Oakland, CA — July 8th, 2025 — Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can feel overwhelming—but they don’t have to. Join us for Technical Details: Financing Your M&A Activity, the next session in the Association of Language Companies’ popular M&A Webinar Series. Tailored for small business owners, this event offers essential financial, legal, and strategic insights for both buyers and sellers.

This second installment dives into the crucial mechanics of deal-making— financing options, earnouts, and valuation strategies. These are among the most frequently asked questions from small business owners, and we’ll address them head-on with guidance from two seasoned experts.

“Our goal is to shed light on the areas that often feel most confusing—and most consequential—for small LSC owners during an M&A process,” says Carla Itzkowich, series organizer. “We’re digging into real-world challenges and practical solutions.”

Event Details:
📅 Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
⏰ Time: 1:00–2:00 PM PST (4:00–5:00 PM EST)
📍 Location: Online (link provided upon registration)
💲 Cost: Free for ALC members | $50 for non-members

Moderator:
Carla Itzkowich — Former LSC owner for 40 years, host of ALC’s M&A Webinars and Senior Advisor at Foresight Consulting and Slator.

Meet Our Expert Panelists:

• Krzysztof Zdanowski — Founder & CEO of Summa Linguae Technologies (DATAmundi.ai). With over $50M raised and successful acquisitions across Europe, North America, and Asia, Krzysztof brings deep expertise in scaling through VC, IPOs, PE, and strategic buyouts.

• Kevin D’Anna — Principal at Miller, Miller & Canby. A trusted counselor on M&A negotiations, Kevin offers practical insights on deal structures involving public offerings, SBA loans, private equity, and venture capital.

Whether you’re gearing up for an acquisition or planning your exit, this webinar will help clarify the financial side of M&A and equip you with the tools to move forward with confidence.

Register today here

As we reach the halfway point of 2025, it remains a challenging year for women around the world. And yet, our mission is constant, urgent, and unwavering. Our Women in Localization community is not only growing: it’s accelerating, evolving, and deepening its global impact. I  think that the harder it gets for females around the world, the more our community is needed. And the bigger our community, the stronger we grow, and that is where I see a ton of hope! 

Why? Because we continue to be incredibly present for our members, we advocate for them, and amid the many global geopolitical movements we’re currently witnessing or experiencing first-hand, here we are, growing stronger together.  

We have more than 15,813 members worldwide, supported by 30 active chapters and over 300 volunteers. We have over 31,682 LinkedIn followers and engagement with our Instagram account has more than doubled this year. We are seeing a 30% YoY growth. This momentum is only growing stronger, and we love it. For nearly two decades, our goal has always been to steadily and methodically reach as many corners of the world where we can empower women to achieve their professional and personal goals.

Thanks to this relentless lengthened focus, Women in Localization has become the strongest globalization platform in the industry. We are recognized globally as the go-to organization for innovation, mentoring, networking, upskilling, and reskilling programs in the space of globalization; in a safe community, one that is needed to be able to feel at ease to be able to innovate, learn, mentor, or be mentored. We want you to grow, and shine and we work hard to offer that space.

There are four programs we are newly developing for you:

Mental Health & Wellness: For a more Sustainable Community

We recently introduced our Mental Health & Wellness initiative to support the emotional wellbeing of our global community. It’s designed to reduce stigma, build awareness, and create a safe space across our chapters for real deep conversations about our lives and careers.

Voices like Lamiaa Laurene Daif, a worldwide growth leader at Apple and award-winning keynote speaker, and Lisa Dion, international teacher and creator of Synergetic Play Therapy, have shared their stories on resilience and mental health.

As of September, we will offer monthly themes around mental health and wellness, as well as opportunities for members to ask for help or check in on others. We recognize that wellness and leadership go hand in hand. And we’re building a culture that reflects that. If you are healthy, you grow faster!

Chapters: Community Expansion & Inclusion in Action

September will mark the launch of our Eastern Africa Chapter, our first on the African continent, aligning with Translator Appreciation Month. It’s a powerful moment for Women in Localization and a major step forward in our mission of community expansion and inclusion. A new Continent to serve!

Additional chapters are in development, including South Africa, Western Africa, Western Canada, Vietnam, and Thailand. We’re also building more student-led chapters through targeted university outreach led by Sarah Farhan. The success of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) chapter launch has inspired other universities, such as Kent State in Ohio, to take notice. Starting in the United States, we plan a global outreach shortly after.

This global growth is matched by global visibility. Our Global Growth & Development (GG&D) Ambassador, Dana Szabados, recently represented W.L. at events in Bangkok and is engaging with new audiences, including an invitation to participate in the Most Traveled People (MTP) Summit 2025 in Ethiopia. MTP brings those with a passion for travel, learning, and understanding other cultures together to share their experiences so others can learn. Again, we want to spread the word about Women in Localization to everyone around the world!

WeShape AI, by Women in Localization: Powering Progress and Women’s Contributions at the Intersection of Tech and Linguistics

At Women in Localization, we have always seen where technology is heading, and with thousands of members and followers from all over the globe we have a front-row seat. We see innovation first hand, we have seen it for years, constantly learning. But we are also in it, we build it, and support it all day long, so we are doubling down here. We will formalize our roles now and be part of the solution to close AI biases. We will share what we are building, and we will measure if the number of women creating technology is changing with this new opportunity.

We are basically building an initiative to position women as leaders in tech creation called WeShape AI, by W.L. This initiative will focus on:

●       Showcasing technology made, led, and driven by women

●       Connecting W.L. members with innovation opportunities

●       Rewarding intelligent and globally-aware solutions

With 16K members worldwide and 31K followers, we’re uniquely positioned to lead at the crossroads of AI, language, and global design. WeShape AI, by W.L. supports our three pillars to a T:  it creates community, empowers women, and advances our profession.

Advocacy: Campaigns That Create Change

W.L.’s new Advocacy Program brings our community into the conversations that are shaping the future of technology, localization, and the workplace. By connecting thought leadership with real-world action, W.L. is helping our members influence policy, shift industry standards, and create meaningful change.

W.L.’s Advocacy Program will focus on:

●       Building partnerships with tech companies, NGOs, and academic institutions to support women empowerment and leadership opportunities

●       Sharing insights and research in high-visibility forums to influence industry norms and policy decisions

●       Shaping industry norms by embedding gender equity best practices into localization standards and DEI policies

●       Mobilizing community action by empowering members to lead campaigns and engage decision-makers

By bringing our expertise to new influential audiences and aligning with them, we are making space for a more inclusive future.

Looking Ahead: Intentional and Results Are My Two Favorite Keywords

As we move into the second half of the year, our direction is clear.

2025 continues our intentional growth and impact. Nothing we do, nothing is not by design. We are incredibly focused and intentional. With enhanced metrics and reporting, new wellness initiatives, resilience, and expansion across Asia and Africa, we are well positioned to broaden our global reach, and empower more and more women to thrive in their careers while supporting each other.

The launch of WeShape AI, by W.L. positions women to lead at the forefront of tech and innovation, while our Advocacy program is set to elevate our organization into an even more influential voice, driving systemic change within and beyond the localization industry.

Our goal for the last 17 years has not changed. We keep growing across continents, one region  at a time, building communities with intention so we can help women, that is all we want to do, we want to help women grow and feel supported. We think big, and we will not stop, because we still have so many women to help, support, and see shine.

Let’s keep moving forward together.

Anna

About Women in Localization

Women in Localization (W.L.) was founded in 2008 by Silvia Avary-Silveira, Eva Klaudinyova, and Anna N. Schlegel. W.L. is the leading professional organization for women in the localization industry with over 15,813 members registered globally and more than 31,682 followers on LinkedIn around the globe.

W.L.’s vision is to become the leading voice in technology and innovation within the localization industry, recognized as the premier organization for mentoring, upskilling, and reskilling programs that empower women to overcome barriers and advance their careers. Its mission is to foster a global community for the advancement of women and the localization industry through education. It aims to provide an open, collaborative forum where women can share expertise and experience and help each other move forward in their careers as agents of their own future. Since starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, W.L. has expanded its membership to include women across the globe, encouraging members to meet in other local geographies.

To learn more, visit www.womeninlocalization.com . You can also follow W.L. on LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .

term strategy and a deep understanding of local practices, several business leaders told CNBC.

"If you want to come to Asia, and think that (you can just) turn around, bring back a bag full of money, don't make that mistake," said Hakon Bruaset Kjol, senior vice president, partner and external relations Asia, at mobile network operator Telenor. "We have seen so many companies come and try to do that. You need to be long term."

Read more here.

investment process and fail to secure follow up funding or exit. Less than 1% will ever become unicorns with valuations exceeding USD 1bn.

At SlatorCon San Francisco 2018, Slator Co-Founder Andrew Smart talked to a panel of startup founders and leaders within the industry to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of building a startup in the language services and tech market.

Read more. 

how it uses it. Like any profession, translators have their jargon. Terms like translation, localization and transcreation float around, but what does each mean and how are they different? Understanding the difference will help you know which service should you be asking for when, for example, you just need to have your company website in Spanish.

Translation vs. Interpreting

Kevin McQuire with the Association of Language Companies says translation is exactly what you think: “Converting information and meaning from one language to another.” It’s always written — not just according to McQuire, but per the Supreme Court. 

Read more. 

skilled translators and interpreters are finding their services in higher demand.

For Jutta Diel-Dominique, the boom in business is welcome. She decided in high school that she wanted to pursue a career in translation, developing a fascination with the English language in her home country of Germany.

"I like finding the rhythm of language," she said. "I am a complete word nerd — I realized back then I wanted to learn the English language, the nuts and bolts of it, almost to perfection."

Read here.

translating marketing content for a global audience, engaging your target audience means more than accurately translating campaigns into different languages. It means using marketing transcreation.

Marketing transcreation? What’s that?

If you’ve never heard the term ‘marketing transcreation,’ fear not. We’ll explain everything below. Suffice it to say, if you don’t consider marketing transcreation for your campaigns in foreign markets, your audience will know. Even a technically accurate translation looks like a poor translation without it. Your audience will immediately recognize that your campaign was written in a different language and they will feel like an afterthought—the opposite of engaged.

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look at the different job titles used on the LinkedIn profiles of employees working in Language Service Providers (LSPs) globally. Without breaking a sweat and ignoring the translation buyers, we have identified over 600 unique titles…and counting! An impressive total for what is often referred to as a niche industry. Here we ask What does it all mean?

Project Management

While Transcreation and Localization indicate that a Project Manager is operating within the language industry (rather than in Software or Construction, for example), the Associate, Senior and Principal prefaces are indicative of the job level. Hyphens also seem to be en vogue on LinkedIn, and used mainly to denote the specific customer segment, as in the case of “Project Manager – Life Sciences”. We also see Language Manager or Translation Manager, although these seem to be more in use when a Project Manager is responsible for an inhouse linguistic team.

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Professional networking site LinkedIn has continued to grow since it was acquired by Microsoft for a whopping USD 26.2bn in late 2016. The site now has more than 500 million users and reportedly generated USD 1.3bn in revenues in the first quarter of 2018.

While many people continue to see LinkedIn as an online version of their resume, an increasing number of professionals find the site useful for personal branding, sales, business development, and research. Different from other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn generates much of its revenue not from ad sales but from subscription services for recruiters and business development professionals. Paid subscribers are able to search LinkedIn’s extensive database in much more granular detail, which is useful for targeting potential recruits or prospective clients.

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When asked about growth plans, which language service provider (LSP) worth its salt would not cite sales strategy, domain expertise and technology investment as three of the most important factors in the pursuit of growth?

They might have the shrewdest of sales teams, certificate-laden linguists and technology that is so cutting edge it draws blood, but it would be foolish to underestimate the potential growth impact that your project management team can have on the business.

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One of the most essential characteristics for a high-functioning team — perhaps the single most important characteristic — is trust. Anyone who has worked on a team knows that team members must be able to trust each other to get the job done, and be committed and dedicated to the overall welfare of the group. In any group of individuals, trust is challenging to create and sustain, but in the case of a multicultural team it can be especially difficult for a variety of different reasons.

Read the full article.

Having cultural diversity is currently a trend along with the globalization — the majority of companies in the world normally have several different branches in multiple locations. Most people believe that cultural diversity has immense impact on team performance, and it is necessary for teams to become multicultural (qtd. in Stahl et al. 3). Simply understanding others becomes old-fashioned and is no longer enough for either managers or employees surviving in today’s diverse working environment; employees are expected to concurrently and effectively interact with people from different cultures (qtd. in Stahl et al. 3). According to meta-analysis of the studies done by Stahl et al., although the impact of cultural diversity changes depending on a team’s situation, cultural diversity certainly has influence on five variables — communication, conflict, cohesion, satisfaction, and creativity — that can cooperatively influence team overall performance (8).

Read the full article.

Nepal and China have launched a programme to offer free training to up to 200 tourism entrepreneurs in Mandarin to attract more foreign visitors from China, reports PTI.

Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong on Thursday inaugurated a new batch of tourism entrepreneurs who will be trained in the Chinese language in Kathmandu.

Read the full article.

Although almost 900 million internet users speak English, there are also hundreds of millions of internet users who don’t. Despite this, a great number of businesses don’t translate their websites; and are therefore ignoring valuable potential customers who don’t speak or read English.

Translating your website effectively (not relying on shoddy machine translation) can be vital to the success of your website, and therefore vital to the success of your business; whether you’re looking to expand into new markets or attract new clients.

Read the full article.

How many times have you walked up to someone to ask a question only to get an answer in a language you don’t understand?

If you’re living in Southern California this has probably happened to you more than a few times. The Southland is a melting pot of cultures and languages, so it’s wrong to assume that everyone speaks English.

That person you approached might only speak Spanish, Korean, Japanese ... or maybe even Russian. So some interactions become cursory at best. And that information you were hoping to get still eludes you. This can be frustrating when you’re trying to find out when the next bus will arrive or where the nearest gas station is. But language barriers have far deeper implications in the world of business.

Read the full article.

India is the seventh largest country by area, the second most populous nation, and arguably the fastest growing major economy. This converts into some pretty interesting demographics: 22 official languages, about 122 major languages, over 1,599 dialects and other languages, and multiple writing systems that require specially developed fonts. The languages most translated into are Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Malayalam, Urdu, and Oriya.

Read the full article.

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And then you pick the lowest bidder for your translations. There’s a good chance you’ve just made a costly mistake.

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calization, your ability to create a seamless experience for users around the world.
Global consumers want to interact using their native language, and they expect dates and other numbers to appear according to local customs. For example, the U

nited States typically presents dates in a month, day, year format, while most other countries use a day, month, year structure when communicating dates.

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