Catalonia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem doesn’t just stand out for its innovation and creativity; it’s also renowned for the real impact it has on people’s lives. Many of the country’s startups got off the ground in Barcelona’s neighborhoods, in inland towns or in local incubators. Some of them were Catalan-speaking, focusing on solving very specific needs in their immediate environment.
What’s interesting about these initiatives is how they’ve managed to grow while staying true to their essence. Although initially focusing on the local market, their powerful proposals soon saw them branching out into other autonomous communities. To do this, the key was to adapt their communication, which is where Catalan-Spanish translators come in.
Success stories with local DNA
Startups like Nostrum, that started out as a Catalonia-focused ready-made food network, expanded without losing track of its identity. Another example isBadi, an apartment-sharing app developed in Barcelona that was soon rolled out in Madrid and other major Spanish cities. These companies could see that, to attract new users outside BCN, simply translating wasn’t going to cut it: they had to adapt their message.
Another, like CodeOp, a programming academy founded in Barcelona, is committed to diversity and inclusion from the ground up. Although its website is in English, it often communicates with the local community in Catalan, a sign of the real melting pot of languages in the business fabric.
This strategy can be seen in many Catalan start-ups with strong local roots, although striving to make a country-wide impact. In the early stages, their websites, presentations, social networks and commercial materials are usually in Catalan. But when the time comes to grow, translating all this content into Spanish with the help of a professional Catalan-Spanish translator means they can maintain the quality and coherence of the message they want to convey.
From the local environment to the national market
The leap from the local to the national market isn’t just logistical or financial: it’s also linguistic and cultural. Adapting a pitch, website or user manual fromCatalan to Spanish isn’t just about translating words; it calls for adapting nuances, tone and references. A good Catalan-Spanish translator could be the key to a start-up maintaining its essence without compromising clarity when reaching out to a new audience.
Blarlo is well aware of the challenges Catalan startups face when they’re looking to expand. That’s why we have specialized translators who aren’t just fluent speakers; they also know the cultural and business context inside out. If your project got off the ground in Catalunya and you’d like to grow barrier-free, Blarlo can help you translate your content fromCatalan to Spanishand get the message you want to convey across.
