Apprecia Capital is a Swiss-based Venture Capital fund, founded by a Japanese. Apprecia Capital invests in early-stage startups in Europe focusing on sustainability-related technology and provides hands-on support to expand globally, including the Japanese market. Since 2021, Urban Connections has been working with Apprecia Capital to translate and create the Japanese edition of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups magazine, which annually features the 100 most innovative and promising Swiss startups.

Opening New Doors

The TOP 100 Swiss Startups magazine is produced each year by Venturelab, a company that runs support programs to foster world-class startups in Switzerland. The first edition was released in 2011, in German and English. Over the years, other languages were introduced: first French, then Chinese, and from 2021, Japanese. Urban Connections became involved at the genesis of the Japanese edition, and took on the full localization process, crafting a polished translation and handling all design and layout adjustments necessary to adapt to a Japanese audience. Switzerland’s startup ecosystem is highly developed with multitudes of accelerators and incubators, so with each additional language of the magazine, a world of possibilities opens for those startups seeking overseas funding.

Consistency is Key

Each year’s magazine features startups on the cutting edge of their industries, meaning it is crucial to stay up to date with the latest terminology in budding fields like foodtech, ICT, and proptech (property technology). With over 50 pages of content in each magazine, Urban Connections ensures that a unified and smooth result is produced—from the translation to the design and layout. Our editors go through meticulous checks at each stage of text revisions to verify that the translation is up to speed with the latest industry trends and will serve as a helpful reference for Japanese investors looking for the latest information on Swiss startups. Having handled the magazine’s localization for two consecutive years, all the lessons learned from 2021 were transferred to the following year, including consistency of terminology.

Expedient Results Spanning Time Zones

Each September, Venturelab holds its TOP 100 Award Night, where it announces the rankings of the top Swiss startups of that year and releases the German and English editions of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups magazine. As soon as the rankings are determined, Urban Connections works with Apprecia Capital to receive the finalized English text and begin work on the Japanese translation. When it comes to information that can inform investment decisions, time is of the essence.

For both 2021 and 2022 editions, upon receiving the green light, our project coordinator swiftly determined the necessary requirements, created a plan of action, and delegated tasks to our team of translators, editors, and designers. With our client being in Switzerland, our ability to anticipate problems and work to quick resolutions played a key role in delivering expedient results, allowing the magazine to be ready for both digital and print releases. At Urban Connections, we always strive to bridge linguistic and cultural gaps and provide effective communication where it counts, so the TOP 100 Swiss Startups magazine has been a fantastic opportunity to fulfill this mission.