When do you actually decide to go beyond English?
I keep going back and forth on this, so I’m curious how others think about it.
At what point do you start taking non-English markets seriously?
only after you feel solid PMF in English?
when inbound users from certain regions show up?
by picking one market early (Japan, LatAm, etc.) and committing?
or do you just… keep pushing it off to stay focused?
It feels like most of us know global users are there, but the timing of when to invest (product, messaging, distribution) is still pretty fuzzy — at least for me.
Would love to hear how you’ve approached this, or why you decided not to (yet).
62 views
Replies
I lean towards localizing early. Having lived in the Netherlands, Finland, and Serbia, I’ve seen that even in high-proficiency English regions, a non-localized interface creates an emotional barrier.
With modern tech making high-quality translation and implementation so accessible, there’s little excuse to gatekeep localization anymore. I actually launched my meditation app in 12 languages immediately for this reason. It signals respect for the user's environment right from the start.
Vozo AI — Video localization
@ilia_ilinskii +1 from experience. One of our apps started English-only but quickly took off in Brazil. Early Portuguese localization had an outsized impact — better activation, retention, and much stronger word-of-mouth.
What surprised me was how much it helped beyond Brazil too. The clarity we gained from localizing copy and onboarding ended up improving the product globally. Really changed how I think about building for a global market by default.
TinyCommand
@lightfield Thats a very relevant question. We’ve been debating this internally at TinyCommand as well, especially since we have got requests for language-specific settings from users in different regions.
The way I currently look at it is this: adding another language isn’t just a product switch, it’s a go-to-market decision. Without a clear plan for distribution, support, onboarding, and messaging in that region, it quickly becomes a high-effort, low-leverage move.
For now, our bias is to get very solid traction in English first. Once that’s in place, we’d look at non-English markets based on real signals, where users are coming from, how strong the demand is, and whether we can commit properly instead of doing a half-baked rollout.
Vozo AI — Video localization
@priyanka_gosai1 Totally agree — this isn’t just flipping an i18n switch. It’s a real go-to-market decision.
What changed for me recently is that the cost structure feels very different now. In the past, going non-English meant slowing everything down: how-to videos, brand messaging, support, feedback loops — all heavier, all harder to iterate.
Today, with translation + localization tools getting so good, that tradeoff feels way less scary. You can test market messages, onboarding, even video content much earlier without fully committing the org.
Still not “free,” but the decision preference has definitely shifted for us — feels more like when and where to experiment, rather than a big irreversible bet. Curious how others are testing this without going half-baked.
I actually am face with challenge but the other way around.
I'm launching to a mostly German audience with an English platform and I think especially in this market that is so hell bent on speaking German that could pose a challenge, but I wanted it to be inclusive by design, and that includes language inclusivity. We will see how it holds up against the German speaking audience and right now I'm unsure whether or not I should be offering a German version. I think that is only an option for me if the English really is limiting my national reach.
Vozo AI — Video localization
@matthias_biehl Yeah, I think this is a very real Europe-specific dynamic.
Some countries — like Germany or France — have a strong sense of language pride. Even if most users can navigate an English UI, language still carries emotional weight. Others, like Spain, tend to be more forgiving.
Personally, I don’t think language should be a barrier — ideally tools should remove it. But at the same time, being inclusive by design also means understanding and respecting how different markets feel about language.
That’s why I increasingly believe localization — whether it’s app UI, copy, or even video — should largely be handled by AI tools. It lets teams stay inclusive without forcing one cultural default onto every market.
@lightfield That gives it some great perspective. Gotta look into those AI translation tools for my platform.
I think the non-english market in general is less crowded and underserved, so if you have a product and some advantage in knowing the market, it's worth it. They key is having that insight and knowing the language well so you can hit the right touch points without coming off as just a lazy translation from English to X.