Ethnolink founder and CEO Costa Vasili has reflected on the personal story behind the agency’s 15-year milestone, revealing the business once came so close to collapse that he moved interstate and took a full-time job to keep it alive.
Vasili founded Ethnolink from his bedroom in Keysborough in 2011 as a 20-year-old university student. Today, the agency has grown into Australia’s largest specialist multicultural communications agency, with a national footprint across Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, a team of more than 60 people and 42 per cent average year-on-year growth over the past five years.
The agency is now eyeing its next major target: $20 million in revenue.
“There was a period in the early years where I moved interstate and took a well-paying job for 12 months so I could send money back into the business and keep paying staff wages,” Vasili said.
“I have rarely spoken about that publicly, but that was the reality. I was so determined to make Ethnolink a success that I did whatever was necessary to keep it alive.”
Vasili said the experience shaped the way he leads the agency today.
“When you have been that close to losing everything, it changes you,” he said.
“You feel a deep responsibility to your team, your clients and the communities you serve. Ethnolink was always something worth fighting for.”
Ethnolink’s origins are closely tied to Vasili’s upbringing in the City of Greater Dandenong, one of Australia’s most multicultural local government areas, and his family’s migration story from Cyprus to Australia.
His father, George, arrived in Australia at 13 speaking barely any English before later starting his own business in his 20s.
“My dad’s story had a huge impact on me,” Vasili said.
“He came to Australia as a young teenager, built a life here and backed himself in business at a young age. I grew up seeing the courage it takes to start from very little and create opportunity through hard work.”
Vasili’s parents, Christine and George, were among the guests at Ethnolink’s 15-year anniversary celebration at Federation Square in Melbourne.
Founded as a small translation start-up, Ethnolink has evolved into an integrated multicultural communications agency spanning research and strategy, community engagement, creative, translation, in-language production, multicultural media and campaign distribution.
Recent projects include work for the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Queensland Reconstruction Authority, Cancer Council Australia and the Victorian Department of Education.
In 2024, Ethnolink acquired Sydney-based Language Professionals, a specialist language services agency with a 35-year history, expanding its national footprint and strengthening its in-language production capability.
As Ethnolink enters its next phase, Vasili said the agency is focused on national growth, expanded capability and further acquisitions.
“The next target is building Ethnolink into a $20 million agency, but growth only matters if it strengthens the impact we can make,” Vasili said.
“We want to build the strongest multicultural communications agency in the country while staying deeply connected to the communities we exist to serve.”
“Ethnolink exists to connect Australia through language,” Vasili said.
“As Australia becomes more diverse, that mission becomes even more important. We are proud of the first 15 years, and we feel the next chapter is where we can make our biggest impact.”
