Finnish language professional Mikko Mentula founded his own language services company in 2022 after spending several years as an employee in the translation industry. Language and expression have always been a subject of interest for Mentula, and starting his own business felt natural at this stage of his career.
Hello! Who are you and what do you do here at Werstas?
I am Mikko Mentula and I have my own language service company, Mentula Language Services.
Where is your office located?
I have my own office on the fifth floor of Werstas in ElectroCity. Before that, I was briefly in a glass booth in DataCity when no single-person rooms were available. However, I stayed on the waiting list for a room, and after a while, my current room became available and I took the offer. At the beginning of my career as an entrepreneur, I worked from a home office, but I soon realized that it could not be a long-term solution. Werstas offered many options from which one can choose a suitable membership.
What does your work week look like?
I am a private entrepreneur and freelancer in the translation and language services industry. Most of my work involves translation. I also perform more technical tasks related to file processing and project management, as well as various types of linguistic consulting. Text and content production services are also part of my offerings. Many people might not think about it, but knowledge of various software is important in this line of work. In translation work, the most important thing is to have a command of fluent Finnish. The best translation is, of course, one that you wouldn't even guess is a translation. I do most of my translation work for the marketing, tourism, entertainment, and IT sectors.
What is your background?
My core competence is the Finnish language. Language and expression have always been a subject of interest: the ways in which things can be expressed. Combining language, translation, and technology has since captured my interest. I founded my own language services company last spring after having spent 15 years as an employee in the translation industry.
“I trusted my own skills and knew that there would be enough work in the future as well.”
How did you become an entrepreneur?
My confidence in the language field has strengthened over the previous years of work, so I started as an entrepreneur and freelancer with a fair amount of confidence. Since we were already working remotely during the pandemic, I wanted to continue working on my own terms in the future as well. The company is still young, so it is naturally still finding its own direction. The timing was also right for a change, as I had been at the same workplace for a long time. I trusted my own skills and knew that there would be enough work in the future as well.
What is the best part about your own work and entrepreneurship?
Versatility is the best part. Besides translation, I also like graphic work and layout tasks. In general, I am open to new opportunities and technologies.
How do you take care of your well-being?
I cycle to the office in ten minutes. If it's a busy workday, I can take a break in the middle of the day and go to the gym at Elixia Trivium. In my free time, you can also find me on the disc golf course or playing board games. Sometimes it would be fun to get to translate games into Finnish as well! Entrepreneurship also enables breaks – I was in Spain in February for a remote work retreat, which was a good experience in the middle of a cold winter.
What does the future hold for Mentula Language Services?
In the future, my goal is to also acquire direct client accounts. Until now, I have been working for translation agencies.
Have you already attended events in the Science Park area?
The joint events of Werstas and Joki will certainly help with my own networking, and I definitely intend to stop by for at least the Joki coffee sessions during the spring. It is great that they want to invest in networking between local actors and even casual encounters here.
Your greetings to other Werstas residents?
Let's say hello when we see each other! It has been fun to notice that a few old colleagues work here at Werstas. When a company needs translations, it is worth considering who should handle them and who the person behind the translated text is. I am also happy to help fellow Werstas members with translation needs. Feel free to stop by or get in touch by email if you have any questions, and let's see how I can be of assistance.
Thank you for the interview, Mikko, and happy waiting for spring!