Welcome to the March Trade and Investment Update 

In the UK and the US, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economies. The majority of exporting companies are SMEs. Here is where innovation happens; here is where growth becomes tangible.
 
This month, we dedicate this newsletter to all these small and medium-sized enterprises and the people behind them. And there is good reason for this. Recent research from our partners Mills & Reeve LLP ‘ Expanding international horizons ’ and the ‘ US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index ’ show that SMEs are optimistic when it comes to trade and investment, despite the political times of change we are in.
 
This month we celebrated some of these companies at the BAB Transatlantic Growth Awards in London. Companies who stand out and serve as an example of the thousands who trade and invest every day across the Atlantic.
 
For smaller businesses in particular, taking the first steps can be challenging. This is why there needs to be a support system and an environment that helps businesses grow. We have been proud to support the launch of the U.S.-UK SME Dialogue in Washington, D.C. - a platform that will help to further bring together efforts aimed to help businesses turn their transatlantic business ambition into reality. We encourage you to join us in these efforts. Together with our partners from business and Governments, we are here to help!
 
Our transatlantic network grows every day. Join us and get in touch at trade@babinc.org . Don't forget you can also follow @BABCTrade on twitter for the latest information. If you are interested in receiving our policy news, see information at the bottom of the update


Telling SME Success Stories
thebigword, to go global, think local

According to entrepreneur Larry Gould, the best way to win big global clients is by building a local presence. The Founder and Chief Executive of thebigword, the UK-based language services provider, established a New York office in 2007. The company had just won large translation and interpreting contracts with IBM and GE to serve their European operations.

Larry opened in the Big Apple and used the existing relationships to win work stateside. He says: “You don’t need to have a massive office to begin with, but you do need to show you care about your customers and their customs. “We hired operational staff to support our clients and we hired sales staff to win new business. This is how we have grown globally.”

More than a decade later, thebigword Americas is firmly established and provides language services to many of the biggest consumer and technology brands from coast to coast.

The group is now in the world’s top 20 language service providers with a dozen international offices employing 600 staff and a network of 14,000 linguists in 60 different countries.

The Americas division is led by Joshua Gould, global corporate strategy officer, and Larry’s eldest son. The privately-owned company has recruited in San Francisco to support its long-standing relationship with a very well-known Silicon Valley giant and in Washington DC to manage the expansion of its fast-growing defense and international security business. It also has a team in Florida.

Earlier this year, thebigword opened a new office in Boston after winning a prized place on the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium. The organisation buys services on behalf of more than 500 members in New England including schools, colleges, universities, municipalities and healthcare providers.

Larry is excited about the potential for further US growth through MHEC and passionately believes in the power of language to break down barriers. In Boston, more than a third of residents speak a language other than English at home, highlighting the need for quality interpreting and translation in the delivery of inclusive public services. The company is recruiting further in Washington DC to support its government and private sector clients, which include the Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Canadian Armed Forces and a number of global defense and aerospace prime contractors.

Aside from the manufacturing, defense and technology sectors, thebigword has important US clients in financial and legal services, consumer products and life sciences, which value the fast and accurate technology-enabled language services.

All this has come from Larry’s belief that to truly go global, you need to think local. Today, he divides his time between homes in Manhattan , the Hamptons, Leeds and Tel Aviv.
Celebrating SMEs
On Thursday, March 15th, BAB hosted the inaugural TransAtlantic Growth (TAG) Awards at the Grange Hotel St. Paul's celebrating SMEs . BAB recognised ten micro, small and mid-size SMEs for growing their business across the Atlantic.

The winners of the 2018 TAG Awards are:

  • 30 And Under Silver Achievement Award – Daniel Rees, CEO, Ruroc
  • Woman in Business Silver Award – Grainne Kelly, CEO, BubbleBum
  • Family Run Business Silver Award – Wilkey Family, ID&C
  • Rising Star Silver Award – Peapodicity
  • Micro Gold Export Award – Quality Bearings Online
  • Micro Gold Inward Investment Award – Blueback Global
  • Small Gold Export Award – Paxman Coolers
  • Small Gold Inward Investment Award – Wiredscore
  • Medium Gold Export Award – PsiOxus
  • Medium Gold Inward Investment Award – BookingBug

BritishAmerican Business is delighted to have had Barclays as a Title Sponsor for the TAG Awards.

To read BAB's press release, please click here
Supporting SMEs
On behalf of the British-American Business Council and BritishAmerican Business, Emanuel Adam, Director of Policy and Trade, attended a meeting of the newly established US-UK SME Dialogue, held on 20th March, in Washington D.C.
 
Taking place around the 3rd US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group meeting, the dialogue was convened to explore the future US-UK trade and investment relationship post-Brexit and to look at opportunities to deepen the transatlantic economic relationship - particularly for SMEs.
 
On the occasion, two publications, 'Doing Business in the USA & UK' and 'IP Toolkit', jointly produced by the US and UK Governments, were presented.
 
BABC's statement as well as links to the publications can be found here .

Upcoming Events in the BABC network
GDPR - Are you Ready? (General Data Protection Regulation)

Organised by BABC Northern California
11th April, 5.30 pm - 8.30 pm
Location: Docusign, 221 Main Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco, CA
Spring Small Business Group Networking Evening

Organised by BABA Washington
26th April, 5.00 pm - 7.00 pm
Location: HSBC Bank USA 1401 I St, NW Washington DC
20005 Suite 500
Building Effective University/Industry Strategic Partnership

Organised by BABC New England
26th April, 5.30 pm - 8.00 pm
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Corporate Relations,
One Main Street, E90, Cambridge, MA 02142
Learn more about BAB and BABC
If you are  interested in joining BAB or any chapter of the BABC network spanning the UK and North America, please get in touch at www.babc.org.

For more information on BAB/BABC's Trade and Investment Work please contact Silvia Rizzo at srizzo@babinc.org

To stay up to date on relevant policy issues concerning the transatlantic business community contact Theo Bachrach at tbachrach@babinc.org to sign up for the BAB/BABC Policy Update.

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