We’ve mentioned Stepes before. This new platform is infiltrating the translation industry by storm. Using a chat-based app, translators can connect with clients’ documents giving them the freedom to work wherever and whenever they like from their phones.
Stepes’ headquarters in Beijing consists of international staff from all over the world. Their backgrounds and different cultures help identify creative solutions and potential international problems. Here we would like to introduce the Stepes marketing and PR team.
Hannah Fitzgibbon and Hedd Freeman are part of the Marketing team along with Emily Feng who is Stepes’ public relations specialist. ‘It’s my job to spread the word about our platform, and to get as many possible people involved as possible.’
What’s it like working with the Stepes team?
Hedd: We are a team of around 15 people who have come from all parts of the globe, China, Britain, the U.S, Peru, the Philippines, and we all bring something unique to the table, always sharing ideas from different cultures, it really helps to keep our concepts fresh.
Emily: I am the kind of person who enjoys creating new things and helping them grow from the ground up. Stepes fits the bill perfectly; it’s an exciting new idea that no one else is working on right now. That kind of common passion and the feeling of doing something novel each day is what makes me excited about work each day.
What challenges have you encountered?
Emily: Definitely starting from having zero public relations or marketing efforts and trying to build up a presence can be challenging.
Hedd: But in some ways that’s what has made it interesting for us, we’ve had a blank space to create something totally new.
What is most unique about Stepes?
Hannah: The text-based design means that it is completely different from other translation models, and that absolutely anyone with a smartphone can use it easily. It breaks texts down into little chunks, so really it’s just like answering a message on your phone.
Emily: I agree, mobile is definitely something that will change our technology and how we use that technology to improve our business functions and daily lives. Stepes is a first mover in this respect then, and by shifting translation to mobile, we are opening the door to so many potential future applications of the Stepes platform. Translation is just the beginning!
Where do you see Stepes in five years?
Emily: Obviously, I see Stepes going very far in five years, becoming something that will be integrated into all the major business functions and personal mobile platforms. I envision buying or participating translation being as easy as calling a taxi on your phone, being able to walk onto a subway and watching people translate on their smartphones, or even being able to translate messages in real time from WeChat or Facebook Messenger.