I shipped in 4 languages before my first paying user. Talk me down.
NEXT U goes live here tomorrow (July 30). Before that, one decision I'd like someone to argue with me about.
The interface ships in English, 繁體中文, 日本語 and 한국어. Four languages, solo maker, zero paying customers. Every launch guide says pick one market and go deep.
My reasoning: I'm in Taipei. My first users are far more likely to be in Asia than in San Francisco, and an English-only tool is a hard sell to a shop owner in Taichung or Osaka. Localising later means retrofitting it into every component, which is worse than doing it up front.
The counter-argument I can't answer: four languages means four sets of copy to keep correct, and I still have no idea which one converts.
If you've launched into more than one language early — did it pay off, or did you wish you'd waited?
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So I did the reckless thing and shipped in 4 languages anyway (EN / 繁中 / 日本語 / 한국어). Verdict so far: nobody talked me down and I probably should have listened. It was real work for zero proven demand, and I'd tell past-me to validate one language first. If you've launched multilingual early, did it ever actually pay off, or was it always premature?