Welcome back to The Global Crowd—still the podcast you definitely didn't need, but hopefully one you'll keep around.

This is Episode 2, featuring Johan Botha—one of Africa's most influential voices in localization and co-founder of ALCA (Association of Language Companies in Africa).

He's the guy collecting hundreds of comic books, co-founding an industry association to unite and open Africa, and prioritizing bedtime stories over business calls and prime networking.

As you will notice, we also took some liberties with this episode and decided we'd treat each other exactly as we do in real life. What you'll hear is two friends competing for who can be more successful while simultaneously undermining each other's credibility.

🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:

• How one reluctant influencer became the voice of African localization
• Why Africa has been "the next big thing" for 10 years (and what's really happening on the ground)
• The trust gap between the "global north" and a continent tired of being told how to do business
• Channeling your inner Batman, stealing Beatles vinyls, and the market opportunity for left-handed fountain pens
• How braai is the great equalizer in South Africa
• The art of saying no (and why Johan struggles with it)
• How rapid-fire questions look like in African time

As always, no sponsors, no script, no secret agenda. Just two friends, one take, and an improvised conversation that wandered from African intelligence to pottery meditation.

Chapter List:

00:00 Welcome and roasting warnings01:41 Meet Johan Botha04:07 From translator to influencer08:33 Explaining your job to kids09:49 Begging your way to the top12:19 Africa's togetherness problem16:06 The curse of saying yes20:49 Collecting what you can't afford21:32 Left-handed fountain pen struggles25:23 Comics, vinyl, and Beatles theft29:31 Bedtime stories and troll cupcakes31:28 Braai 10134:21 Rapid fire (African time)40:37 Why care about Africa?48:39 The ALCA conference vision56:23 AI predictions for Johan59:08 Why Johan made episode 3

Thanks for listening.

🍼💥 The Global Crowd – Baby Teaser 2: “The Braaibe” 💥🍼

Yes, I’ve done the baby video thing before.

Yes, it had impact.

Yes, the babies have teeth.

Yes, I was told—wisely—not to use the same “formula” again (pun intended).

Which is exactly why I’m doing it again.

But this time, the roles are reversed.I’m the one holding the milk bottle... and someone really wants in. Badly.

While the teaser may seem familiar, the episode it leads into will be a bit different. Can’t wait to share it with you… but I thought we’d make some noise for it first.

Evergreen gratitude to Ricard Sierra, who lended his talent and candor to get this thing rolling in the first place—and still rakes up views and claps like the showman he is. Keep the love coming.

And to Olga Beregovaya, who set the bar so high we had to launch ourselves over it with a cannon… no safety net, no parachute—wow, the ground is approaching really fast…

Baby shenanigans incoming. Guess who’s doing the “braaibing”?

Welcome back to The Global Crowd—a proudly unpolished podcast built on spontaneous conversations with leaders from the globalization and international growth community who refuse to take life too seriously.

Today, we welcome Olga Beregovaya, VP of AI at Smartling, community pillar, music producer, horse whisperer—and one of those rare humans who can face chaos with elegance, curiosity, and great boots.

From building AI programs to wrangling 22 punk rockers at a border crossing, Olga’s life reads like a setlist nobody could plan—but every track hits.

🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:

• How one structural linguist became the queen of AIs (with a side hustle in tour buses)
• Punk bands, border patrol, and the unexpected strength of expat community
• The disgusting biological betrayal that is the film on boiled milk
• Why the best business strategy sessions might be happening in bars
• The haunting disappearance of one very special pair of rocking socks
• What it’s like to live inside the AI hype—and still call BS on half of it
• And the repeated public shaming that comes from not watching your friend’s podcast before agreeing to guest on it

It’s been cut to a reasonable length, censored for safety, but remains unfiltered, a little weird, and occasionally tender.

Olga made us laugh, made us think, and maybe made us cry a little.

You’ve been warned. Thanks for listening.

#TheGlobalCrowd #AI #globalization #international #machinetranslation #punkenergy #podcast #translation #thankyou

List of chapters:

00:00 – An unscripted podcast with seven pages of pleases

02:25 – From syntax to stage lights

04:35 – Explaining AI to a five-year-old (and other impossible tasks)

10:37 – Things we wish we never had to localize

13:07 – The afterthought era must end

15:21 – The punk producer in a business suit

19:47 – Inside and outside the Soviet Union: Wherever you go, your music follows

24:27 – The most epic concert… she never got to hear

26:02 – Calling the socks private investigator

28:36 – Rock & roll? Yes. But someone has to do the paperwork

30:52 – Fighting ducks, meeting dead people in elevators, and upsetting the gods of keys

36:01 – Bungee jumping in Siberia and other great decisions

36:55 – Russian superstitions, ranked and feared

38:20 – AI’s future: less talk, more tools

38:53 – Practice what you preach (and benchmark it)

41:38 – Everything About Agentic AI with Olga Beregovaya

42:24 – Getting real about multilingual GenAI

45:29 – The data goldmine hiding in plain sight

47:00 – Learning AI, one sacrificed weekend at a time

50:11 – Consensual rabbits, ditching regret, and finding the way out

54:44 – How to make the Queen of AIs cry