10 Things You Didn’t Know about Augustin Prot
Augustin Prot is the co-founder of Weglot alongside Rémy Breda, founded in 2016. Before Weglot, he worked as an M & A Intern at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in New York from June 2010-December 2010. After that, he got employed at Lazard as M&A Associate from March 2011-August 2014. With time, he got involved with WordPress towards the end of 2015 before meeting Rémy, who came up with the idea of creating a website translation service, and that’s how Weglot came to birth. According to CrunchBase, the company was founded in 2016 by accident. Before Prot joined Weglot, Rémy already had a webpage translation solution. He had always faced challenges trying to streamline all technical aspects like a web app, mobile app, and web development. With time, he realized how time-consuming it was performing all these tasks, making him feel drained. The worst part is that he couldn’t find a tool to build optimized and multilingual websites and have them operating for days. Remy met Prot in 2015, and they started their Weglot company to help businesses communicate effectively. Currently, Prot ranks 241,556 in Crunchbase. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Augustin Prot.
10. He first got involved with WordPress at the end of 2015, marking the beginning of his company, Weglot
Creating a business startup-like Weglot is easy, but only if you have a complimentary background with some bigwigs. Augustin probably knew that getting involved with WordPress wouldn’t fulfill his dreams. Many people contacted him, enquiring if he had a WordPress Plugin, marking his journey to develop a website translation software. It was not until the Paris WordCamp 2016’s official launch that they realized how important it was to have a plugin.
9. He confesses that leaving his job to concentrate on entrepreneurship wasn’t an easy decision to make
It’s one thing to work for a company and expect a paycheck every month. Going entrepreneurial is another. In his interview with Kinsta, he confesses that setting up such a business was daunting because he didn’t know how people would respond. He says that he once worked in finance, mergers, and acquisitions for three years. Being non-tech-savvy didn’t stop him from sharpening his technical skills. His co-founding partner and CTO, Rémy, supported him throughout, and that’s how Weglot became a global success.
8. He believes that SaaS solutions and WordPress should go hand-in-hand
The world is currently going digital, making it a perfect time to move up WordPress in the market. WordPress players might need to shape up and deliver an enhanced solution to meet the current requirements. So, Prot’s vision, more WordPress and SaaS solutions should go hand-in-hand.
7. He got the funding from the outside of the WordPress ecosystem
Considering how successful Weglot has become, it makes sense that a WordPress ecosystem funded it from a seed VC fund that consists of successful French business moguls. It took the founding team to explain how beneficial WordPress solutions will be. His background understanding of technology and the community motivates him to offer the best service.
6. Prot likes to spend time with his family and friends
Did you know that Prot is one of the most celebrated chefs in his family? When away from his computer, he loves cooking for his family. To beat the boredom that comes with too much computer usage, he also likes to go skiing and kitesurfing. That’s how he keeps physically and mentally fit.
5. He thinks of Jonathan Buttigieg as a successful entrepreneur like him
When asked who his role model is, Prot mentions the CEO of WP Rocket, Jonathan Buttigieg. Besides having an excellent entrepreneurial spirit, Buttigieg has proven that being French or any other national doesn’t limit anyone’s chances of challenging the technical markets.
4. Setting up Weglot wasn’t his idea
Before Weglot, Prot worked in mergers, finance, and acquisitions for three years. Towards 2015, he met his co-founding partner and CTO of Weglot, Rémy. It was Rémy who had the idea of Weglot. After joining forces with Rémy, they began researching WordPress. Surprisingly, WordPress users pushed their concept for Weglot, which has helped more than 50,000 businesses.
3. The COVID-19 pandemic changed his view about commuting to work every day
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked much havoc, forcing businesses to shut down and embrace the work-from-home concept. Some companies had to shut down while others laid off their staff members. Fortunately for Weglot, working from home was the only idea to keep it relevant. To some extent, the pandemic was a blessing in disguise because Prot is more productive when working remotely.
2. Prot attended the Université Paris Dauphine
Did you know that Prot is an alumnus of the Université Paris Dauphine? While there, he pursued his degree in corporate finance and financial engineering. Thanks to his knowledge through these two educational disciplines, he can comfortably spearhead his website multilingual company without batting an eyelid. Currently, he doesn’t have to go to the office every day for work.
1. He has bigger dreams for Weglot
According to TechRound, Weglot had already hit the 1-billion mark as far as translation webpages were concerned in 2019. That’s only three years after it was launched. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it peaked at three billion web pages and grew. In 2020, Weglot was supposed to reach more than 500,000 monthly recurring revenue from Prot’s outlook. Now that most businesses have embraced working remotely, it’s evident that they need more webpage translation than ever. Also, Prot believes that they will continue to grow and support businesses since most of them have developed their online channels.
Conclusion
From these ten facts about Prot, it is no surprise that he keeps pushing for his company’s success. He might have started small, considering his employment history, but that didn’t deter him from pursuing a niche he knew nothing about. His story should inspire anyone willing to try a venture that relies more on disruptive technology to help businesses thrive.