‘Leeds has been growing and growing for a very long time,’ chairman of firm speaks about business growth

“Leeds has been growing and growing for a very long time,” said Larry Gould, the founder and executive chairman of a £76m-turnover global company which provides technology and language services.

Speaking at TheBusinessDesk.com’s Leaders Lunch held at the Dakota Hotel and sponsored by JD Networks, the founder of the Leeds-headquartered business told more than 60 delegates about his passion for Yorkshire’s growth.

Gould hails from Leeds and when he was starting his career, he worked for some “great companies” in the region, including Debenhams and Asda.  After working in 31 jobs, he came to the conclusion that “amazing training” conducted in a formal way gave him invaluable experience. He urged those in the audience not underestimate the value of training as it ensured that people in the workplace have the experience and skills to succeed.

But Gould was desperate to own in his own business and “be in control over his own destiny” and found that he was best at selling and training people. He started a recruitment business in Leeds and also a translation business.

“I learnt the importance of speaking the language of the customer,” added Gould. In 1995, he sold the recruitment business but retained the language firm. That became the BigWord in 1999 and at that stage it had a turnover of £300,000. This now stands at £76m and it is expected to top £85m next year.

“95% of that is through organic growth, not through acquisitions. We are the 15th largest translation company in the world and largest to grow organically. All from starting in Leeds,” explained Gould, who splits his time now between the UK and USA.

“I passionately believe that language is the final barrier to peace, trade and prosperity,” he said, reflecting on the sector he is passionate about.

He said he had led his businesses through lots of challenging times but the biggest opportunity was internet. He said: “This was to change commercial life, personal life and Debenhams’ life at the moment – and lots of other retailers.

“It provides the access to goods around the world but that final barrier to trade is language. It has for us created, for us, a huge amount of work. We are very proud of it.”

Gould also spoke about Brexit and whether it would be a disaster. He said: “Of course it it, but only if you want it to be.

“Every difficult situation has opportunities . I personally would not have chosen to leave EU. I would like to have an agreement in place than have a hard Brexit.”

He said that the importance of the British brand when trading overseas was important and that the exceptional reputation couldn’t be overlooked when thinking about growing overseas. “British is thought to be best in the world. Not only the most reliable, with the best goods, but also reliable – we have the most honest people,” he added

“They will continue to buy from us and we will continue to sell to them. When there is a tariff, we deal with it.”

When asked what he thinks makes a good leader, Gould added: “It is by surrounding yourself by people who are better than you. It is about constantly looking at your team and thinking about training and development. Investing in people is the most important thing.”