Dictionary Software Leader Shares His Entrepreneurial Journey

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When Swedish software entrepreneur Ola Persson started WordFinder in 1990, he simply wanted an easier way to look up unknown English words while communicating overseas for work. Little did he know that this simple idea would grow into a trailblazing global software company serving over 500,000 users across 28 languages today.

Frustrations Lead to a Lightbulb Moment

In the late 1980s, Persson worked for a Belgian company and often used faxes to communicate. "When there was a word I didn't know I was too lazy to go to the bookshelf…so instead I rewrote if there was a word I didn't know I rewrote the sentence with words that I knew," he explained.

Tired of this inefficient process, Persson and two programmer friends conceived WordFinder over beers as "a dictionary on the screen at the same time when we are typing."

Strong User Focus Fuels Product Expansion

With a vision to create "the Spotify for dictionaries," Persson secured licensing deals to integrate top dictionaries into his software. He credits WordFinder's strong user focus for expansion from a Scandinavian tool into a global leader: "Power users are the translators. Absolutely."

Today, over 25,000 businesses leverage WordFinder for seamless dictionary access across applications and devices. The SaaS solution now provides instant translations and imports custom glossaries, with corporate terminology integration on the 2024 roadmap.

Global Reach Still in Early Stages

Though WordFinder dominates parts of Europe, Persson sees major growth potential worldwide, especially in the US: "We would like more corporations and schools and universities on the American market." He continues establishing partnerships to drive awareness and penetrate new geographies like Japan, Poland, and Turkey.

Thirty years since its launch, WordFinder retains its innovative edge by continually enhancing features to help users communicate effectively and efficiently. As Persson says, "You need to keep up because everything else is being innovated."

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