We are memoQ

When a child grows up, she leaves home. She’s no longer a reflection of her parents in any way. She’s a fully independent individual. These days I have a very similar feeling – of letting go.

The company that is now memoQ used to be called Kilgray until very recently. The name Kilgray, in case you haven’t had enough of hearing it, was put together from the names of the original founders – Balázs KIs, István Lengyel, Gábor uGRAY. You could say that after 14 years, we have let go of our egos and let the company fly free. After all, we have been saying for years that we would step back in a way or another.

There’s more to all this, though. The old name doesn’t just mean us founders – it also means that the people in the company are important. So much so that they are mentioned in the name.

And this is how I believe memoQ is truly different from every other company that offers translation technology. We make and sell translation technology all right – but we do not for a moment forget that technology is made by humans for humans, and we always try to put that human face on it. This is why we jumped on the term ‘augmented translation’ with eagerness and hunger – while to others, it may sound like just another industry slogan. “Using technologies as its [sic!] organs, man’s homeostatic activity has turned him into the master of the Earth” – wrote Stanisław Lem in 1964 in his Summa Technologiæ. And if you look at it this way – through the technology we sell, translators, project managers as well as organizations become augmented with superpowers: enhanced memory and association capabilities, x-ray eyes (into documents), eagle eyes for errors, powers of enhanced multitasking and attention. Good technology is never separated from its human users, and so its makers must not become disconnected either. Technology is another way for people to communicate. It is bound to create a new kind of community.

Technically, we changed the name to memoQ so that we can create a unified brand, and reduce the confusion caused by the two names. But then… if the old name means people, let the new name also mean people, in two ways no less:

By moving from Kilgray to memoQ, we extend the circle from the founders to everyone in the company and beyond. We say that after 14 years, the founders do not matter more in the success of the company than anyone else in the community.

By giving the same name to the company as the product, we emphasize that our technology is not separated from the people who make, sell, use, and benefit from it.

That is to say: We are memoQ.

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The name change puts an end to a period that lasted 14 years – the first spec document of memoQ was completed on September 21, 2004, and the company that develops memoQ was first registered on February 18, 2005. Marked by hectic changes, growth, an immense amount of luck – yes, luck – and a lot of emotions, these were formative years for the memoQ community.

I remember trying to find the name, and laughing our head off while at it (and no, I’m not going to say the candidates).

I remember putting together the first-ever development roadmap on the floor of our living room.

I remember negotiating with the developers (who, for the record, still work with us) and worrying because we could not know if we would be able to pay them.

I remember wondering why everyone wanted to buy the company but not the product.

I remember learning about planning revenues, segmenting the market, and formulating a concise message (thanks Peter).

I remember winning and losing grant money.

I remember the year when memoQ finally provided for our living.

I remember the first memoQfest – it’s such a blast that we simply have to do it every year over and over.

I don’t know about you, but for me, this company was never just about money (mind you, there are much easier ways to make money). Apart from the self-fulfilment, the thing I’m most grateful for is the bunch of adorable and innocent nerds (women and men alike) we keep attracting.

And yes, I admit that not everything has been shiny and happy. We made our share of mistakes – some serious ones, too. We had conflicts, both inside and outside. We lost people, very good ones, too. We could not always be as good as we wanted to see ourselves, neither as individuals, nor as a company. The company has always been in a constant flux (extreme growth is not always such a good thing): it’s hardly a surprise that it isn’t always a very pleasant workplace. Still, most – or often all – of us have always had a lot of passion about the thing we were doing.

Here we are. I think we are still going strong and we have every chance to become even stronger. I can only respond to this by giving thanks: To those team members who have been – and still are – with us. To those who used to walk with us through some parts of the journey. To those who use our technology or talk to us. To those who compete with us and help us grow stronger.

It’s a community. What’s more, it’s a community that promotes communication and understanding. In that process, technology is not an end, it’s a means to take away the toil and the sweat, leaving more time for fun. (I think our most honest ever tagline was ‘memoQ users have more fun’, which means exactly this.) I strongly believe that our industry serves a greater cause, and by contributing technology, we also have the honor of serving that greater cause. It feels good to serve a greater cause, so I choose to be sentimental about it today.

We are memoQ. We are here to help you.

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P.S. The name memoQ was first coined by Szabolcs Örs Kincse in early 2004, way before we even had the idea of this company. Later, Szabolcs worked with us in 2006 and also in 2016-17. Here’s a shout-out and a thank-you to him for such a powerful name.