Case Study: Focus Interpreting achieves efficient, scalable translation operations with Smartcat

How pivoting to translation helped one interpreting agency make it through the pandemic

Focus Interpreting, led by CEO Selin Cacao, had about 80% of its revenue from on-site interpreting and was forced by the pandemic to pivot quickly toward translation work. Facing unexpected complexity around formatting, desktop publishing, ADA remediation and managing multiple contributors, the agency needed a platform to handle multi-stage workflows and streamline payments — which led them to Smartcat.

Smartcat implemented flexible multi-stage workflows and integrated payment automation, letting Focus Interpreting manage translators, editors and desktop publishers in one place, pay contributors directly, and monitor progress (e.g., percent-complete status instead of last-minute panic). As a result, Smartcat improved project management transparency and workflow efficiency, freed up resources for growth, and helped the agency scale its translation business toward an expected 50–60% of operations.

Focus Interpreting

Selin Cacao

Chief Executive Officer