The Linguist

16 The Linguist Vol/61 No/3 2022 thelinguist.uberflip.com FEATURES Benji Moreira, founder of Mundo Lingo, a global network of language exchanges which allows people to meet and talk in multiple languages. Ellie Baker, founder of the BilinguaSing franchise, which offers musical language classes for children aged 0-11 in person and online. Robbie Norval, founder of Lingo Flamingo, which empowers older people and those living with dementia by teaching them languages. Veejay Lingiah, founder of FlashAcademy, the most widely used assessment and teaching app for English learners in UK schools. Aline Sara, founder of NaTakallam, which provides work for refugees through online translation, language classes and interpreting. Benji Moreira, Mundo Lingo Mundo Lingo unites people of all ages, political persuasions and socio-economic backgrounds, bringing them together through community events in cities around the world. In 2016 we had around 8,000 monthly visits; by 2019 we were hitting 18,000 via 40+ weekly events. Our website evolved, allowing teams to log in, record finances, order flags, request graphics and much more. Our photographers improved their standards from ok to beautiful, and our techniques for training, organising and onboarding grew in step with an extensive 'Events Operations Manual'. We reached 30 cities without sacrificing quality. I'm sorry to say that was a peak from which we've fallen during the pandemic. We lost a lot of great team members who had to move to greener pastures. These past two years we've invested everything we have into keeping this project afloat. We used this time to work on developing tools to bring us back fighting, and if we survive, our future will be very bright. Ever heard of a DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation)? We've always used bitcoin and organised ourselves over the internet, but now we're building internal governance mechanisms to ensure a future in which Mundo Lingo can run itself without me or any central team. I have learnt a lot of things I didn't intend to: how to navigate servers, host community calls, design graphics and wireframes, negotiate with suppliers in exotic countries, and build operational processes. Keeping it less technical, I learned that time leaks: we should value it, but in order to be 'human', avoid being stingy with it. mundolingo.org Ellie Baker, BilinguaSing We still operate a franchise model and in 2021 we welcomed 6 new franchisees, taking us from 12 to 18, and opened 20 BilinguaSing classes. This meant that despite lockdowns and difficulties finding new venues, we now run 151 classes per week and teach just over 2,000 children. That's without including the number of families we teach online in our free and paid-for Facebook groups. At Head Office we have three employees, so my sister Mel (COO) and I have a lot more support than we did in 2017. BilinguaSing has a much stronger presence in nurseries and schools these days, and has introduced Italian and German. In March 2020, we had a complete rebrand. We were very attached to our old branding, and with many franchisees rightly feeling a sense of ownership, this was difficult at times. We dealt with it by keeping the lines of communication open and ensuring there was a supportive place to turn to. The pandemic pushed our whole operation online, which we managed in the space of 24 hours as the UK went into its first lockdown. We now offer online classes and remote training for new franchisees. Covid also put a halt to most of our overseas plans, but we did go ahead with a franchise on the French/Swiss border, and we are currently in discussion with a potential licence holder in Canada. I have grown in so many ways both professionally and personally. The pandemic created challenges that no one could have anticipated. Our strong family values underpin everything we do, and while we encourage our franchisees to grow a profitable business, we always remind them that this should never be at the expense of their own family. bilinguasing.com THE BIG IDEA Where are they now? Since 2016, The Linguist has been speaking to the founders of inspiring language start- ups to find out how they turned their initial ideas into thriving businesses. We caught up with five of our 'Big Idea' interviewees:

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