Victor Abundis
Interpreter Tap
Chicago, IL USA
"There are not enough women and people of color in tech. Historically, we’ve been taken out of every major movement, but you have to reject the idea that history is going to repeat itself."
Career Roadmap
Victor's work combines: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I make sure that I never ever forget where I come from, and why I do what I do. Most importantly, remember who you are doing it for: yourself and/or others.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Certification
Spanish Language and Literature
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Co-Founder & COO:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Finance, General
Bachelor's Degree: Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Bachelor's Degree: Project Management
Graduate Degree: Business Administration and Management, General
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Born and raised in Chicago, IL.
2.
His parents were immigrants from Mexico—his first language is Spanish and didn’t learn English until he got to kindergarten.
3.
From the age of six, says he inadvertently became an interpreter because knowing a little English meant he could help his family communicate better.
4.
After high school, started working in a hotel and went to college for one semester, but his hard-partying lifestyle eventually forced him to drop out.
5.
As he got older, realized he needed to get his life back on track, so he returned to his passion for helping others bridge the language divide.
6.
He has been a certified interpreter for over 12 years and has worked in legal, medical, immigration, and government settings.
7.
After seeing the injustices and inequalities that certain groups face as a result of the language barrier, began working with a friend to solve the problem of access to interpreters.
8.
In 2016, co-founded Interpreter Tap, an app that provides thousands of certified interpreters authorized to interpret hundreds of languages on demand.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're a Latino male from the South Side of Chicago. Your destiny is pretty much already set: dead, jail, or addict.
How I responded:
I make sure that I never ever forget where I come from, and why I do what I do. Most importantly, remember who you are doing it for: yourself and/or others.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in a very dangerous neighborhood. At one point, there were more people dying in the neighborhoods of Chicago like mine than soldiers were in the Iraq War.
After high school, I partied a lot and was leading a very wild lifestyle. This led to me dropping out of college. I eventually got my life together and, with the help of my dad, I became an interpreter.
My parents are immigrants from Mexico. Even though I was born in the U.S., my first language is Spanish and I didn't learn English until I got to kindergarten.
I did a semester in college, but I dropped out. I eventually followed in my dad's footsteps and became an interpreter instead.
Working as an interpreter and now in tech, I've seen a lot of discrimination over the years. Women and people of color have historically been left out of important movements, but tech is one that we are poised to be a huge part of.
Starting a business is really hard. I am currently in the process of trying to raise money and get seed funding to help the organization grow. Sometimes you come across people who get what you are trying to do and want to help and others that don't.