We are building a real life language service marketplace. We are Italians, with strong accents. Sometimes I am under the impression that our non being native may be a competitive advantage, mostly in terms of broader perspective over language learning. I would test if positive correlation between strong accent and lower rates of achievement may primarily have something to do with trust, more than to the ability to get understood. Telling your story as a foreigner speaker is a relatively easy task. Convincing somebody you deserve credibility, even though you talk like a native 10 years old, is a whole different pair of shoes.