Inside Preply: Patricia Doest — Head of Localization

As the second part of our “Inside Preply” series we spoke to Patricia Doest, our Head of Localization, about her experience, the opportunities she has as a leader and the importance of being a part of an inclusive startup-like Preply as a woman.

“We are building bridges across languages and countries. The work goes beyond passion; it’s my home.”

Patricia grew up in a multicultural family. Her family has 4 nationalities in it, with her father being married to an Indonesian woman, her sister to a Turkish man, and she herself married an Italian man. This background gave her a natural curiosity about different languages and cultures. After studying Portuguese and English, she started working in localization agencies and then joined the gaming industry. After 7 years, she found her true calling with Preply. The mission of shaping the future of effective language learning aligned with her core values.

Can you tell me a little about yourself and your role at Preply?

After talking to the recruiter in charge of the hiring process, and the team, I realized that I had embarked on the opportunity of a lifetime. I found a company that resonated with the role I had been working in for a long time. Their passion for the product drew me in and made me want to join immediately.

I have come a long way as the Head of Localization in the last eight months. I started as a one-person force and then built an all-star team of regional Localization Specialists and Program Managers. Now, we have a talented group of seven members. Together, we make every day an adventure.

The Localization team strives to provide value to our customers. We create, translate, localize, and trans-create for (Brand) Marketing, Customer Care, Mobile, CRM, and user-interface design. We try to streamline the customer experience by making it as locally relevant as possible. Working closely with the Copy Team, we decipher what goes on in the writers’ heads, partner up, and brainstorm with them. We are everywhere!

Why did you join Preply?

I joined for three main reasons:

• Resonance: I identify myself with learning. The ed-tech industry, in some ways, is similar to the gaming industry as it attracts young people with a lot of creative ideas.
• Our mission: The product speaks for itself. We are building bridges across languages and countries. The work goes beyond passion; it’s my home.
• Inclusive startup: I’m not too fond of big corporations, so a startup environment is perfect for me. Our organization is flat, and everyone has room to suggest their ideas. We put those ideas into action and grow both personally and professionally. It is a suitable company for me: it feels like a family.

What upcoming challenges at Preply excite you?

What I like about Preply is that it keeps everyone on their toes. It’s always challenging us in terms of communication. The first challenge that excites me is talking to a diverse group of people from different areas, from different cultural backgrounds.

Although everything is transparent here at Preply, we try to optimize our feedback strategies, bringing me to the second challenge that comes with the best learning experience: making effective communication with remote work. Preplers switched from the office to remote work in less than a week. We overcame the distance between us by making our communication as unambiguous as possible.

How would you describe Preply’s culture?

Preply is visionary, transparent, and above all, diverse.

Our organization’s culture is flat; everyone has a stage at Preply and is welcome to chip in their ideas.

Something positive about a growing startup like us is that both management and individual contributors are transparent, honest, and human.

Our diversity defines us. We are 261 employees coming from 38 different nationalities. It’s almost impossible, with so many different backgrounds, not to be interested in a company like this.

Do you have role models of women leaders in your life?

Many professional and dedicated women in my network have shaped me into the person I am today. In my professional life, my senior leaders introduced me to the world of business.

Personally, I’m looking forward to breaking some stereotypes, especially women in positions of power. It’s one of the most important things for me that as a woman, you should get the same criticism and the same opportunities.

When it comes to my personal life, my mother taught me the importance of finding possibilities without focusing on anything else. Today, I am both a mother of 2 kids and a full-time working professional. For me, it’s more a rule than a choice; you don’t do things because society tells you to, but because you want to.

Last but not least, I’m part of a community on LinkedIn called “Women in Localization” I find it inspiring in so many ways, and it has been ground-breaking in the localization industry and women in business.

What was the last thing you learned that tailored our mission?

Our mission is to make learning accessible to people worldwide. I believe that we are on the right path to becoming the next big thing in the market.

Learning to take things step by step from a localization perspective has helped me a lot. My new strategy is that if you break up a massive project into smaller segments, you get to tailor every element to perfection. And in doing so, you avoid taking uninformed risks.

There is still a lot more to learn; we didn’t know we were doing wrong at first because we didn’t have the knowledge or the team to shed some light on it. Learning from small things keeps you from making the same mistakes twice.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to apply for Preply?

Preply can be overwhelming at the beginning because there is a lot of information coming at you all at once, but you eventually catch up with the pace and learn to run with it.

If you want to start working at Preply, remember to ask a lot of questions. Give yourself the space to make mistakes, to learn from them, and to further improve the product. Bring new ideas to the table, and be yourself.

What could be more inspiring than working with a company that gives you the room to be yourself and, at the same time, encourages you to push the boundaries of what’s possible?