Starting a Business in College: How a Grace Entrepreneurship Major Built a Nationally Recognized Startup

When entrepreneurial management major Lucas Fonseca arrived at Grace College from Chile in 2016, he knew he wanted to make the most of his education. He had no idea that a simple idea would grow into a company changing lives across the Midwest.

Fonseca founded Language Matters during his sophomore year with a simple conviction: language shouldn’t be a barrier to opportunity. 

Seeing Systemic Gaps

As he transitioned to the States, he became aware of situations in which limited English proficiency led to struggles with finding jobs, accessing resources, or even scheduling a doctor’s appointment. Starting a business in college wasn’t necessarily on his radar at first, but surrounded by professors who encouraged him to leverage his entrepreneurial management major to find solutions, Fonseca decided he would do whatever was necessary to meet these needs.  

What started as tutoring and English instruction for Spanish speakers in northern Indiana quickly revealed a bigger problem. Fonseca noticed that while individuals could learn English over time, there were urgent, structural gaps in how communities served their non-English-speaking residents. 

“It wasn’t just about helping one person with English homework,” Fonseca explained. “It was about entire systems that weren’t set up to communicate with everyone who lived there.”

Just months after Fonseca graduated in 2020, COVID-19 exposed those systemic gaps. Local governments scrambled to share critical health and safety information with residents — but many lacked the tools to reach families who didn’t speak English. That’s when Fonseca and his team, comprised of many of his fellow Grace students, stepped in. By developing translation systems, hotlines, and cultural awareness training for municipalities, Language Matters helped bridge the gap during a crisis. The urgency of the pandemic clarified the company’s broader mission: equipping cities to connect with all their residents, regardless of language.

Testifying Before U.S. Commissioners

The model proved both scalable and transformative. Today, Language Matters partners with municipalities such as Warsaw, Logansport, Marion, and Muncie; companies like Dollar General; and statewide organizations, including Accelerate Indiana Municipalities and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Fonseca and his team provide services ranging from translation and interpretation to leadership training and community engagement strategies.

For Fonseca, however, the work has never been about business contracts. It’s about the stories behind the numbers, like the hotline call in Warsaw that connected a domestic abuse victim with legal and police support, or the excitement of two young boys who recognized the company’s logo on his hoodie and shouted, “Language Matters!” For him, these moments reflect the heart of the company’s mission.

Fonseca’s efforts have garnered regional and even national recognition. He was named a KEDCO Rising Leader in 2021 and received the Rising Latino Star award from the Indiana Latino Institute in 2023. He has testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, presented to the Indiana Conference of Mayors, and trained hundreds of civic leaders across the state on language access and cultural awareness. His achievements have also landed him in Marquis Who’s Who, earned him a place on the shortlist for Forbes’ 30 Under 30, and resulted in him being named CCCU Young Alumni of the Year. 

Creating a National Model

Despite these accolades, Fonseca remains grounded in his identity as a servant leader. He often points back to the formative years at Grace, where professors and mentors encouraged him in his early days of starting a business in college. 

“Grace gave me a space to dream big, but also the accountability to follow through,” he reflected. 

Whether sitting in classes for his entrepreneurial management major, serving in campus ministry, or brainstorming with friends late at night, the Grace environment played a formative role in shaping his leadership today.

Running a startup has not been without challenges. Fonseca has faced the uncertainty of scaling a business, the strain of meeting both client expectations and community needs, and the pressure of innovating in uncharted territory. Yet each obstacle has deepened his conviction. 

“This isn’t just about my story,” he said. “It’s about the people who gain access, the communities that become more connected, and the future leaders we’re training to carry this mission forward.”

Seven years in, Fonseca’s vision reaches beyond Indiana. “We want to be a national model,” he said. “Every city should have systems to connect with non-English-speaking residents. When we remove barriers, we don’t just solve problems — we create opportunities for entire communities to thrive.”

What began as one entrepreneurial management major’s idea at Grace College has evolved into a movement reshaping how cities serve their residents. And for Lucas Fonseca, the work is only just beginning.

Discover more about Grace’s entrepreneurial management major and read about the Gordon Center for Enterprise Development and the opportunities it affords students starting a business in college.