Welcome to “Building Localization from Scratch”, the series where we speak to founding localization leaders about what it really takes to build localization departments from the ground up.
Our next interview is with Sebastian Dzięcielski, an experienced Independent Localization Consultant who works with SaaS and enterprise teams to redesign localization workflows across product, content, and marketing.
When Sebastian began his career in localization 18 years ago, the localization scene looked very different. There were no online tools, no cloud-based platforms, and far fewer resources to lean on. As a result, much of his experience has been shaped by steep learning curves, and repeatedly starting from scratch.
We spoke to Sebastian about his experience, his successes, and what he would have done differently. His approach to building a localization function followed a clear sequence:
- Learn about the company and its direction.
- Build strong relationships with leadership.
- Select and implement the right tools.
- Hire project managers for different content types.
- Establish strong vendor relationships.
Understanding the company’s trajectory
💡“You have to be super proactive to understand where you’re at.”
Sebastian reflected on his past experience at Degreed, where he had previously worked as a Localization Program Manager. As only the second localization team member, working alongside the Localization Director, he played a very hands-on role in building the localization program from the ground up.
Before even laying the foundations, he learned about the company and its 1–5 year trajectory:
- Where it was going.
- What success looked like for teams and stakeholders.
- Who the decision-makers were.
- How products and content were created.
This “learn first” approach stems from the knowledge that effective localization programs are shaped by the bigger picture.
Choosing the wrong tool, for example, can have long-term consequences. Sebastian recalls cases where tools were selected without this context, only to later discover they couldn’t support localization at all, leading to costly rework.
Having this insight into the company meant that foundational decisions were built on knowledge rather than guesswork.
Invisible translations, aligned quality
💡“Our goal is to make sure that localizations sometimes sound better than English.”
In terms of quality metrics, Sebastian believes that the mark of a good translation is its invisibility: not being able to tell if it’s a translation or what the source language was.
Teams should be able to see the language difference, but not a quality difference. Every market should receive the same high standard of quality, regardless of the target language.
Communication: A strategic skill
💡“It’s not localization-related, but knowing how to talk to senior leadership is a very good strategy and a very good skill to have.”
The ability to communicate with leadership is a specific skill that is not inherent to localization, but it’s one of the most valuable.
Success isn’t just about having the right ideas. It’s about presenting them clearly to the right people, aligning them with business priorities, and getting them approved and implemented.
For those coming from linguistic or operational backgrounds, this shift can take time, but it’s essential for driving impact.
The importance of strong relationships
💡“If you don’t have visibility, it’s very hard to build for the future.”
Localization often operates as a “lone wolf”, while simultaneously being part of many departments, like product, marketing, and engineering.
Small, fledgling departments often struggle to raise the profile of localization and fight for resources to improve their program.
Sebastian emphasises the importance of getting buy-in from higher-ups who already have a seat at the leadership table:
💡“Have a good relationship with them so if there are any issues or you want to push for something, they can push it to executive leadership.”
Whether it’s securing a budget or driving change, having leadership allies who understand and can advocate for your goals is critical. If you need, say, €200k to fix an issue, you might find you have to deal with some pushback. Having a higher-up who can understand your problem and solution, and talk to the CEO and argue your case, is extremely valuable.
Good relationships and effective communication are equally important with clients. In some cases, they can help you push initiatives, like improving localization quality assurance or investing more in minority languages.
Sebastian also recommends having internal “sponsors” across departments who understand localization and can help translate your needs into action.
Choosing the right tools: Build vs buy
💡“People think building tools saves money, but it’s actually a long-term investment that becomes very expensive.”
When you’re setting up a localization program, it’s not easy to have a budget and instinctively know how much you should spend on tooling, people, translation, training, etc.
Sebastian’s rule of thumb when buying a tool: compare the cost with the time your team spends doing the work manually. Even if you don’t have a big budget, the alternative is spending time on internal resources. If the tool saves enough paid hours, it’s worth the investment.
When it comes to building vs. buying a TMS, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on the company, timeline, and budget. However, Sebastian warns that building internally can quickly become a money pit.
He believes buying a solution often means saving time in the long run, when you take into account implementation, ongoing improvements, hosting and maintenance, and new features.
Building a diverse team
When building localization teams, Sebastian’s hiring focus isn’t just on translation skills.
Instead, he focuses on creating teams with complementary strengths:
- Strong English proficiency.
- Technical knowledge (e.g. TMS systems).
- The ability to communicate with developers.
- Client-facing skills.
He also highlights a common mistake among mid-sized companies: hiring a translator as the first localization hire, rather than someone who can build and manage a program.
Vendor setup: In-house vs external
When we asked Sebastian how he prefers to structure linguist pools, the answer was that there’s no right answer.
From his technical point of view, you can train in-house specialists to work autonomously within automated workflows. While this may come with higher upfront and ongoing costs, it can reduce the need for ongoing project management.
On the other hand, hiring external vendors is sometimes a cheaper option, but that really depends on your volume of work and workflow.
Regardless of structure, one thing that stands out is the importance of working with the same freelance or in-house translators to maintain quality and consistency.
Smart, sustainable growth
💡“If someone was to come to me and tell me they are going to go with 30 languages straight up? No. Don’t do this.”
Sebastian’s number one piece of advice: grow carefully.
While large budgets may allow for rapid expansion, most mid-sized companies benefit from starting small. He advises starting with no more than 8 languages.
Adding languages too quickly leads to exponential cost growth, as every new feature, update, or product must be translated across all markets.
💡“Start small first, fix all your issues, solve them on the go, then introduce more languages so you don’t have to fix issues in all the languages anymore.”
This approach doesn’t just make things more manageable from a cost perspective; it also makes it easier to iron out issues before they get too big.
Finding your audience
💡“With languages these days, you have to understand where your clients are.”
Instead of adding on languages and variants with no strategy, Sebastian advises looking at your data. For example, if you discover all of your Spanish-speaking users are in Latin America, then naturally, you should translate into Latin American Spanish and not Spanish for Spain. Localization should reflect real user distribution, not assumptions.
Syncing with stakeholders early
💡“Because we were busy, I did not sync with them faster.”
Reflecting on his experience, Sebastian notes that earlier alignment with stakeholders would have made a significant difference.
Understanding what other teams are building allows localization to anticipate needs, identify gaps, and integrate more effectively.
But getting the communication balance is important. While meetings are essential for leadership alignment, too much time spent in them can be counterproductive to creative solutions.
Building with the business in mind
💡“You have to be in tune with the company to understand what the company is trying to do.”
At its core, building a localization function isn’t about tools, processes, or even languages.
On the surface, success in localization can look like scale. More languages, more content, faster delivery. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that real success lies in alignment.
For Sebastian, this means stepping back, focusing on the bigger picture, and strategizing accordingly: understanding where the business is going, what success looks like across teams, and how localization fits into that
Without strong stakeholder relationships, even the best processes fall short. Without context, even the best tools can fail. And without a clear connection to business goals, even high-quality localization risks becoming invisible for the wrong reasons
Localization doesn’t operate in isolation. It grows with the company, adapts to it, and supports it. The teams that succeed are the ones that don’t just deliver translations, but understand the business well enough to make them matter.
This interview is the third in our “Building Localization from Scratch” series, where we sit down with 10 localization industry leaders to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a localization department from the ground up.
Every hard-won lesson, workflow, and strategy from the series is distilled into our White Paper: The Blueprint for Founding Localization Managers, a practical guide for localization leaders building their function from the ground up.
📢The White Paper launches in June 2026. Register your interest here, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox when it’s ready!