Burned by a client…

Everybody who knows me knows I’m a champion of French startups: on my own blogs, on Web Worker Daily, and IRL. But I’m on the verge of being really pissed off. There’s a French startup that owes me around 300 Euros for a translation I did, and they’re six months late paying…

The merde is about to hit the ventilateur.

Back in February, the founder of said startup contacted the translation co-op I work with as a translator and project manager. He needed an executive summary translated from French into English in a hurry.

It was immediately clear that this startup was having the translation done for a competition that I had also entered one of my projects in. Because the startup was not in the same space as mine, and because my application was already in, I had no ethical problem taking the translation job myself. If that hadn’t been the case, I would have had someone else do it. Because I’m an ethical person.

The founder signed and returned the purchase order, and I got started. Not only that, I decided to do it on a weekend, out of solidarity for a fellow startupper, cuz that’s the way I am. I put my heart into it. I’d walked miles in their shoes.

I sent the translated document, and the founder went to the trouble of telling me to congratulate the translator for the excellent work (I had worn only my project manager hat in communicating with him — he didn’t know I’d also translated his doc.).

A couple of days later, I learned that his startup had been selected and mine hadn’t. (All the startups that were selected were much further along than the project I entered.) I was happy for those guys and glad to have been able to help.

So a couple months go by. And a couple more. And we haven’t been paid yet. End of June, when the bill is 115 days late, I send the founder a casual e-mail saying something to the effect of “We may be mistaken but it doesn’t appear that we’ve been paid, would you mind checking on your end?” No reponse.

A month later, end of July, I send another one, more firm, saying that I was not only the PM but also the translator, reminding him he’d been very happy with my work, and that it was time to pay for it. I cc’d the co-founder on this one. No response.

Now, what I know from having translated their executive summary is that they are making money. They’re 40-somethings with executive backgrounds and powerful connections in the multi-billion-dollar industry in which they’ve launched their startup. If they were a couple of kids in a garage eating ramen, I’d be willing to let it go. Because that’s the way I am.

And there you have it.

I will send another e-mail at the end of August. I’ll remind them that French law requires that they pay their debts within 45 days or they’ll be subject to a fine and sanctions under Article L. 442-6-III of the Commerce Code…

If they don’t pay then, I’ll blacklist them on all the major websites for freelance translators. But do I go further? Do I write on the wall of their Facebook fan page that I’m still waiting to be paid for that translation I did six months ago? Do I do the same on the founders’ personal blogs? Do I stalk them on Twitter? Do I tell the startup competition judges they’re dishonest losers? After all, investors don’t like to invest in companies that are unethical and can’t manage their finances…

It’s all so tempting. We’ll see…