About the Guest:

Ivan Smolnikov is the founder of Smartcat (2016), which spun out of ABBYY. Smartcat’s mission is to make translations better for everyone. The platform connects linguists, companies, and language service providers (LSPs) across the globe to streamline the translation of any content into every language on demand. You can use our platform to build and manage translation teams and get your translation management automated like an autopilot.

As of September 2020, the platform has more than 350,000 freelancers in its marketplace and provides an “app store” that allows users to integrate their Smartcat account with third-party tools.

Show Notes

• What is Smartcat and how it revolutionized the translation industry
• How did Smartcat solve the chicken and egg problem that the marketplace faces
• What is a vertical market network and how is it different from a normal marketplace
• Why vertical market network is the future of service marketplaces
• How Smartcat provides 10x better services in benefits and cost for everyone using it

Time Stamps:

• 00:00 - Who Is Ivan Smolnikov And How Did He Get Into The Entrepreneurial Field
• 05:05 - What Is Smartcat And How Did The Idea Come Up
• 10:55 - Main Reason For Separation From Abbyy
• 19:45 - What A Vertical Market Network Is
• 24:48 - Why Many B2B Service Marketplaces Fail
• 26:13 - What Makes A Successful Service Marketplace
• 36:29 - What It Will Be The Future Of Service Marketplaces
• 42:44 - How Smartcat Maintain Freelancers Happy
• 47:48 - What Are The Next Exciting Steps In The Future Of Service Marketplaces
• 53:00 - Learn More About Ivan Smolnikov 

Resources:

• Ivan Smolnikov Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivan-smolnikov/
• Smartcat: https://www.smartcat.com/
• Vertical Market Networks (Medium Article): https://ivan-s.medium.com/the-next-service-marketplace-wave-vertical-market-networks-615307acbe9f