How A STEP Grant Through WTC Utah Can Help Tech Companies Go Global
In today’s global economy, going international is more necessary — and easier — for small businesses than ever before. Expanding internationally helps companies diversify their markets and customer base, counter seasonal purchasing fluctuations and increase overall revenue.
However, for many Utah businesses, launching tech products in foreign markets may seem intimidating, overwhelming or even cost-prohibitive. The State Trade and Expansion Program (STEP) Grant, which is funded in part by a grant through the Small Business Administration, , can eliminate the unknowns and provide funding to offset the cost of expanding into new foreign markets.
The grant is the perfect opportunity to help your Silicon Slopes company expand from the slopes and to the world. inWhatLanguage, an innovative language technology company in Utah, is just one of many tech companies in Utah going global.
Getting A Head Start In Global Markets
inWhatLanguage utilized STEP Grant funds to expand their Chinese translation services. More than 16 percent of the world’s population are Chinese speakers, so it is a huge market for translation services.
To help inWhatLanguage reach this market, the company applied for and received a STEP Grant to attend a State of Utah trade mission to China in 2015. The STEP Grant provided a critical head start to the Silicon Slopes company and enabled them to hire 10 additional translators and increased demand for their Chinese services by 40 percent.
inWhatLanguage now sells their technology to companies interested in marketing their products in Chinese, as well as to Chinese companies wanting to market products to other countries. Entering the Chinese market enabled inWhatLanguage to sell their language translation services not once, but twice over.
“The STEP Grant is such a valuable resource for our growth as a company,” said inWhatLanguage CEO Cody Broderick. “It has given us the opportunity to travel and make these connections crucial to expanding our business. We wouldn’t be where we are today without [it].”
Looking Toward The Future
In addition to using the STEP Grant to increase demand for their services and create new jobs, inWhatLanguage is currently on a governor-led trade mission, funded in part through another Step Grant, to Israel and Jordan. These countries have two of the fastest growing technology sectors in the Middle East.
inWhatLanguage expects to create six to ten new jobs in Utah and another 25 around the world because of this trade mission. It also expects to acquire 30 to 40 international customers in the region within the next year. All of this is made possible through resources like the STEP Grant.
Next Steps
WTC Utah is currently accepting STEP Grant applications for tech companies interested participating in any international trade activities, including trade missions and trade shows, between now and September 30, 2018.
To learn more visit here. The deadline to apply is October 31, 2017.
