Lingo founders Vinay Thapliyal and Sumbal ChaudhryLingo founders Vinay Thapliyal and Sumbal Chaudhry hope to help non-English speakers find service providers who speak their language.

UWindsor entrepreneurs hope to break language barriers

Two UWindsor students hope to break language barriers by matching non-English speakers with services that speak their language when using their start-up, Lingo.

Vinay Thapliyal and Sumbal Chaudhry have created a business to match non-English speakers with local service providers who speak the same language. The two started their company with the help of the RBC EPIC Founders program that helps founders launch successful start-ups while working over 12 weeks to expand their entrepreneurship.

“This year I became the first law student to become the ambassador of EPICentre and through my role, I learned about the amazing programs that they offered here,” Thapliyal says.

Both share a passion for entrepreneurialism and wanted to build a company that made a difference.

“We hope to validate our business idea to see if whether or not it is feasible, scalable, launchable and we really hope to grow Lingo and make a difference,” Chaudhry says.

This is the third in a series of articles introducing this summer’s participants leading up to a showcase of their prototypes in August at the EPICentre. Learn more on the centre’s website.

—Dana Roe