Fliplingo
Automatic translation of your tweets using near real-time human translation (Tweet)
Quick facts: Launched in 2014. One man team. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand (for now). Bootstrapped.
In the third edition of #worldofstartups we meet Matthieu Aussaguel, the founder of Fliplingo. He is French born, but considers himself a Citizen of the World. To launch Fliplingo he decided to leave the European tech hotspot Berlin and relocate to Chiang Mai in Thailand, an area favored by many digital nomads.
Tell the story of how Fliplingo started. What is your vision for the future?
When I moved to Berlin last year, I really wanted to take part of what was happening there, listen to local bands, buy from local brands and get to know local startups. I thought that even if I couldn't speak German, I would be able to communicate online directly with them on Twitter or Facebook. But that proved to be a big failure due to language barrier. As a non German speaker, I couldn't join the conversation most of the time.
When I met some of the Twitter accounts owners who did reply to me in my language, I realized that they were also frustrated because they were missing opportunities just like myself.
My ultimate goal is to help people getting content translated the easiest way you can think of. We have access to such amazing communication tools these days but it's still a painful and unreliable process to overcome the language barrier.
Talk a bit about advantages or challenges faced by startups in Thailand. And why did you relocate to Chiang Mai vs staying in the "startup hotspot" Berlin?
Launching a startup from Chiang Mai was scary. I feel like I'm the only startup guy in town. But moving here was still the best decision I've ever made mainly because I've increased my productivity a lot. I can live a comfortable life, leave all frustrations aside and focus on my work. Chiang Mai is a place where English is not always an option to communicate and you've got to find other solutions. I've met very interesting people here who are passionate about languages and every time I meet them, I get inspired. I could have stayed in Berlin but there were just too many distractions that I couldn't focus on the core of my product. All my light bulb moments happened here, when talking to people or just riding my motorcycle around town. I don't think being a tech hub helps until you need to grow.
That being said, I'm planning to go back to Berlin for a longer time once I find product market/fit. Berlin is definitely a better place to raise capital and build a team. It's also a lovely city.
What is your biggest learning (so far) as a founder?
Building a product takes a really long time. I originally planned to build it in 3 months but it took me 6 months in total and I'm still not entirely satisfied with it. There are so many things you have to think about and manage. I was used to work in teams where every member had a specific role but this time, I had to handle every aspect of a project myself. It is stressful and tough sometimes but also very rewarding. I've learned so much as a person from it, I love it!
What are you currently looking for (partners, employees, funding, other things etc)?
I'm currently looking for someone who is good at partnerships, marketing and most importantly someone who is passionate about languages. If the traction keeps growing, I'm also going to need to find a Ruby developer.
To reach out to Matthieu, tweet him @fliplingo or @mattaussaguel.
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This post is part of the #worldofstartups section of Startup Letters, where I feature a new and interesting startup every week. Subscribe to Startup Letters to recieve more like this, plus #goodreads and #resources for entrepreneurs.