S2E16 - Breaking Language Barriers in Hospitality: Rachael Nemeth's Opus Training Story

About this Episode:

Rachael Nemeth, Co-Founder and CEO of Opus Training, shares her journey of starting the company and the challenges they faced in the restaurant industry. Opus Training is a training platform designed for hospitality businesses, offering micro-training that fits into the flow of work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it pivoted to provide free COVID-19 safety training, which led to significant growth. The platform is multilingual, offering training in 101 languages, and leverages AI to improve accessibility and user experience.

In this conversation, Rachael emphasizes the importance of simplifying language and avoiding idioms in training materials to ensure effective communication. Opus Training is a platform that focuses on solving the business problem of achieving scale with training. They aim to save money and make money for businesses by cutting back on training labor and positioning training to increase sales. Their typical clients are emerging brands and established brands in the restaurant industry. The customer journey with Opus Training starts with content education, followed by a simple and quick onboarding process. The platform offers a free trial for users to try out. Opus Training plans to continue investing in AI technology to enhance its training platform. The founder, Rachael Nemeth, encourages businesses to be intentional about training and sees training platforms as an enhancement, not a replacement, to existing training systems.

Timestamps: 00:00: The Evolution of Phone Usage at Work 01:16: Introduction to Opus Training 02:11: Rachel Nemeth's Background and Inspiration for Opus Training 03:37: The Love for Operations in the Restaurant Industry 04:45: Transitioning to New York and Starting ESL Works 05:44: The Journey from ESL Works to Opus Training 06:43: The Decision to Move to New York 07:55: Working for Danny Meyer and Starting ESL Works 08:22: The MVP and Evolution of ESL Works 09:47: The Iterative Process of Building a Company 10:43: The Shift to Technology and the Birth of Opus Training 12:39: The Breakthrough Moment for Opus Training 13:30: The Impact of COVID-19 on Opus Training 14:29: The Focus on Accessibility and Multilingual Training 18:22: The Sign-in Experience and Language Selection 20:18: The Importance of Training in the Flow of Work 21:43: The Content Problem and AI Solutions 23:34: The Challenges of Language Translation 25:36: Managing 101 Languages and Leveraging AI 32:54: Ideal Customers for Opus Training 35:35: Onboarding Process for Opus Training 39:57: The Future of Opus Training 45:10: The Importance of Training and Enhancing Workflows