an easy start

The story of Ukrainian e-⁠resident Julia Ventskovka and how she expanded her startup Localica.io into the European market with e-⁠Residency

Localizing is the process of amending something -- a website, a game, an application -- that was developed in one linguistic or cultural setting so that it functions in a different one. Sometimes this involves making something Ukrainian look and feel Spanish. But in other instances, it can be making something Spanish accessible to a general international audience. It's not easy. It takes knowledge and insight.

This is part of what e-⁠resident Julia Ventskovka's Estonia-based startup Localica.io provides.

Julia is Ukrainian. She was raised in the countryside outside the northeastern city of Sumy, and studied translation and philology at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. After graduating, she wanted to parlay her expertise into the business world, and struck out as an entrepreneur, focusing not just only on translation, but on the market for localization services.

"The localization and translation market is growing rapidly and shows growth every single year," said Julia. "Localization is more specific because it includes cultural and language adaptation," she added. "Translation is just transferring meaning from one language to the target one."

While Julia found some success in Kyiv, she decided to expand her business to the European market. Beyond just the opportunity for growth, there were a variety of reasons for this. The war was certainly one, but she also had issues with paying freelancers that were outside Ukraine.

And this led her directly to Estonian e-⁠Residency.

"Estonia was a solution because it worked for us," she said. Julia had also been to Tallinn before to attend the annual Tallinn Digital Summit, where she had made new acquaintances and connections. In general, she felt welcome in Estonia. "Estonians are open to Ukrainians and friendly," Julia recalled.

The fact that the Estonian market was a digital one, where her company could operate legally but not be present physically, was another factor. "That's why we decided on Estonia," she said. "It was an easy start."

Julia applied for and was granted Estonian e-Residency in 2022. She went to Tallinn to register herself with the Police and Border Guard Board and to pick up her e-Residency card. Localica was incorporated Estonia that October. "It was completely easy," said Julia of the experience.

Since then, Localica has been working to build on its offering. The company claims to be able to do localization and translation services in 100 languages. In addition to maintaining a team to manage projects, the firm also relies on a deep bench of freelancers, who are incentivized to work with Localica due to a loyalty system that rewards them with more work and higher rates.

"We are like an all-in-one supplier that covers communication in different languages," said Julia.

Estonia also continues to figure in its plans, not only as a digital hub for its business. Julia is currently based in Spain, but there is a plan to set up a physical office in Tallinn, which will give the company a foothold in Northern Europe.

"We would like to have a dedicated office, preferably in a cowering space because we want to be surrounded by people, not in some closed box, just communicating with laptops," said Julia.

Currently, discussions around setting up an office continue. It's possible Localica might obtain space at LIFT99 in Tallinn's Telliskivi area, where many startups are based. LIFT99 also has a branch in Kyiv.

Localica's discussions around setting up shop in Tallinn inspired an interesting blog post earlier this year, where the firm dished on the peculiarities of Estonians. Though often characterised as being a bit aloof with a love for nature, the company found the Estonians they interviewed to be tactful and respectful of personal boundaries, as well as friendly, engaging, and desiring jobs with the potential for personal and career growth, and the ability to work for a stable employer.

According to Julia, every country has its own things that set it apart from others in the business world. "It's interesting to communicate and to absorb cultural differences, as well as to find common ground. I've only had a positive experience with our cooperation in Estonia so far."

And so her team were in attendance at last week's Latitude59 conference in Tallinn. In general, Julia has grown fond of the capital city.

"Everything is digital," Julia said of Tallinn. "But I also like the quality of service in cafes and restaurants. It was marvellous," she added. "And I really like the harbor. It's astonishing."