-and-trade/import-and-export/
You can also find useful information on the UK Trade & Investment website
(ukti.gov.uk/export/exporting.html), including key resources and elements to consider
when starting out, but again its recommended to ask advice from an entrepreneur
with experience in this area.
31

6. BuiIding your business
Unoerstanolng your customer
You should be able to describe your customer in great detail, down to their name, age,
marital status, languages spoken, where they live, shop, eat out and go on holiday. This
is extremely important so that you are aware of where they will see your advertising,
what sort of marketing material they will pick up and why, and, of course, whether or
not they would buy your product or service.
It is advantageous if your business solves a problem that you have personally
experienced, as you are or have been the target customer, which makes it easier to
develop an innovative business model and then gauge its success.
Case stuoy 10: Packeo Muncbes
Flona Tlmba stuoleo LL8 Law at Queen Mary, Unlverslty ot Lonoon, ano olo a
Masters ln Luropean Law (LLM) at Maastrlcbt Unlverslty ln tbe Netberlanos
(2012). Sbe ls tbe tounoer ot Packeo Muncbes (packedmunches.co.uk), wblcb sbe
starteo ln [une 2012.

wbat olo you get out ot lt? I didnt spend a year abroad during my undergraduate
degree but I spent a year in the Netherlands studying for my Masters degree in
European Law (taught in English). I have made a lot of friends from a whole host of
backgrounds - Maastricht has lots of international students and is really welcoming to
all students.
While studying I have been working as part of an English cluster in a Netherlands
company. This is what inspired me to create my business.
abroao enable or lnsplre you to set up your company? So far my contacts abroad
have been useful for research purposes.
32
Please oescrlbe your buslness: The business is a subscription service that allows
British students studying abroad to receive classic British treats while they are abroad.
At the moment there is no other business that provides this service. We are very
much in the starting stages as we havent yet launched, but we are hoping to launch
very soon.
Descrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: At work the English students all work together in an
English cluster. Were always provided with a variety of teas and once, during a tea break,
we all started talking about the biscuits and chocolates from home that we missed and
wished that we could have with our tea. I realised it would be a good idea if you could
get British treats sent to you while abroad.
Wbat ls tbe value ot languages ano lntercultural skllls tor your buslness? What helps
is being able to identify which treats are unique to the UK.
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? As we are still starting up
we are learning a lot as we go along. I think the most important thing thus far has been
creating a business plan it has helped to identify our weaknesses and strengths.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? I would definitely advise you to
research the business competitions and mentoring opportunities available to you. You
should make a calendar and jot down all the key events, as these are so important in
terms of networking and support.
During your year abroad definitely take advantage of all the opportunities that
are available to you. Starting a company abroad is difficult but it is also a rewarding
experience. Always remember: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Market researcb
You need to analyse what your competitors offer so you are sure you arent duplicating
an existing business model but, if yours is similar, you need to add value or improve
their offering. Visit the British Librarys Business & IP Centre (bl.uk/bipc) in London and
look through their extensive databases and publications to research your competition.
The British Library is free to join and provides a workspace, training and events to help
entrepreneurs with business networking, planning, and protecting their ideas.
Market research is important so you truly understand your businesss unique selling
point. Why would customers pick your business over someone elses?
Usability testing gives you an opportunity to try out your product or service with your
target customer. Send out screenshots, mock-ups or surveys to potential customers
(you can make free surveys with Google Docs (docs.google.com), with which you can
generate handy graphs) and ask them lots of questions to help you develop your idea.
Dont be too worried about talking about your business before it launches; its great to
have potential customers discussing your business and recommending it to their friends
so you have fans and customers from day one.
Securlng your brano
No matter what industry your business is in, it will need an online presence to be taken
seriously. Think of a name that is easy to remember, easy to spell, clearly relates to your
business and has a maximum length of fifteen characters so it can be used as a social
media username or handle.
If you are interested in the words and phrases people around the world are searching
for on Google in relation to the brand name you have chosen, check out the Google
Adwords Keyword Tool (adwords.google.com/KeywordTool). This shows you local and
global monthly searches, and the level of competition you have for customers. You can
33
also search on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/search-home) to see how people are
using your keyword in conversation right now.
Once you have decided on a brand name, it is important to secure your brand across
the web. KnowEm (knowem.com) is a useful website which shows you instantly which
social media platforms (like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) you can still
register your name with and which website domain names are still free. Whether you
intend to build a website now or in the future, you need to buy the domain name you
want before anyone else does. If the name you choose hasnt been registered before,
hosting providers such as 123-reg (123-reg.co.uk) charge between 3-12 per year for a
domain name, so this is a very good investment.
You can build a website for free using a blogging site like Wordpress (wordpress.org),
which is very customisable. The famous group coupon site, Groupon, started life as a
Wordpress site. You can use templates to change the look and feel of your website, add
multiple pages of text, audio and visual content, add links to your social media channels,
and even install a payment system.
Monetlslng your buslness
There is a multitude of ways for your business to generate revenue: selling products
and services on and offline, charging membership fees, having sponsors, and many
others. You need to be creative and think outside the box to develop a competitive
model that suits you.
These days, online advertising is only really profitable if you have a considerable
number of hits per month to your site from a highly targeted audience, so it is not
recommended as the basis of your business model. If you have a text content-rich
website, you can still generate automatic revenue through affiliate advertising, which
is where you are rewarded for providing another business with customers. If you
become a Skimlinks (skimlinks.com) publisher, for example, they can convert any
normal product link in your content into its equivalent affiliate link as a user clicks on
it, or they can turn product references in your content into links to where the user
can buy the item (and make it an affiliate link on the way).
If you want to sell products or services online, it is easy to install an online payment
system like Google Checkout (checkout.google.co.uk) to your website, so you can
accept payments and automatically generate invoices. Alternatively, you could sign up
to a website which can process payments for you so you can focus on marketing and
developing your offering. Here are three companies that can help you make money
from your skills straight away:
Nlng
Consider turning a hobby or an interest into a social business with Ning
(uk.ning.com). Charge members (or collect donations) for site access, premium
groups and content. You can also run your own ads, or sell branded merchandise.
Ltsy
Sell your handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplieswith Etsy (etsy.com).Youll
get your own URL for your shop based on your username, which you can promote
via social media to build your brand loyalty.
8lurb
If you have skills in photography, drawing or writing, you could self-publish a book
with Blurb (blurb.co.uk/self-publish). Use the companys free and easy-to-use book-
making software to design the layout, use their free promotional tools to get the
word out and then set your price. You can keep 100% of the mark-up for a print
34
book, or 80% of the retail price for an ebook, but the best bit is that you dont have
to handle transactions; customers purchase your book using Blurbs online shop.
Free marketlng
By downloading a Twitter desktop application to your computer such as TweetDeck
(tweetdeck.com), you can have automatic searches for keywords, relevant hashtags, lists
of users in your industry and journalists who write about your area of business. You can
then interact with individuals who are Tweeting about relevant topics by introducing
your website to them or answering their questions. A useful hashtag to follow is
#journorequest (twitter.com/#!/search/%23journorequest), which is used by journalists
who are looking for information and case studies. This is a very effective way to get your
message out and received by the right people, and is also an opportunity to be seen as
an expert in your industry.
Never underestimate word of mouth marketing: a happy customer is your most
valuable marketing tool. Ask them to spread the word about your business to friends,
colleagues and family, and to give you a written or video testimonial you can use.
Funolng your start-up: buslness plan competltlons, loans ano awaros
On your year abroad you will have one or more of the following: a maintenance loan,
a tuition fee loan, an Erasmus grant, a salary, a scholarship or award money and savings.
If you plan carefully, some of this could be used as start-up funding. However, there are
other ways to get funding before your business is generating income.
Entering your universitys business plan competition or even a national contest will
motivate you to plan for the future of your business. Aside from the prize package
if (when!) you win, you benefit from being forced to think about your strengths and
weaknesses, team structure, competitors, USP, marketing strategy, financial predictions,
and many other areas, within a strict time limit. Having a deadline will keep you focused
and motivated.
University business plan competitions usually go hand-in-hand with free advice and
support from the innovation centre, which means that you will be able to work with
experienced entrepreneurs, attend related events and meet other entrants; benefits
which are not readily available in competitions after you graduate.
Having a business plan will enable you to apply for bank loans and investment, so its
a good idea to keep it up to date as your business progresses. Here are some other
sources of funding for young entrepreneurs, in the form of loans, prizes and grants:
Start-up Loans
Start-up Loans (facebook.com/Start-upLoansUK) is a government-backed project
in collaboration with Start-up Britain, which lends up to 2,500 to 18-24-year-
olds wanting to start a business. You can register for a free Start-up Loan kit
(enterprisenation.com/slk) from Enterprise Nation UK, which includes all the advice you
need to make the most of your loan and start your business, including over 500-worth
of offers on everything from business cards to websites, laptops and smart suits.
Sbell LlveW|RL
Shell LiveWIRE (shell-livewire.org) offersyoung entrepreneurs in the UK free online
business adviceandfundingof between 1,000 and 10,000 to help them launch their
new business idea. At the end of each month, 10 shortlisted entrants to the Grand Ideas
Awards are asked to submit a one-minute elevator pitch videoabout their business. The
community then votes alongside the judges for up to four of the most innovative ideas
each month to be awarded 1,000. The website is also a great platform to find other
like-minded young entrepreneurs.
35
UnLto
UnLtd (unltd.org.uk) is a charity that supports social entrepreneurs. If you are a driven,
committed and passionate entrepreneur with an idea which will change the world for
the better, you could apply to win UnLtds Level 1 Awards (up to 5,000) or Level 2
Awards (up to 15,000), alongside the accompanying developmental support package,
which will help you start up your social enterprise.
Tbe Prlnce's Trust
The Princes Trust Enterprise Programme (princes-trust.org.uk) provides money and
support to help young people start up in business. You can get help with writing your
business plan, access a business mentor, use a free advice line and apply for grants and
loans from 250 up to 5,000.
36

7. 5upport fron your university
Many UK universities offer lifelong learning classes on IT, economics, statistics and
bookkeeping. These courses are taught by university tutors and are offered to the
general public, and at a discounted rate to students. If you come up with business ideas
on your year abroad but realise you are missing key skills, then either wait until youre
back at your home university to start these extracurricular classes, or enrol on local or
online courses while youre away to help you feel more confident.
Unlverslty enterprlse centres ano entrepreneurs-ln-resloence
University innovation and enterprise centres offer entrepreneurial advice and support
to young start-ups. Many have free office space, business plan software and a library
of useful resources. They may also run competitions and networking events and invite
inspiring guest speakers, often alumni, to talk about their experiences in business. Some
universities will also try to match up the skills of entrepreneurial students to spark
creativity, such as teaming up a Web Design and Internet Technology student who has to
create a website as part of their coursework with a final year student just back from a
year abroad who has a brilliant idea but no technical skills.
You might find that your university also has an Entrepreneur-in-Residence: an
experienced entrepreneur who is based at the university and is on hand to answer
business questions, talk through ideas and point young entrepreneurs in the right
direction.
Tbe Natlonal Assoclatlon ot College ano Unlverslty Lntrepreneurs (NACUL)
NACUE (nacue.com) is a charity that supports and represents young entrepreneurs
and student-led enterprise societies to help drive the growth of entrepreneurship
in the UKs Colleges and Universities. They organise workshops, pitch competitions,
conferences and training days to inspire young entrepreneurs.
Scottlsb |nstltute tor Lnterprlse (S|L)
SIE (sie.ac.uk) is the national organisation for promoting and supporting enterprise
and entrepreneurship in Scotlands universities. They run New Ideas and New Ventures
Competitions, which give young entrepreneurs a goal, while supporting and teaching
them in accompanying bootcamps and workshops. SIEs Regional Business Advisors also
provide one-to-one specialist business advice and support for young people.
37
Case stuoy 11: Co-Go Cottee to Go

Nlck Holzberr stuoleo |nternatlonal 8uslness ano Mooern Languages at Aston
Unlverslty (2009), ano ls tbe tounoer ot Co-Go Cottee to Go, wblcb be starteo on
bls year abroao ln Frankturt, Germany ln 2009, ano solo ln 2011. He tounoeo bls
QR cooe buslness QRky Lto. ln 2010 ano ls tbe co-tounoer ot Wblsk (whisk.co.uk),
a tool tbat creates lngreolents llsts trom reclpes lnstantly ano makes sbopplng tor
lngreolents easler, ln May 2012. He was |nsloer Magazlne's Lmerglng Lntrepreneur ot
tbe Year ln 2010 ano a tlnallst on 88C1's Tbe Apprentlce ln 2012.
Descrlbe your oegree course: I chose to study at the Business School of Aston
University because of its high-achieving reputation, its post-graduation employability
record and its friendly atmosphere. I studied International Business and Modern
Languages (German), a course that covered international economics, finance, marketing,
plus the usual business topics and, of course, German. At university I co-founded the
SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) society where students were enabled to work on
projects to aid economic development within the Midlands region. We became the
biggest student society at Aston University (not counting religious groups), and ran
projects with various partners including the Birmingham Childrens Hospital, where
we taught kids business skills through a project which involved researching, designing,
manufacturing and selling t-shirts.
How olo your language skllls, lntercultural skllls or eperlences abroao enable or
lnsplre you to set up your company? In the placement year of my university studies
I worked at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, in the Global Investment Banking division,
handling client corporate-actions in their back office. During the quiet periods in the
share market, I started work on a business plan that became Co-Go Coffee To Go.
While I was still in Germany, my coffee selling concept won the American-German
Business Clubs business plan competition, something that gave me encouragement to
pursue this project. Even though I dont work in the same industry any more - the ways
of working I learnt on my year abroad are skills I still use today. The year abroad was
invaluable, and was probably also one of the most fun years Ive had!
38
Wbat olo your buslness oo, ano oescrlbe your llgbtbulb moment: My coffee business
put advertising on the side of coffee cups, the principal idea onto which everything else
was added. I came up with this while ripping a coffee cup apart (I am a fidgety person).
Dlo you recelve any start-up support trom Aston Unlverslty 8uslness Scbool
betore, ourlng or atter you starteo your buslness? Aston University provided us
with our first location for Co-Go Coffee - a huge help in the business. They also
provided mentorship and advice through BSEEN (Birmingham Skills for Enterprise
and Employability Network).
Wbat oo you wlsb you bao known betore you starteo up? I wish I had spoken
to more people who were doing it already and listened to their advice. I was a little
arrogant out of university and thought my way was the best way. Had I listened to
others a little more I may have made fewer mistakes. That said, the mistakes Ive made
have helped me make better judgments now.
Do you bave any aovlce tor young entrepreneurs? Prove your business model as
much as you can before committing big resources to the idea. Try it small - see whether
you can generate any money from it. Dont go into it blind hoping the money will come.
Ask people for advice.
39

8. UsefuI resources
Websltes
Here are two useful websites which will give you more information about starting
a business:
Smarta
Smarta (smarta.com) is a platform providing real-time access to thousands of people
running their own businesses. These entrepreneurs pass on business advice based
on their own experience, and you can also get live professional advice from lawyers,
accountants and other services providers free of charge.
Start-up 8rltaln
Start-up Britain (startupbritain.co) is a national campaign founded by eight
entrepreneurs to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK, which it does
by providing free events on subjects such as marketing, finance and technology, listing
useful links on their website, and working with the Government on practical initiatives
based on the feedback it gathers from the campaigns supporters. If youre interested
in finding out more about what entrepreneurship involves, its website is a good place
to start. Its Enterprise Calendar (startupbritain.co/calendar) is particularly useful to
find talks and workshops in your area.
8ooks
7he Leon Stort-up by Lrlc Rles
This book shows how starting a business can be made into a science rather than an
art. The Lean Start-up introduces the reader to iterative processes; coming up with
an idea and then building and testing it in the shortest amount of time possible and
for the smallest amount of money. It takes the ethos, adopted by Google and many
others, of release early and often. You have to minimise your total time through the
start-up feedback loop.
This continual testing of your product or idea with your customers is the most
effective way of successfully creating something your customers want because they,
in effect, help you build and design it. The Lean Start-up takes you though this process
and teaches you how to measure the metrics that count and which ones to ignore.
Although this book focuses on products, it can be easily translated into service
sectors. This book is a must read for those starting a business who want to minimise
time, cash, risk and stress.
8us|ness Mode| Cenerot|on by Aleanoer Osterwaloer ano Yves Plgneur
Business Model Generation is a very different book. Co-created by 470 people
and designed by Alan Smith, Business Model Generation focuses on visualising a
business model.
40
Until this book was released, people talked about the strength of their business model.
During the dot-com boom and bust and even today, many entrepreneurs talk about the
durability of their business model yet they are unable to visualise it. This is important
because without this ability they are also unable to communicate their business model
effectively to their customers, their team and their shareholders. Its easier to test
assumptions and find creative solutions to problems in a dynamic and fast-changing
world when you can visualise all the angles of your business.
At the core of the book is the Business Model Canvas. The canvas focuses on the different
areas of a business such as the customers, the value offered to them, how to reach them,
revenues, costs and activities. There are nine areas in total and, once completed, it provides
a solid framework to build your business on. Like The Lean Start-up, it encourages you to
try many types of models for different customers and the post-it note is often referenced.
The book also looks at many different types of business models, idea generation and
understanding customers.
These two books work very well together. With the knowledge of both these books and
other modern tools, it is possible to develop a business idea with almost zero capital.
41

9. EntrepreneuriaI skiIIs in
the workpIace

|nternsblps ano work placements
Working for a small start-up in a relevant industry is the perfect way to learn the
skills you will need to start up your own business. Small businesses require their team
members to have a very diverse range of responsibilities: you could find yourself in
charge of their social media communications, sending out the newsletter, writing copy
for the website, answering phones, responding to customer feedback, doing usability
testing and helping out on new projects. These are valuable skills to have before you go
it alone.
A good place to look for entrepreneurial internships is Enternships (enternships.com),
which has opportunities in a wide range of exciting start-ups and SMEs in the UK.
Lrasmus tor Lntrepreneurs
Erasmus For Entrepreneurs (erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu) is a cross-border exchange
programme which gives new or aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to learn from
experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in other European Union
countries. The exchange of experience takes place during a stay with an experienced
entrepreneur, which will help you learn the skills you need to run a small business.
Your host will benefit from your fresh perspective on his or her business and will get
the opportunity to cooperate with foreign partners or learn about new markets. The
exchange programme is partially funded by the European Union.
Lntrepreneurlal skllls appreclateo by buslnesses
There is quite a negative response to failure in the UK, which is unfortunate because, in
the words of inventor and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson in a guest column for Wired
magazine: By fostering an environment where failure is embraced, even those of us
far from our student days have the freedom to make mistakes - and learn from them
still. No one is going to get it right the first time. Instead of being punished for mistakes
along the way, learn from them. I fail constantly. And I wouldnt have it any other way.
(http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-04/11/james-dyson-failure)
If you start a business and it doesnt succeed, then learn from your mistakes and try again!
If you decide not to start a business, then clearly indicate your start-up experience
on your CV and emphasise it in interviews. Remember its not just languages and
intercultural skills that are appreciated by businesses; an innovative entrepreneurial
approach to a problem is as highly valued in business, as in all walks of life, so your
experience as an entrepreneur will benefit you whichever route you decide to take.
42

10. The naI word: Rosetta 5tone

Tom Aoams ls tbe Cbalrman ot tbe 8oaro tor Rosetta Stone, bavlng jolneo tbe
company as CLO ln 2003. Tom bas cbangeo tbe way tbe worlo learns languages
ano brougbt global recognltlon to Rosetta Stone by bullolng a brano tbat ls known
tor lts ettectlve ano lnnovatlve language learnlng solutlon. He was nameo tbe Lrnst
& Young Lntrepreneur ot tbe Year ln 2009 ano CLO ot tbe Year by SmartCLO ln
2009. Tom Aoams bas a 8A ln Hlstory trom tbe Unlverslty ot 8rlstol, ano recelveo
bls M8A trom |NSLAD. A natlve ot Sweoen, be grew up ln France ano Lnglano ano
ls tluent ln Frencb, Sweolsb, Lngllsb, ano Spanlsb. He bas a worklng knowleoge ot
German ano Cblnese ano ls currently ln tbe process ot learnlng Russlan.
Wbat was your tlrst cballenge wben transtormlng Falrtlelo Language Tecbnologles
lnto Rosetta Stone? When you come into a company thats had a founder and is a small
family business, the first thing you have to do is make sure that you do no harm, and
figure out really quickly which of the companys principles have made it successful. So I
realised that the company had a great methodology for teaching. I understood that the
people who worked there were deeply passionate about the cause of language training,
and that passion was a fantastic asset to treasure, nurture and develop and so I was
very quickly conscious about wanting to continue the focus and the work on language
training. We had an international strategy that wasnt fleshed out, and we were working
with small-scale distributors in very large markets. There wasnt a very systematic way
to increase awareness necessarily, so a lot of the business aspects werent great. Thats
actually where I put most of my focus initially, to get back on the right track about what
was working and what to do to increase cash flow.
There were some fundamental things that I focused on. For example, getting everyone
on the same page about the bigger goal, or mission statement. We knew that our focus
would be on delivering the best technology-based initiative for language learning in
the world, and that that was the ultimate goal for broader education including maths,
reading, geography, history and all the other subjects that you can teach. We knew it
was going to be more than software; we were going to introduce the live components
43
and the community element to the language-learning experience online all of that
was worked out very early and executed much later. The second part is reflective of
my commercial philosophy, which was on the business side, and it was actually more
important to be experimental than to be strategic. It was much more important to
try out a lot of ideas than committing to a particular marketing approach. We tried to
track everything as best we could so that when we got success from anything we did,
it would just encourage us to rack that up, and that would unlock new potential, and so
on. So we were highly tactical on the commercial side, and very strategic with the brand.
And that works for us.
Do you bave any aovlce to pass on to entrepreneurlal year abroao stuoents or
graouates? A lot of the complexity in executing business strategy is the international
dimension. Whatever industry youre in, its likely that your biggest margin is going to be
outside your home market. Take Rosetta Stone right now our biggest market is the
US which is our home market, but its very obvious that for the company to grow and
be successful, weve got to hit a home run in Asia because about 40% of all language
students worldwide are from China, Korea and Japan. A familiarity with those cultures
and with those environments is increasingly vital so if youre in college or university and
wondering whats next? or how do I prepare myself for the world? then having a good
sense of technology or business is important. Its also important to be able to draw on
experiences of living abroad in assessing strategies for how to go global. Many Swedish
companies like Skype are designed at the outset to be global. Most American start-
ups with similarly big ambitions start out domestic, and so I think that if one lives in the
UK, or somewhere in Europe, the more you can take a global approach, the more likely
you can be competitive. Its about your momentum and whether you can scale at a rate
thats fast enough to succeed.
Have you enjoyeo your tlme tbere? Its amazing. My life has been fantastic. Being able
to work in a field that youre passionate about is so rewarding. Anyone whos able to
have work and passion combined has an amazing privilege. But I think that life is what
you make it and you can have a lot of fun in any industry you can have a passion for
winning or making whatever it is that youre working on better. One of the benefits of
being able to work doing something that you love is that other people who work with
you are also, often, sharing that same passion, and so youre surrounded by people you
like, and thats also conducive to being fulfilled and satisfied at work. Its almost like the
work itself is a kind of virtuous circle. The harder you work at it, the more you love it,
and the more you get out of it.
For anyone whos had an international experience, you know that you feel different
when you come back; youre enriched and youre far the wiser, and so being able to
work in a field where youre able to give any aspect of that back and give other people
the same opportunity is amazing!
Contact us
Tbe Hlgber Loucatlon Acaoemy
|nnovatlon Way
York Sclence Park
Hesllngton
York
YO10 58R
+44 (0)1904 717500
enqulrles@beacaoemy.ac.uk
978-1-907207-66-2
The Higher Education Academy, 2012
The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is a national body
for learning and teaching in higher education. We work
with universities and other higher education providers to
help bring about change in learning and teaching. We do
this to improve the experience that students have while
they are studying, and to support and develop those who
teach them.
Our activities focus on rewarding and recognising
excellence in teaching, bringing together people and
resources to research and share best practice, and by
helping to inuence, shape and implement policy - locally,
nationally, and internationally.
www.heacademy.ac.uk | Twitter @HEAcademy

No part of this publication may be reproduced or
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or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
any storage and retrieval system without the written
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be granted for educational purposes provided that due
acknowledgement is given.
To request copies of this report in large print or in a
diferent format, please contact the communications ofce
at the Higher Education Academy: 01904 717500 or
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