Enterprise Nation

The beginnings of www.lingo24.com started in Italy. Via Oxford, Aberdeen, Romania and Panama, this growing company keeps on going. It’s headed by the able and charming young entrepreneur, Christian Arno. Enterprise Nation finds out where he’s come from and where he’s heading.

The Italian Job

Christian Arno started his first business at the age of 22 during a gap year in Italy. He looked around and saw all his friends who had language skills and wondered why, in the midst of the dot come boom, no-one was doing anything special with online translation. He decided to do something about it and launched tgv24.com – the company won contracts and Christian continued to work on the business as he swapped his Italian dorm room for living space back at Oxford University.

He graduated in 2001, returned to his parents home in Aberdeen, got serious about the business and launched the site that now is www.lingo24.com in March 2002.

Adventure in Aberdeen

Over the past 7 years, the company has grown rapidly. Christian has kept the business privately-owned, having being put off the idea of raising venture capital after seeing his Dad go through a bad experience with financial backers in his own oil exploration business.

A couple of years in to the business, Christian invited in business partner, Jack, to help out. They had been friends at University and after a couple of years experience with Deutsche Bank, Jack decided he’d be better suited to an entrepreneurial venture. He chose well with Lingo24.com

Still only 30, Christian is running a business that now has over 100 employees and more than 4,000 freelance translators who all work from their homes, spread about the globe. The company has offices in Romania, Panama and the UK but Christian likes to stay close to his roots and still works regularly from home … now his own home, as opposed to his parents!

The company has an impressive client list that includes brands such as Orange, MTV, Bloomberg and BP.

Christian continues to grow the company and we’ll watch with interest as this business that started in the spare room blossoms into a multinational venture.

To hear Christian’s story at first hand, mark the date in your diary of Friday 20th November as Christian is one of our star speakers at the Enterprise Nation conference. There is much to be learnt from this young and budding entrepreneur!

• Lingo24.com

Pictured is Iona; a Lingo24.com home based translator