Anyone lucky enough to call themselves multilingual will tell you the endless rewards and pleasure that can come from learning a new language.  However, learning a new language can be a frustrating and time-consuming endeavor that causes many once eager students to give up or just replace the foreign language with a louder version of their own native tongue. As I have come to discover, where there is a problem, there are at least a few startups looking to build a product or service to address it, and learning a language is certainly no exception.  So whether you are a global business traveler heading to meet a foreign client or a college graduate packing up for that last minute euro trip, check out these startups to help you learn a new language and blend right in with the locals, or not.

Share your experiences with the above companies or let me know if I forgot any other ones in the comments section.

With many universities starting classes over the next few weeks, thousands of students across the country are packing up the family van or hopping on a plane and heading back to school to begin another semester of college.  Greg Fenton and Timothy Haitaian (graduates of Miami University and Arizona State University, respectively) started a company that works to help eliminate a problem which practically all college students run into as they return for each semester: overpriced textbooks.  Founded by Greg and Tim back in 2010, Virdocs Software delivers a flexible digital document platform that benefits publishers, college bookstores, and of course, students who are looking for better and easier ways to avoid the high prices of academic textbooks (which have jumped 82% in the past decade, according to usatoday.com).

Virdocs Software, a Chicago based startup operating out of their River North office, serves as the parent company behind redshelf.com.  The site provides a simple and cost-effective digital platform enabling content creators (academic book publishers) to securely distribute their materials while avoiding device limitation for consumers (college students).  Like most digital e-readers on the market, students can highlight sections, take notes, or bookmark pages. However, as a cloud based reader that converts all content to HTML5 software, redshelf.com provides unique value to students by giving them access to content on their account anytime, anywhere, and on any WiFi enabled device.  While some digital content providers limit access because of software, browser, or download requirements, RedShelf eliminates this hassle by providing the flexibility and mobility today’s college students require.  Not to mention the superior pricing options redshelf.com offers for cash strapped college students always looking for ways to save a few bucks here and there. 

Additionally, publishers love the site not only for its advantageous royalty program, but also for the control they have over the printing, distribution, and pricing rights of their material. With redshelf.com, a publisher of an organic chemistry textbook can instantly upload it’s material onto the site while also maintaining total control of the digital distribution strategy of its content.  Additionally, schools and university bookstores have been eager to sign up for the customized and branded platform redshelf.com creates for them, allowing them to quickly update material onto the site and push out material quickly and cheaply to its students.

With RedShelf gaining more and more popularity, Virdocs Software has taken off over the past year thanks to the determination of Tim and Greg, but the journey from high school friends to startup execs was far from conventional for the two entrepreneurs.  Seeing an opportunity to make their lives and their classmates' lives a bit easier while in college, the two struck a deal with a professor at MSU to organize a digital document distribution of the professor's course pack.   The idea continued to grow as Tim and Greg kept in touch throughout college.  Eventually, they began working with local copy shops to print lab manuals or course packets, which would be distributed to students in the form of secure PDFs.  One thing lead to another and Tim and Greg decided to make running and growing Virdocs Software a full time job just a couple years after graduating.

Their commitment to Virdocs, both financially and physically, has been unwavering.  In the early stages, the two were bootstrapping the company themselves while also driving long nights to nearby colleges pitching their service to any office that would listen, only to return to a tiny three bedroom apartment in Chicago they shared with their first two Virdocs employees.  Eventually, they walked into enough bookstores and cold-called enough publishers to grow Virdocs form a dream of two to a team of 10 employees (7 full time, 3 part time).  Additionally, Virdocs Software and RedShelf work directly with 50+ college bookstores and is being utilized by over 200 campus' through strategic partnerships.  While growing the business, Tim and Greg naturally took on roles within the company that played to their relative strengths.  While Greg focuses on technology and sales, Tim takes care of business operations and employee management.  The way Tim sees it, “It’s Greg’s job to keep his foot on the gas pedal, and my job to keep the wheels on the whole time.”  

Virdocs Software works out of Chicago - a city known for its community of up and coming tech startups – and its founders couldn’t be happier with their location.  “In terms of talent and people, Chicago has been amazing for us,” Greg explains.  While they recognize the difficulty of finding large scale investments in Chicago compared to companies popping up out west in Silicon Valley, the duo remain undaunted and insist Chicago’s talent pool will be a huge catalyst for their success in the future.  “First things first is finding the right people; the money will come second,” said Fenton.  The two friends and founders agree that the ability to grind it out since day one of founding Virdocs has contributed greatly to the company’s growth.  The fall semester is just starting for many students, but midterms will be here before they know it. Just don’t be too surprised if you find a college student near you cramming for that last minute econ exam with the help Virdocs Software and redshelf.com  

Check out the video below for a better explanation of RedShelf's Cloud Reader

Mashable's Monty Munford, wrote a great article listing some of the most promising startups striving to improve the world.  Whether its teaching kids to code or giving mothers a voice, the mission of a social venture almost always starts with founders who are driven by their vision to improve the world.  By going beyond the typical goals of huge valuations or multiple revenue streams, these founders are paving the way for a generation of entrepreneurs seeking to deliver big profits AND big impact.  Sound off on your favorite startups from the list or ones you think Mashable should have added in the comments section below.  

Having a conversation in just 140 characters can be a tough task for some.  When you consider that everyone from the Pope to Pitbull uses Twitter these days, there’s no arguing how wildly successful the microblogging platform has become (with 400 million tweets sent every single day).  Yet there are still people out there who crave more than a constant stream of Paris Hilton being annoying or Paula Abdul being really annoying.   Some people insist on having more meaningful social conversation between a group of participants.  For those searching for a more substantive online conversation platform, Branch might be their savior. 

Founded by Princeton dropout Josh Miller, Branch (formerly called Roundtable) seeks to create thoughtful conversations on topics between people all over the world.  The Branch team, based out of New York City, says they created Branch with the “mission to turn the Internet’s monologues into dialogues.”  Branch is not the first company to focus on putting the conversation and its content first, but its connection to the very company they are trying to differentiate from might be its key to large-scale user adoption.  

Back in 2012, Branch joined forces with Obvious Corporation, a startup incubator run by Twitter co-founders Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Jason Goldman.  Not surprisingly, Branch operates pretty seamlessly with Twitter; starting a conversation and inviting others participants into that “branch” can all be done by simply signing in with your own twitter handle and sending a quick tweet.  With backing from Obvious Corporation and other VCs, Branch was able to pick up nearly $2 million in seed funding early in 2012.  

The partnership with Twitter and its co-founders (along with their deep pockets) will be a distinct advantage for Branch going forward.  However, the company will need more than savvy advisors to emerge as its own platform and experience instead of just a “longer Twitter.”  With so many options to connect and communicate online, it will be interesting to see where Branch attempts to carve out its space in the wide and competitive spectrum of online conversation platforms.  

To get the latest on Branch, make sure to check out their blog. To get the latest advice on how to be awesome, just follow Puff Daddy on Twitter.

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains sits Boulder, Colorado.  Ranked highly for healthy residents, happy people, and hippy lovers, Boulder can add haven for startups to its many illustrious titles.  Just yesterday, The Kauffman Foundation ranked Boulder No. 1 on its list for Top 10 Metro Areas for High-Tech Startup Density. (Doubtful reader: “But Will, I really question the validity of this argument, what even is the Kauffman Foundation? “ A. Chill out, I ask the questions around here, B. go be a member of the digital age and Google it, and C.  Bloomberg Businessweek also ranked Boulder at the top of its list for best startup cities, so there)  Whether it’s the awesome national research labs or the high percentage of residents working in tech, Boulder and its relatively small population of less than 100,000 (11th biggest city in Colorado) would be right to argue that bigger is not always better.

Boulder didn’t become a destination for tech startups overnight.  In the Mid-1990s, Boulder’s software industry was growing steadily and bringing in talented employees from all over the country.  Being home to prestigious research labs like the National Institute of Standards & Technology didn’t hurt either when it came to drawing in well educated talent.  As more and more of these biotech, telecom, and data storage employees began to branch out and begin their own businesses, a “bottom-up” revolution (as explained by Bloomberg writer Virek Wadhwa) eventually took hold.  Despite the lack of major city or state investments often seen in other cities, Boulder's rise as a startup destination quickly gained steam and never looked back. The city now boasts the highest concentration of software engineers per capita in the entire nation.  Venture capitalists, startup mentors, and massive companies like Google, Microsoft, and Oracle are flocking to this town just 25 miles outside of Denver to manage, support, or acquire groundbreaking startups on a long list that are calling Boulder home. According to the NY Times, Venture Capitalists from Silcon Valley to Manhattan invested nearly $2 billion in 275 Colorado startups from 2007 to 2009.

TechStars, arguably the best startup accelerator around, got its start in Boulder back in 2006 and still churns out exciting new companies that decide to remain in Boulder.  TechStars Founder David Cohen makes a convincing argument for Boulder as the ideal setting for startups, citing a host of resources and events that support entrepreneurs.  Perhaps Cohen’s most convincing argument though is that Boulder easily draws in some of the best and brightest people in the tech world because it is such a fun place to live (Think about the one or two people you know who have lived in or currently live in Boulder and the great reviews they give it).  Not many towns can offer the enjoyment of hitting the slopes or hiking great trails in between grueling meetings over user experience or scalability issues.  All in all, founders looking to get in on a tech scene that prides itself in sharing, collaborating, and helping each other out don’t have to look very hard when they’re in Boulder.

Chief of Staff at a startup might not be what Kathryn Crimmins expected her job title to be just three years ago.  Having graduated from Boston College with a background in psychology, Crimmins was quickly climbing up the ranks at a top tier consulting firm in Boston.  However, the frequent travel and lack of connection to her work left Crimmins unsatisfied and wanting something more. "I was on the strategy and operations side, but I felt very removed from the end product," Crimmins explains.  "We would go in, do a project for a few months, and then I would leave and never see the impact my work had on the company or the customers."  

Deciding to take advantage of the blossoming startup scene in Boston, Crimmins reached out to others in the field and enrolled in Boston's Startup Institute for two months in the Spring of 2013 After emerging with a focus in sales and business development, finding the right company to hire her was the next important step.  Fortunately, Crimmins knew she found the right match to meet her skills and interests after contacting the staff at Evertrue, a rapidly growing mobile networking platform that helps connect young alumni to their alma matter and one another. "I was always really passionate about the intersection of non-profit and for profits and introducing innovation into the non-profit space, so it was a great fit in that regard" said Crimmins.  

Founded by Brett Grinna in 2010 while at Harvard Business School, Evertrue works to help high schools and colleges understand the value of alumni data and mobile networks in order to improve the quality of their alumni networking and donor strategy.  Evertrue provides value to both alumni, who receive a more updated, interactive, and social network, as well as the school's development offices, who get comprehensive data and analytics to support fundraising initiatives. Over one hundred prep schools and colleges from six different countries have signed up for the platform.  Establishing customer validation early and often has paid off big for Evertrue as they just recently closed a $5.25 million round of Series A funding from investors.  

Wired.com’s Marcus Wohlsen wrote a fascinating article a few days ago about what some Silicon Valley moguls think is becoming a dangerous misconception in the startup industry.  Summer interns for tech startups kingpins like Google, Facebook, and Twitter heard urgent advice from startup leaders including Dustin Moskovitz, fellow ex-Facebook employees Matt Cohler and Justin Rosenstein, and venture-capitalist Ben Horowitz.  Instead of a typical go and create something speech, Moskovitz and the others urged the audience to know exactly what that something is before starting a company. According to them, failing to do so and launching a venture just for the sake of doing so is a dangerous and risky choice.

Companies large and small have been trying to find the right balance between social networks and consumer purchases.  Figuring out the perfect solution has been the goal of recent Notre Dame grad and passionate entreprenuer Robb Crow.  His answer? Shoptalk.  Started a couple years ago during a late night skype sesson between Crow and his fellow co-founder/classmate from ND, Shoptalk allows consumers to share their purchases easily and effectively on their Facebook Newsfeed. ShopTalk then lets you cash in on your actions by rewarding its users with discounts from the retailers they promoted.   

Armed with a background in finance and math and a zeal for building a great product, Crow decided to go all in on ShopTalk upon graduating in May and has quickly learned some tough but valuable lessons that most 22 year olds have yet to even fathom. Crow took some time between pitching to investors and hiring a staff to discuss the exciting journey of running and building a company like ShopTalk.  Click read more for the full interview.

 Linkedin’s recent success can be attributed to many factors, including a growing user base and a strategic shift to becoming a content and news provider.   But In order to understand the what behind the site’s success, it might be helpful to understand the who as well, and no one has provided more value and insight for Linkedin than it’s Executive Chairman and co-founder, Reid Hoffman.  

Hoffman’s professional exploits expand well beyond Linkedin.  When he’s not running the internet’s largest professional social network and 15th most visited site on the web, he’s helping Graylock Partners, Silicon Valleys top VC firm, grow and develop wildly successful startups like Airbnb or Dropbox.  And with the time he has left over, Hoffman continues to offer his advice by sitting on the board of directors for companies such as Zynga, and Shopkick.  While he could have spent plenty of time counting the insane amount of money he has made over his career, Hoffman decided to share his tips and insights by writing a career advice book. 

Hoffman’s book on professional career advice, entitled The Startup of You, was released in the spring of 2012 and quickly vaulted to the top of the bestsellers list for both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  In just over 200 pages,Hoffman draws upon his experience as a successful entrepreneur and investor to give simple and down to earth advice that applies to working professionals in any and all industries.  Despite the book's corny title, Hoffman makes effective comparisons between creating a startup company and creating a successful career.  For example, he artfully crafts an early chapter in the book that urges workers to identify their own competitive advantage by discovering an unique intersection between their assets, aspirations, and market realities:

A handful of sections in the book as well as its hardback cover sometimes make The Startup of You feel like a 200 page ad for Linkedin.  Fortunatley, Hoffman fights the urge to write a book that focuses solely on the value of a professional network by offering helpful career planning tools and insights for professionals fresh out of college up to seasoned managers, and everyone in between.   His consistent yet well founded tips to “invest in yourself” and “pursue breakout opportunities” could certainly pay dividends well beyond the corporate world for anyone who chooses to read.  Those not interested in purchasing the entire book should at least spend some time checking out the book’s website or blog.