Startup incubated at Cietec launches phone translation application

20/06/2014
 

In an interview, HelloUniverse CMO tells how the idea became a business

 
HelloUniverse has launched its phone translation application, developed to serve foreigners in Brazil and Brazilians abroad who face language difficulties to communicate. The company is incubated by Cietec (Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology), considered one of the largest incubators in Latin America, and accelerated by Wayra, linked to Telefonica.
 
The application, which is unprecedented in Brazil, is available for Android, but the service can be used from any phone. The main objective of the system is to connect foreigners with HelloUniverse interpreters in a simple and automated way, without giving up human translation. To use the service, the user calls the HelloUniverse call center, through a landline or mobile phone or from the application itself, identifying the desired language (English, Spanish, French, Italian or German). The system then searches for the available interpreter and establishes the connection.
 
The company already has a database of 200 interpreters, who provide their telephone numbers and define opening hours. "This work system makes working hours very flexible, meeting the needs of translators, who are normally freelancers, and at the same time resulting in a service available 24 hours a day", explains Cristina Cho, one of the founders and CMO of HelloUniverse, who details the successful trajectory of the incubated Cietec in an interview for the ABES Portal. Check out.
 
Who are the entrepreneurs, training and experience in the job market?
They are: Bruno DS Koo (CEO), with training in architecture and systems analysis, specialist in hardware and network security, infrastructure management. He set up his first technology company at age 20; Saul Jair Ishida (CTO), systems, programming and database analyst, graduated in computer science; Cristina KA Cho (CMO), responsible for marketing and content, artistic training, worked with Korean-Portuguese translation and content in an e-business consulting company; and Luís Carlos Uehara, manager of finance and accounting, with a degree in computer science and architecture and e-urbanism.
 
 
– Why did you decide to launch a startup?
The team always worked together in a company, in which, most of the time, the partners were Bruno and another investor who injected money. This society did not work. In 2011, the team decided to launch a company in which all four members would be part of the corporate structure, eliminating the need for an investor.
 
– Since when are they incubated at Cietec? How did this partnership with Cietec make a difference in the company's evolution?
We have been incubating since 2012. Cietec served as a strong background, giving access to solid institutions such as Escola Politécnica da USP, Sebrae, Fapesp and CNPq. All this access ended up giving the company more credibility.
 
– How was the idea of developing HelloUniverse born? How long have you been developing this product?
The team has always lived with the idea. All members come from foreign families. However, it started to get off the ground in 2007, when we developed a telephone job search system. The project was in stand by for lack of telephone infrastructure, until it was resumed in 2012, for the possibility of receiving support from telecommunications companies, such as Telefonica, and for the opportunities of the moment such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games.
 
– In your opinion, what is the target audience of Hello Universe? How much will this service cost the user? Will it be for use or can a company make a subscription?
The target audience is Brazilians who travel abroad and foreigners who come to Brazil. The service will be offered directly to the end user, costing R$ 5 reais/minute (prepaid) or through systems integration with a company in the subscription system. For example, a company that has expatriate employees and customers can integrate the HelloUniverse system, every time a call center operator gets in touch with a foreigner, just insert a HelloUniverse interpreter in the middle of the conversation, in a teleconference.
 
– What languages are available? How is contact with the interpreters made?
The first five languages released are English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Dutch. In the second phase, the languages that have the most communication problems will be launched, such as Chinese, Hebrew, Russian, Korean and Japanese. Contact was made with only a few interpreters and translation and interpreting teachers. The service was developed based on their feedback, with a strong focus on the comfort of the interpreters. They work whenever and wherever they want. The news spread quickly among the interpreters and today, an average of 5 interpreters arrive per week.
 
– Would you like to highlight any more aspects of HelloUniverse?
HelloUniverse is focused on the most essential factor: human work. The proposal is not to replace human work with the machine, but to enhance this work with the help of the machine. HelloUniverse's secret lies in hiding the complexity of the system for ease of use, leaving all the complexity in the backend, where the algorithm makes it possible for a user to always speak to the most efficient interpreter possible.