polyglotte startup story
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We've updated our startup story!TRANSCRIPT
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STORY
#mystartupstory © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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Life,
I know from experience...
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is a crooked street.
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My invention,
the olyKeyboard, illustrates this truth.
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It sprang from a lucky accidentin my life’s journey...
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...which has been a diverse one geographically, linguistically and culturally.
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The idea first came to me a little after returning to the U.S. from France and Berlin, where I'd studied the German language and interned in art galleries.
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I thought:
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“Why are there so many keyboard layouts in the world?”
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That's when it hit me.
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I would invent a multilingual keyboard for polyglots, like myself!
Daniela Semeco
Founder/CEO
Polyglotte Inc. © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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© Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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I had my heart set on San Francisco.
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I'd never been to the West or even seen the Pacific Ocean, didn't know anybody there—all I knew was that I was destined to go.
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I'd managed to sell some odds and ends and come up with $250.
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My dad thought I was crazy,
but finally agreed to buy me a one-way ticket, (which was all he could afford).
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On March 28 2011, I left for San Francisco with $250 and a dream.
Image courtesy of Riad Djabri © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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For two and a half months I rode the couch-surfing wave before settling into my own place in San Francisco.
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Luckily, I had my dad...
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...to show me how the mind of a techie works.
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He built the first prototype and installed it on my computer.
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We worked for months improving the product, and I was able to add more and more languages.
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I was experiencing a lot of challenges at the time.
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I'd embraced local politics and become a freegan (someone who lives for free).
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I’d hooked up with Food Not Bombs and was eating for free, putting every penny I made towards the business.
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A local street kid designed my first logo.
Image courtesy of Facebook © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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He was living on a roof when I met him, and I took him in and paid him in food and beer. To this day, he calls me “Momma.”
#mommabear © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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I founded Polyglotte Inc. as a benefit corporation on Jan. 1, 2013.
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Shortly after, we were approved by Legal Services for Entrepreneurs, a program offered by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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Thanks to them, we now have many pro bono attorneys!
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On June 14 2013
we released the beta version of our product.
Image courtesy of Renee Jones © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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© Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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We released our iPad app on October 31st 2013.
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Now we've built a physical keyboard!
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It’s been an adventure bootstrapping and getting to where we are today.
Image courtesy of Renee Jones © Polyglotte Inc. 2014
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We're preparing a Kickstarter campaign, a launch party, and a keyboard exhibit.
© Polyglotte Inc. 2014
Details to be
announced!
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