We are ready to invest in a Ukrainian startup only on condition of moving abroad

    A reputable foreign company showed interest in the young project from Ukraine and indicated that it would agree to give investments if the team moved abroad for further development.



    Freelance service for linguists Polyglot in Prague took part in the conference for investors and start-up companies " Venture The Days " . One of the most respected Malaysian investment companies became interested in the young Ukrainian online platform and is considering it for investment. However, in the process of negotiations with the founder of the startup, Andrei Prudko , the main requirement of the investor was voiced - for the possibility of financial investments in an international project, the entire team must move to Poland.

    The international freelance platform for translators, copywriters, tutors of foreign languages ​​fought for their place in the sun among 50 startups from all over Europe. After a 10-minute pitch on the stage of the Prague conference, the teams of participants were aimed at making new acquaintances, finding an influential mentor in the person of representatives of large Western organizations or attracting solid investments. The teams were looking for from 10 thousand dollars to fill the site up to 300 million euros for the creation of a test plant for the production of structures for bridges.

    An important factor that aroused the interest of the investment company in the Polyglot project was the growing linguistic services market, which the young marketplace is targeting.



    According to an independent American research company“Common Sense Advisory” , in 2014, 73 billion dollars were spent only on the services of translators and tutors of foreign languages, compared with 34 billion dollars in 2013, where the share of translations alone accounted for 15% of the total market. Moreover, the research agency predicts by 2020 an increase in the number of translation specialists by 42%, which in 2014 amounted to more than 1.5 million people. And according to EdNET Insight , the volume of the e-learning market (online learning) by 2017 will be about $ 198 billion.

    Over the past two years, many Ukrainian startups, having received investments, are moving their main office abroad and moving there as a whole team. So Odessa developers of the mobile application Lookserymade a deal worth about $ 150 million and went to the United States to continue working on the product, the Dnepropetrovsk IT company 908 left for Poland, and in Luxoft , in May last year, announced that they would transport about 500 programmers from Ukraine to Romania and Poland. So in the case of the Polyglot startup, a foreign investment company considers the possibility of cooperation only if it travels to the territory of a neighboring western state, justifying this with an unstable economic and political situation in the country. Unfortunately, foreign investors are afraid to invest in Ukrainian projects and teams precisely because of the difficult situation in the state. For some, this is such an important factor that they make it critical and mandatory.

    “Negotiations are just at the stage of discussing the terms of cooperation and moving to Poland will lead to much higher costs for maintaining the team than it was in Ukraine because of the difference in rental costs, legal red tape and other expenses. But if the move still remains a prerequisite for obtaining investment, then such a step is possible "
    - says the founder of the linguistic freelance platform Andrei Prudko .

    The principle of working with the Polyglot platform is that a customer who needs to complete a task related to the language sphere (translating text, writing articles in any language, choosing a foreign language tutor or guide for excursions anywhere in the world) places an order on the 2polyglot website .com , and freelancers interested in ordering submit applications for its implementation. The customer can choose a freelancer based on the rating of the artist, his portfolio, the availability of relevant certificates and the indicated cost. Payment for the work is done after proper execution on time with the option of “Safe Transaction” option.

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