A Welsh language and communications business launched as a two-person start-up is celebrating its 10th anniversary, having grown into a consultancy working across Wales and the UK.
Ateb was established in 2016 by Rhys Evans and Llinos Iorwerth after they spotted a gap in the support available to organisations preparing to implement the Welsh Language Standards.
At the time, the pair worked for an organisation in Gwynedd where the language was a natural part of everyday life . While the practical requirements of the standards seemed straightforward in that setting, they recognised that organisations in areas with fewer Welsh speakers faced a much greater challenge.
After registering Ateb as a company, they took their first steps. Working evenings, weekends and holidays, they built a website, made contacts and signed up their first clients while still in full-time jobs.
Following a launch event in Cardiff, their first clients came on board. Looking back, Rhys said:
“Early contracts with the BBC, Wales Millennium Centre, Welsh National Opera and The Open University gave us the confidence to leave our permanent jobs and focus on the new business.
“The decision wasn’t without risk, with some of our former colleagues warning that Ateb might not even survive beyond its first year. But the introduction of the second phase of Welsh Language Standards regulations brought growing demand from national organisations looking for specialist support, and we haven’t looked back.
A decade later, many of Ateb’s earliest clients continue to work with them, something Rhys and Llinos are particularly proud of. The business now employs five people working form their offices at M-SParc on Ynys Môn. They work across the public, private and third sectors, supporting national organisations, charities and businesses operating across the UK.
Llinos added:
“Alongside our Welsh-language work, we also provide public relations and bilingual communications support. The two areas have developed alongside each other over the past decade, with our team working with clients on everything from language planning to media relations, social media and communications.
“As our client base grew to include organisations operating across all four nations, our work took us to all sorts of unlikely locations to talk about the Welsh language. Over time, our work has evolved too, and we’ve found ourselves working across Welsh language, communications and PR in ways we probably wouldn’t have anticipated when we started.”
As it marks its tenth anniversary, Ateb remains focused on helping organisations understand the Welsh language, communicate in both languages and build stronger connections with audiences across Wales.
