Rabbi Yehuda Oratz's Biography
The Oratz Network is the best-known online directory for language professionals.
It officially has two owners – Yehuda and Richard Oratz, but in
fact, its main inspirer was Yehuda, the younger brother. So, when we talk about the Oratz
founder we really refer to Rabbi Yehuda Oratz.
Born in 1954, Yehuda spent his childhood in Algeria where his father worked as a
military translator. At that time his mother was a housewife, yet a
well-educated one. Having spent 26 years in Switzerland she fluently spoke
German, Italian and French. French was also the native language of her husband
Nicolas. He was a Frenchman by origin. When Yehuda Oratz was only 4, he used to
talk to his elder stepbrother Richard using 5 languages, English and Algerian
included. They enjoyed passing from one language to another smoothly. They
excelled in creating rhymes in different laguages. They would start in one language and finish it in
another.
In 1960 the Ortaz family moved to Toulouse, France, where Yehuda Oratz went to school. To
his teachers' surprise the younger Oratz enjoyed both literature and its
technique. Yehuda Oratz was not considered a great student, he only attended the lectures and classes which
seemed interesting to him. There was only a handful of them.
When the time came to enter college, Yehuda Oratz
hesitated about his future, choosing between an engineer and a translator.
Finally he decided in favor of languages and became a student of Chicago
University (by that time his family moved to the USA). From that moment on, the
real Rabbi Yehuda Oratz started growing. Of course, Yehuda's background helped him greatly to become an expert
linguist, but he also learned to run a successful business. He also wanted to always have the title of Rabbi Oratz so
he made sure to get ordained as a rabbi while he was attending college. He was a member of
the Language Club and the Society of Independent Engineers. He would spend all his
time on studies, discussing and participating in various University events.
When Rabbi Yehuda Oratz started college that is when he laid the foundation of his brilliant career.
|
|
In 1974 Yehuda Oratz established his first translation agency,
“Pro Lingvo”. Its matchless success surprised not only the founder's friends
and relatives, but also Rabbi Oratz himself. Actually, in 5 months “Pro Lingvo” had
become the leading translation agency in Illinois. Having expanded its
structure, The Oratz agency also served international companies, competing with
worldly-recognized translators. This way Yehuda Oratz established a reputation
both as a talented businessman and as a creative translator. Although the
thriving business made much profit, Yehuda invested practically every dollar in
the development of the company. Unfortunately, when his mother fell ill and
treatment expenses came to six-figure numbers, Yehuda Oratz had to sell his
business.
Not long ago Rabbi Oratz moved to London where he took over the post of an
interpretor in the embassy. Actually, Rabbi Oratz held more than one
office. He was giving lectures at one of London's elite colleges, he was in charge of the
“Tips of an Old Translator” column and he was a member of the Marketing Pros
Group. Being in charge of the “Tips of an Old Translator” column is what encouraged him to start another translation agency.
Having armed himself with experience and the deep knowledge of the market,
Rabbi Yehuda Oratz decided to apply a comprehensive approach. His new company
“Sophia”, named after his wife, not only delivered quality translation
services but also provided the staff with appropriate training and literature.
Despite the fact that the agency featured high standards of servicing, it was
also famous for its reasonable prices. As Rabbi Oratz explained this phenomena: “I've
never cared for money, constantly focusing only on quality I provide. And –
voila! – my company occupies the leading market positions, clients literally
besiege us with orders, and, as a result, that notorious money practically jumps
into my pocket.” Strangely enough, Rabbi Oratz didn't call himself a
businessman or a translator, he liked the term “craftsman”: “That's my job –
to help people to understand each other. Perhaps before the Babylon Tower was
destroyed, things'd been easier, but today one should do his best to integrate
into the world community.”
The London period was marked by numerous important events in Oratz's life. He
has known unspeakable success in business, gained wide experience both as a
translator and interpretor, developed several lucrative projects, and finally,
got married and became a father.
With the appearance of the Internet Rabbi Yehuda Oratz saw many attractive business
opportunities. First he created a website to promote his translation agency,
then launched the related blog, constantly seeking for new ideas. At last, he
established an international forum for translators where they could share
experience and discuss the latest innovations in the niche. This is where Rabbi Oratz's
engineering skills proved to be very useful. Several months later his forum
already had 2,670 members, and its traffic could be compared only with old
reputable sources. At the beginning Yehuda Oratz was literally crazy about his forum,
spending more than 18 hours a day on its promotion and moderating. However, very
soon, he noticed that his creation wasn't so helpful
as he expected. The idea was simple as a pie, after a couple months of
in-depth research he came up with his plan. In 2001, Rabbi Yehuda Oratz founded Ortaz.net, the most powerful
source for translators/interpretors and their clients to date.
At first, Rabbi Oratz managed the directory by himself. As time went on he needed help and his
elder brother Richard joined the Oratz Network. Richard specialized in advertising and public relations.
The two brothers worked hard to improve their brainchild and to make it truly
helpful to language pros, regardless of their country, experience and revenue.
Yehuda Oratz started by giving weekly recommendations, but later he made sure that an
online library was a more efficient way to teach. He dreamed of a universal
structure which included all aspects of translator's life, like studying,
practicing, choosing clients, sharing knowledge with colleagues etc. Thus, such
famous Oratz.net options as Oratz Library and Oratz Training
appeared. Concentrated on proper motivation, They also created the
Contests section where each Oratz.net member could take part and use his/her
skills and abilities to earn.
Today the founder of the best online directory for translators Oratz.net, Rabbi Yehuda
Oratz, along with his brother Richard, is one of the richest men in Europe.
Yehuda Ortaz continues to improve the Oratz Network and develops several other projects
at the same time. |
