Just as language and culture binds a people, the internet binds communities. A web company that aims to bind both individuals and groups is City Amigo Limited. It's an international network of community web sites that enables ex-pats to settle in a new city. Its first portal londonAmigo.com, a site where expats in London can find, in their native language, information and advice on London products and services, launched four months ago.

Since then the London website has not gone unnoticed. In June of this year it was nominated for the UK catalyst Awards, prizes for social technology companies. More recently, it was also nominated for a First Tuesday Award, a prize for the Uk's most Innovative Internet Company.

A good reason to catch up with its co-founder and director Yuri Bacas Hosaka.

An expat herself, being half Spanish-half Japanese while living in London, Yuri trained as a designer,  worked several years in project management for IT software development for sporting events, and worked as an international project manager for mobile TV.

We asked her:

1. How did you come up with the idea of your start-up?

After living in the UK for several years I kept receiving calls from relatives and friends (friends of friends, neighbours...) seeking for advice about moving to London. I realised there was a lack of practical information for foreigners coming to London. And specifically, information in their own language.

Tired of working in corporations and having a serial entrepreneur father, I thought I could give it a go at creating my own company. I talked to an ex-client of mine, Gerald Speers, who has extensive knowledge of IT and setting up businesses and we decided to partner for CityAmigo Limited.

I wanted to become some kind of "godmother"  for all the Spaniards moving to London. And eventually the idea developed to other nationalities and worldwide.

I also took notice of this wave of new nomads: professionals and students who choose to move to different countries in search of career progression and new experiences. The web (email, Facebook, etc) is a tie that binds these people. But finding yourself a foreigner in a new city, perhaps speaking a different language, can be an extremely trying period in your life.

There were no specialised portals (except for forums) designed to provide resources and information for foreigners needing to do life's basic tasks like opening a bank account, getting a National Insurance number, getting a driving license or a mobile phone. CityAmigo is a centre of resource for new nomads until they get settled, and then they might move again and make use of another of our sites in a new city.

2. What was your biggest challenge during the development process and how can other start-ups learn from that?

Planning: Don't do anything until you have a really good idea of what you are trying to achieve. Then make sure you set realistic goals (and stick to them!)

Make sure that you not only do an extensive research on the market you are going to get into (which sounds obvious but can be harder than you think). But also, you need to understand all the legal and financial requirements (for which I highly recommend paying for the services of knowledgeable lawyer and accountants) to set up a businesses and forecast your future expenses.

Coming up with a very detailed business plan, despite how tedious it can be, is very very helpful. The reason why is to set up deadlines, goals and understand what exactly you need to do, when and with what resources.

Think of the possible scalability of the businesses as it may be helpful when planning the technology development (or any other aspects of the company) - having to extend, fix or re-do something in the future may be costly or frustrating. And may set you back when you need to move forward.

Being impatient is really not very helpful. This is different to being resolute or ambitious. If anything, having a business partner that compliments you (personality ways and skill ways) can be the best thing you could do for your start-up to work out.

3. Where do you want your company to be in 5 years?

In 5 years we are aiming to have our portals in most of the major cities across the world.  We have a roll out plan and are in the process of doing a round of funding to make that happen. We have bedded down the technology and CityAmigo will hopefully be franchised across the world, for different cities and in different languages. So for instance, the LondonAmigo site could be useful in many different languages, including Polish, Spanish, French or German. We have recently sold the rights to the Turkish version of www.LondonAmigo.com. The logical next step is NYAmigo and from there we hope to expand into all major cities of the world - much like how Craig's List has a site for all major cities.

4. What is a 'to watch' company that you like?

I like companies that adapt to new ways of living. The way we work is changing with less and less people wanting to worj 9-5 working in an office after a horrible commute. Nowadays many people look for flexible work to dedicate the spare time to study or spend more time with their families. This is why I like the idea of peopleperhour.com [ a website where businesses post projects for temporary staff].  It allows businesses to obtain the best quotes and also allows professionals to work at a convenient time and rate.

I think this start-up is already going fantastically well and can expand world wide easily.

5. What makes a successful community social network?

We like to think of LondonAmigo.com as a Community Social Network.  Existing social networks are based on your friends or your peers, even community forums are based on small geographic localities.  We are creating a new type of social network, one that is based around the idea that the fundamental basis for a community is shared cultural references and language. What brings a community together is a sense of belonging - especially in an alien environment.  Our community members are abroad and need some form of social bonding and a common frame of social reference. LondonAmigo.com offers this.

Another thing I think is important is that every community has its own quirks and requirements so having a member of that community actively involved in making that social network happen is a good combination for success. With LondonAmigo.com we have made sure we have members of the community actively involved in the design and delivery of the tools and information we offer.

Our network is a social network with a purpose. It's a resource for that social network to use and a trusted place for you to turn to for information, advice, knowledge and a sense of community.  As it says on the box "It's your friend in a new city".