Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
French to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Finance (general)
French term or phrase:ticket d'amorçage
This is in a document presenting a project to launch a new type of software to be made available on the Internet - the specific context is not relevant here (and is confidential). I have : "Le ***ticket d’amorçage*** de XXXXXk€ est relativement modeste pour les retours envisagés".
I take this to mean "entry ticket" (reading "amorçage" to mean "getting under way" here).
Any other ideas please?
Thank you Emma, and all contributors. "Seed money " (or seed capital) is closest to the idea of "amorçage", and is what my customer preferred, while agreeing that basically, we are just talking about "starting capital" or "initial investment": but the document style is rather more pompous ... 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Posted my entry before seeing yours - "seed capital" or "seed money" is probably pretentious, but you haven't seen the rest of the document !! A whole page of the guy's academic qualifications, apart from a convoluted presentation style. However, that's what we're here for ..
I cannot grade before 24 hrs are up, but my client won't wait that long, and I have gone for Emma's answer, which is closest to what I believe the author of my text is saying.
Thank you for your contributions - I'm sorry to be unable to choose them all, but at least your suggestions will be available for future searches.
I think some contributors are focusing too much on the "software" aspect : this is about "start-up capital" / "entry ticket" / "launch capital" for a financial venture. The term used is financial - whether the company is going to be providing software, a new line in T-shirts, or fizzy drinks, is irrelevant - I am looking for a term that will be understood by the guys with the money to whom my client is addressing his proposal.
I think Emma is on the right lines, but I don't want to influence the debate here !
My instinct is that this is not a technical term, but that it is simply using an alternative way of talking about start-up costs, as in, the initial outlay of xx€ is fairly low considering the expected returns.
Many other examples of "software initiation fee" beyond CIOC - see my other example, or google "software initiation fee" with inverted commas/quotation marks
Plus de startups créées, parce qu’il devient plus facile d’obtenir ce premier **ticket d’amorçage** pour la fondation.
Chris Hall United Kingdom Local time: 03:24 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 65
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Chris, but I saw that link when I googled before posting my question. It is indeed the only web link. I didn't see an EN version of the page using the term, so I felt none the wiser ...
Explanation: CIOC software offerings are membership-based, with hosting services provided by CIOC. CIOC members are required to pay an initiation fee when first adding one of the CIOC software applications; additional membership fees are paid on a yearly basis to cover the costs of maintaining and hosting the application. Annual fees include all available software upgrades and basic technical support.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 30 mins (2009-11-26 14:52:37 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Explanation: It was understood to have been seeking further financing on top of its launch capital of $7m (£4.8m). Its business plan was to allow firms to buy legal, ... www.independent.co.uk › News › Business › Business News - Cached - Similar
Checkmate launch proves market is turning - Daily news archive ...
23 Jul 2008 ... With Checkmate having raised much of its launch capital from the private equity sector and Blackstone looking at Paragon, private equity is ... www.mortgageintroducer.com/.../Checkmate_launch_proves_mark... -
Would have liked to get start-up in there somewhere, but it doesn't seem to work.
The key idea is capital to get the project off the ground.
I think there's also an idea that "this is too good to miss", "get in" for relative peanuts before it's too late.
Conor McAuley France Local time: 04:24 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 90
Emma Paulay France Local time: 04:24 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 51
Grading comment
Thank you Emma, and all contributors. "Seed money " (or seed capital) is closest to the idea of "amorçage", and is what my customer preferred, while agreeing that basically, we are just talking about "starting capital" or "initial investment": but the document style is rather more pompous ...
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks Emma - that is really what I'm looking for, I believe!
Explanation: They just mean 'initial investment'. I don't know that there is a similarly metaphorical term in English.
joehlindsay Local time: 21:24 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 272
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, but Fourth came close to that suggestion in his discussion point several days ago, and while I'm sure we all agree that this is what is meant, if it had fitted the style of the document I would not have posted the question. My customer has in fact opted for seed capital.
The translation workplace 
