AI Can Get You to Market Faster. It Can't Read the Room, with Florian Müller

AI Can Get You to Market Faster. It Can't Read the Room, with Florian Müller

How do you actually win a new market, and where does AI help (or get in the way)? In this episode of The Multilingual Content Podcast, Nicola Calabrese sits down with Florian Müller, a Berlin based digital strategy consultant and founder of FM Consulting, who has led go to market efforts across Germany, the US and Latin America, from running country operations at Fiverr Germany to launching his own startup in Mexico City. Florian breaks down why localization is so much more than translation, what AI can genuinely speed up in market entry (and where it still falls short), and why trust, not speed, is what actually wins the German market. He also shares the one thing he tells founders to do before they spend a single euro entering a new country. What we cover: Why translation is only the most obvious part of localization What AI speeds up in go to market, and where it still can't help Why Germany rewards patience, documentation and proof over speed How trust signals like local case studies and testimonials shift by market The one habit every founder should build before entering a new market Connect with Florian Müller: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-müller-0a830a18/ FM Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/company/18554407/ Got a question for a future episode? Send it to info@undertowlanguages.com starting next season.

AI, Internationalization, and Growth with Melanie Heighway, from Atlassian

🌍 Are you making these common mistakes in your product localization strategy? Join our host, Nicola Calabrese, as he dives deep into the world of international expansion with Melanie Heighway, Head of Product Internationalization at Atlassian. 🚀 This episode unravels the myths surrounding localization, highlights the critical role of AI 🤖 in enhancing workflows, and shares invaluable insights on building a global product from day one. 💡 Melanie shatters three major localization myths, showing why localization is a collaborative effort beyond just translation. Learn how AI is revolutionizing the process at Atlassian—from context gathering to solving complex issues swiftly—and how it's making products more accessible 🌎 to a global audience. 🔍 Listen as Melanie breaks down: ✅ The balance between AI advancements and human expertise ✅ The evolving challenges of testing localized software ✅ How to justify localization investments strategically 📢 This episode is packed with practical advice for B2B SaaS founders, product managers, and marketing leaders looking to scale globally 🌏. 🎧 Don’t miss out! Tune in now and level up your localization strategy. 👉 Learn more at undertowlanguages.com

Stop Fixing Translations. Start Fixing the Program. Valeria Nanni Interviews Nicola Calabrese

This episode is a little different. Instead of Nicola asking the questions, Valeria Nanni, Senior Localization Manager at Skyscanner, turned the microphone around and interviewed him about his new book, Localization in the Age of AI. They covered a lot of ground. Why most AI localization pilots never reach production. The four-pillar framework for building a program that actually scales: strategy, people, technology, and processes, in that order. Why AI amplifies the problems in a weak program just as much as it amplifies the strengths of a good one. What the translator's role looks like today, and why the language specialist who steers AI output is more valuable than the one who just fixes it. And why the "when do we reduce the budget?" conversation with leadership is usually the wrong conversation to be having. Valeria brings her own experience managing localization across 40+ languages at Skyscanner, so this is not a one-sided interview. It is two people who have been in the weeds talking honestly about what works and what does not. If you are trying to figure out how to make AI work in your localization program without burning time on pilots that go nowhere, this episode is for you. Find the book on Amazon: search "Localization in the Age of AI" by Nicola Calabrese. Follow Nicola on LinkedIn for more on localization strategy and AI. Learn more about Undertow at undertowlanguages.com.

Stop Treating International Expansion as a Quarterly Goal — with Ferdinand Goetzen

🎙️ Most SaaS companies expand the same way: pick Germany or France, translate the homepage, hire a half-bilingual rep, and treat the whole thing as a quarterly goal. Six months later, the spend is shut down, and the verdict is "the market didn't work." The market was fine. The approach was not. In this episode, Nicola Calabrese sits down with Ferdinand Goetzen, Co-founder of The Growth Syndicate and a marketing leader who has helped expand companies like Recruitee and 3D Hubs into Germany, France, and beyond. What you'll learn: 🌍 How to read the signals already in your CRM before picking a market 🤝 Why competitors are usually a green light, not a red flag 🎯 The trust gap by industry, and when "looking local" really matters 📈 The validate, build, invest model that beats every quarterly target ⚠️ The line where "lean" becomes "underfunded." If you are a SaaS founder or marketing leader weighing your next international move, this one is for you. 🎧 Follow The Multilingual Content Podcast so you don't miss the next episode.

AI Isn't Enough: How Skyscanner Scales Marketing Localization Across 40 Languages

How do you scale localization with AI without losing the human touch that makes marketing actually work? In this episode, Nicola Calabrese sits down with Antonella Alterio, Senior Localization Manager at Skyscanner, to unpack how a 40-language travel platform balances speed, quality, and cultural nuance across markets. Antonella shares how Skyscanner uses AI for high-volume SEO content, why marketing campaigns still need humans in the driver's seat, and the "cappuccino in the evening" moment that explains why cultural context can't be automated. What you'll learn: ✈️ How Skyscanner decides which markets get marketing investment 🤖 Where AI earns its place in the localization workflow (and where it doesn't) 🌍 The risk of "AI slop" and cultural flattening in creative content 🛠️ How to build an AI localization engine that actually sounds like your brand 🔍 What AI search means for SEO across 40 languages 💡 One thing every marketing manager can do this quarter, even without a localization team Whether you run localization in-house or work with external partners, this episode is full of practical insights on making AI and humans work together intentionally. 🔗 Connect with Antonella on LinkedIn and follow Skyscanner Experience on Medium for more.