This is just a quick note to share some exciting news with everyone in our Popup Chinese community. I've tucked the sordid details into a post on what is technically our official company blog, but the short version is that some of our team will be traveling to Chile next month to take part in the Start-Up Chile program.

http://blog.languagesystems.net/

The details are on our blog above. The simple version is that in the coming year we'll be investing to start a number of new language sites. Many of our new sites will involve Spanish, although some will not: we expect to get Popup Cantonese out the door within a few months as well.

Needless to say, this is big news for us. As I think most long-timers at Popup Chinese know, we're somewhat unique in being the only significant and non-VC-funded language learning company with the stated aim of changing both the way people learn foreign languages as well as the economics of the industry. We don't think it should cost hundreds of dollars to learn a new language, and we're confident that we're moving towards a better model of language education than any of the heavily marketed mainstream products. That said, bootstrapping a site like this makes it very difficult to take big steps.

So this is going to be a big shot in the arm for us. Although the fun won't start until January next year when we will be able to start launching our new sites, this move will help us produce more content across more languages. It will also lead directly to our having more (and better) materials for Absolute Beginners right here on Popup Chinese. It should also go without saying that we're going to continue to produce podcasts and more from Popup Towers in Beijing and hope to expand production, especially at the more advanced levels.

Anyway, we found out the good news about two or three weeks ago and it's time you guys all heard too. So huzzah, huzzah and more huzzah. We hope you're as excited to hear this as we are to be able to get these new materials out the door, and also miss part of the Beijing winter in the process. If you have any questions or suggestions or just want a postcard of us relaxing with llamas in Chile, please drop a line or let us know by email. And if by chance you're in Santiago, please drop a line, since we'd love to hear from you too.

Saludos,

--david