Claire's story

Why did you decide to start your own business?

I had a kind of dream. I wanted to work for myself and create a translation company that was very different. I wanted to raise the standard in the translation market. I also wanted to create more transparency for the customer in the working process.

What were some of your achievements and challenges?

Being here [in the UK] with my own business is a big achievement. In May 2015 I had nothing except a very blurred business idea and I didn’t have a visa. I needed to secure everything, but I learned to focus and do things. 

What advice would you give for starting a business?

When you start a business, there are a lot of challenges and uncertainties. But if you're determined and you think your idea is great, you need to try it. You have to dare to dream!

How did START UP Founderships help you?

You develop your business model and prove it is going to be effective, so it is a very intense programme. We met our mentors weekly and reported on everything we did and made a new plan for the next week. So you have small goals throughout and a big end goal for the end of the Foundership. It helped my idea become a business, making the problem only how to market it to my target customers. All my Founderships peers were great. I was quite fortunate and proud of myself to be with them.

"Being part of the START UP Foundership Programme, you are driven to develop your business and make progress every day. You will learn a lot. They have given me so much help".