The Story Behind Tolk2Go: How It All Started

Sunday, December 24, 2017. That’s the day that Jaap and I (Kristian) made the decision to start Tolk2Go.

Back then, I had just gone from working at IKEA — a job I actually enjoyed! I was part of a great team, the work was fun, and the energy among colleagues was amazing. Still, I decided it was time for a new challenge and stepped into my first office role as an "Operations Executive" at a marketing company. As a college drop-out, that felt like a major step.

Meanwhile, Jaap was nearing retirement after a long career at IBM and had also launched his own Google Ads agency. We were both feeling the itch to build something meaningful — so we began brainstorming business ideas together.

We initially went our separate ways. I started building a dating app, while Jaap began developing an interpreter app, inspired by stories from my mother Svetlana. She's been a sworn interpreter and translator since 1998, and we both knew the industry needed innovation.

Then, on Christmas Eve, I got a WhatsApp message from Jaap: “Hey Kris, Your Uber-for-interpreters idea is a good one. Let’s talk tomorrow.” I replied: “Hey. Oki! 🙌”

Eleven months later, Tolk2Go.com launched with 50 freelance interpreters. Today, we work with over 1,400 interpreters and continue to grow every month.

We're constantly improving. We’re redesigning the website, optimizing the interpreter app, and rolling out a client app too. Our users are happy — just check the verified reviews on our reviews page.

Questions or ideas? Get in touch with us here.

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