Why did you decide to start a translation business back in 1992?
Liz Elting: It was a natural business for me to gravitate to because I grew up living in five countries. I was born in New York, then I lived in Portugal when I was eight and nine. When I was 10, we moved to Toronto and lived in Canada for a number of years. Then I did my junior year of college in Spain and worked in Venezuela after graduation. Over the years, I had the opportunity to study four languages, and by the time I graduated from high school, I was hooked: I simply loved languages.
I majored in languages in college and shortly after graduating, worked at a translation company in New York City. I quickly fell in love with the industry. It was a wonderful way to combine languages with business and serve clients who were eager to ‘go global.’ I did that for three years, but I began to notice gaps between what clients needed and what was available in the industry in terms of quality, service and a ‘one-stop shop’ model.
I parked those thoughts in my head and went back to school to get my MBA from NYU Stern. Shortly after graduating, I had a brief stint in finance — but I realized quickly that it wasn’t for me and I asked myself, ‘Why wait any longer to start a translation business?’ I was 26, I was used to being broke and I knew I would.
