Language Translation

Interpreters Unlimited, Inc. (IU) is a language service provider specializing in translation and interpretation. The company provides services to school districts and universities, government agencies, corporations, healthcare and medical facilities, legal firms, insurance companies, and workers' compensation services. Its services are available throughout the United States in over 200 languages including American Sign Language (ASL). Interpreters Unlimited also provides non-emergency medical transportation services for workers' compensation patients across the nation, as well as on-site and virtual language classes. The company delivers these language services on-site through video remote and over the phone. 

Interpreters Unlimited was established in 1970, with the mission to provide language services wherever language creates a barrier to effective communication. “Making Connections Nationwide” is the company’s slogan and a founding stone. In this business, communication is more than advertising pictures and catchy marketing phrases. Communication is the empathetic foundation of establishing a connection to bring diverse parties together. These diverse relationships are at the heart of Interpreters Unlimited's spirit. As the dialogue between an interpreter and a person with limited English proficiency builds a human connection, a sense of trust and safety between clients and businesses is also nurtured. 

Interpreters Unlimited’s sole purpose is to ensure the highest levels of professionalism, quality, and accuracy. The company's contracted linguists have years of exemplary experience in the field of instilling trust, safety, and understanding its clients. 

 

A Prolific Leader Taking the Business to New Heights 

Sayed Ali is the President and CEO of Interpreters Unlimited. In 1966, he immigrated to the US and spent twenty years working in the management roles before branching out as an entrepreneur. Sayed has more than 30 years of small business management experience including founding his own company. In 2007, he acquired Interpreters Unlimited and successfully expanded it nationwide. 

Over the years, Sayed has grown the company through strategic acquisitions which have helped expand service offerings from translation, localization and interpretation to language classes and non-emergency medical transportation. He is passionate about creating opportunities for other people by growing companies, thus providing growth to the people whom he works with. Sayed is also an active member of the San Diego Chapter SBA SCORE Program and the San Diego Chairman’s Roundtable, where he mentors upcoming entrepreneurs in the business community. 

Interpreters Unlimited's Vice President Shamus Sayed has been a member of the Association of Language Companies (ALC) for 13 years and a board member for the last 3. With ALC, the company is able to work on the best practices for the industry and lobby for the industry to ensure the best practices amongst buyers. Interpreters Unlimited is representing the industry as one of the fastest-growing professions in the country. The company also provides pro-bono services to communities in need and offered discounts to companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Beyond acquisitions, Sayed continues expanding Interpreters Unlimited's service line and taking the company national by creating proprietary software in-house to bolster efficiency as well as acquiring the premium domain interpreters.com. Additionally, he spearheaded the creation of a new smartphone app for scheduling linguists called Interpreter Marketplace. A sister company to Interpreters Unlimited, the app makes language services available to individuals for personal and business use. 

 

Technology Revolution Through Business and Individuals  

Sayed believes that new age technologies have a tremendous impact on businesses. The more data they have, the more tailored solutions they can provide. For example, if the data shows that an influx of a specific population base or a certain culture coming into the US is underrepresented, companies can target and step in to assist them. Big data expedites the demographic information that is available. That way, Interpreters Unlimited can offer the best services possible and help those in need to get the solutions they need. 

 

The Vigor Behind Business Excellence 

A dynamic and diverse team makes Interpreters Unlimited innovative. Sayed says that every team member has their own strengths and specialties that they bring to the table. This helps propel and drive innovation at the company. His leadership and hands-on approach is also a big part of the innovation. He articulates, "Our team is never complacent in the industry or in business in general, always striving to do more, going the extra mile and keeping up with and forecasting the trends." 

 

Staying Relevant Through Disruption  

For Interpreters Unlimited, worker classification as an independent contractor-based industry has been a challenge that the company is overcoming currently. Interpreters Unlimited has been working with the legislators in the State of California along with other Language Service Providers to make sure that the independent contractors in this profession keep their classification as independent contractors. This ensures that they can continue to stay in business and that the companies and State itself, who rely on their services, are not negatively impacted. 

COVID-19 and the pandemic shutdown has created other challenges for the language service industry, along with other industries in the country. To outperform in such a scenario, Interpreters Unlimited bolted right into action getting input from all of its team members and reacting accordingly. The company pivoted focus from on-site interpretation to video and phone interpretation owing to social distancing and closures. It has also doubled down on its document translation and localization focus, and started offering discounts to businesses during the pandemic. Interpreters Unlimited has a responsibility to continue delivering services without interruption and the company is proud to have done that throughout these unprecedented times. 

 

Distinguished Accolades and Recognitions 

In 2020, Sayed was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist for the second consecutive year. He was a semi-finalist four years in a row. Sayed was also acknowledged as the SBA Small Business Person of the Year in 2019. 

Moreover, thanks to its extraordinary services, Interpreters Unlimited has been recognized as Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Minority Owned Business of the Year. The company is continuously accredited by Nimdzi and Common Sense Advisory (CSA). In 2020, Interpreters Unlimited made to the Nimdzi Top 100 Largest Language Service Providers in The World list again, ranking in the Top 25 in the US, and the CSA Top 100 Language Service Providers list, with 15th rank in the US. The company also won the People Love Us On Yelp award in 2019 and that along with its excellent ratings and reviews on Google, Facebook and other feedback platforms is a testament to the satisfaction of its clients and customers. 

 

Future of Language Translation Going Higher 

Sayed is confident that the future of the language translation industry is bright. The language service domain is growing and thriving. "The more diverse the population gets the more demand there is for the industry," he said.