My Gengo was founded based on needs its founders saw as a gaping hole in the translation business: too expensive and too slow. So they did what entrepreneurs do: they solved the problem by filling that void.
Mygengo.com founders Robert Laing and Matthew Romaine knew the need was there for a consumer service, “big project management and set up fees just don’t work for every day content translation”. Plus, Laing added, machine translations were fast but not useful for business applications and to get access to freelancers and agencies, the cost was prohibitive. Gengo means language in Japanese.
At My Gengo, you have access to a wealth of certified talent who must pass a quality test (of 11,000 applicants, 1200 passed their competency test). As a result, you get accurate translations for 5 cents a word, about 70% less than standard translation services, translators get flexible hours plus a reliable income.
And My Gengo stands by their work, “We’re so confident, we offer a full refund if customers aren’t happy”. That’s led to 80% referrals, 40% repeat customers and doubling of volume each quarter.
It works like this: you post your job at My Gengo, their certified translators will pick jobs they feel most confident completing. Translation requests range from the simple, like a Tweet, to more complex documents.
Their second product, launched Q1 2010, is an API that can be plugged into a site so that users don’t need to go to My Gengo to get access to their services. Currently API partners are Magento (ecommerce site) and Movable (the most used publishing system in Japan, often used for blogs).
Having received seed funding, My Gengo is now moving to their next stage of funding.