Immigrant entrepreneur creates 9 jobs, get kicked out of US
digg.com
digg.com
Real url: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/visa-problem-prevents...
Flagged, hoping a mod will change the url.
What is it like in Israel for startups? In theory his kind of internet startup could work from almost anywhere in the world. Since he is in Vancouver now, might as well bring in the tax dollars for Canada.
ps. what is with linking through Digg for this - and they are still framing sites?
The USA is like going to a store, filling up your cart, but just before you are about to checkout and make them money, they drag you out the door instead.
But the start was rough. Unless it's a one-person gig (and there aren't many of those out there) you need two things - bodies and money. The further you are away from metro areas the harder it is to find both - the people with the skills either left or are already working somewhere and the investors aren't multi-millionaires, they are angels with $10-20k each, sometimes $100k+.
It's possible though. That startup eventually sold but long after a more inferior competitor sold for a lot more which had more to do with their location (Cali, I think in the valley) than how well they functioned. And the company I was with sold for less than we thought it would and long after the window in which acquisition would have been ideal.
There's just no visibility outside of major (tech hub) metro areas. You don't get any buzz even if you are in magazines and the like, and you don't have the contacts that can really help you out. It's a major negative.
Pure (somewhat educated) conjecture: if that startup would've been in Seattle or Portland it would've sold much earlier and for much more than it did, maybe in year 6 instead of year 10. If in the Bay area I think it would've sold by year 3 instead of year 10.
Wouldn't be surprising at all if your competitor that was acquired was absorbed or shut down within a year. For the founders - sure, that's success - they had an exit. But how is this necessarily good for the long term economics of those businesses?
The original video story on this talked about all the jobs that 'high tech entrepreneurs' create. But how long do those jobs last? Sure, there's no such thing as a 30 year job for most people any more, but isn't this type of behaviour contributing or accelerating this trend?
Whether or not we were to get acquired, it was just tough to find quality employees and the money to pay them until sales went into the black. It took about 3 years to become solvent and even then that did help luring good programmers to Idaho.
Comparing the startup scene in Vancouver to the one in the Bay Area is like, well, comparing a basket of oranges to an entire orchard. Or a bunny hill to a black diamond run.
The level of acceptance for hackers, much less hacker-entrepreneurs, is worlds apart. There are numerous places in Canada that would proclaim the title of "Silicon Valley North", I've lived in almost all of them. None come remotely close.
If I knew anything about your country, language and culture, I'd probably give it a shot. You should use your situation to your advantage in my opinion. The asian culture is so foreign to us North Americans that it makes it nearly impossible for us to do business over there, yet, there's a huge opportunity.
I can very much understand that Israel's physical and cultural distance from SF can pose a problem. Do not underestimate the importance of being physically close to customers and partners - not to mention VCs.
If you start a start in Israel, you will be losing money because (quite like) there's an international boycott on Israeli goods.
You want to be where the action is, it maximizes your chances of success. Sure, you could attempt to run your startup from Milan, Barcelona or Marseille, but the amount of talent and opportunities for support are infinitesimal compared to what SF will have to offer.
If you're 100% determined to obtain success at any cost, it's worth packing your bags and leaving Peripherystan to come to the big city.
I'd question whether being in "the valley" really does increase your chance of success, and also question what's meant by 'success'. If you raise a few million in a first or second round, hire people, then close up shop 2 years later, was that a 'success'? That's probably easier to do out in CA, but if you define success as a longer-term sustainable organization, does being out there really make that much of a difference? Successful companies are built all over the place.
I have no doubt that the USA / SV is a great place to start a company, but why waste your life trying to satisfy government bureaucrats that you should be allowed in when there are plenty of other places that want you?
If you are European, you can move to any of the hubs like London or Berlin. They might not be as brilliant as SV, but they have their own advantages, and the key for an entrepreneur is to get down and make use of these advantages. Folks in the Persian Gulf (I am from Bahrain) can move to any of the hubs there like Dubai or Bahrain, and there are plenty of gaps in the market that an entrepreneur can fill by starting a company. And of course the BRIC countries have huge growth for their own nationals to ride.
So why go through the headaches of government immigration?
(PS I am really sorry for entrepreneur that this story describes. I just hope fewer people have to go through that fate.)
I always want to say 'OK, I get it, you don't want me here, sorry for trying to do business with your citizens'. But of course I just shut up and smile for the camera.
The immigration thing definitely sucks, but other things probably make up for it. You're probably underestimating the good parts of living in the US, especially from the point of view of someone who comes from a poorer country or, in some cases, for an entrepreneur who lives in a developed country but doesn't have access to places like Silicon Valley and NY.
Also note that, with the possible exception of Canada and Australia, most other developed countries are at least as restrictive as the US regarding immigration from developing countries.
I'm from Brazil, which is considered one of the leading countries among the "emergent" countries. Yes, things have been improving in the last 20 years. But it still sucks. For instance, consider that the GDP per capita in Brazil is still far lower than places like Portugal and Greece, which are not exactly booming. In fact, there's a significant number of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal even though they're not exactly welcoming us with open arms.
In another area: half of slums in Rio are now dominated by drug gangs, and the other half by paramilitary militias. One of those militias recently killed a judge. A state congressman had to flee the country due to death threats from militias. I'll take your bureaucratic nightmares anytime. ;-)
I also found article a bit biased, in the sense that it does not give proper detail about his visa status and in what terms he was allowed to the country and why he was asked to leave. Article is emotional.
I think the biggest merit of starting a company in US is the aura of credibility it gives. The other is the huge market size. Ask this question yourself, would you be willing to give your credit card number to a (for no particular reason) Hungarian or an Israeli company or to a company from US? How much sense of security do you feel?
Of course, ventura capital and startup culture in US is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world.
The US is really good at advertising.
Not only are people being denied the opportunity to create jobs in the US, but US money is following them out of the country. Not a good combination, right?
If you're interested in helping out, crowdsource a few calls to the House to collect staffer information, to 10x our advocacy effectiveness, here is a call script (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H5S8SZjA2SSDUGfQxKV4isjd...) and spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?authkey=CIeunIEE&...)
I just wanted to say that I don't blame folks if they decide the U.S. is not the place to be. God knows I hope to be able to do some of my pro-migrant work from Guatemala someday. At the same time I wanted to tell people that there is a way to fight this messed up system which DREAMers (undocumented youth who only know the U.S. as their home) have paved the way for.
It will be a long time before Congress fixes this mostly because debates over the immigration system have nothing to do with rationality, they have mostly to do with the contentious subject of what it means to be an 'American,' where xenophobic ideas certainly play a large role. In the meantime, though, there are administrative things that can be done through Obama administration if you fight hard enough for them and embarass them enough. I'm certain, for example, that this entrepeneur will be fine after this article for instance (he's also lucky he's dealing with USCIS and not ICE).
I'm just writing this all out in case there are folks out there who are willing to give coming here to the U.S. a shot and taking on fixing this broken immigration system in addition to creating companies. If all the good folks leave, this problem will never get fixed. And if it looks like your against the wall, there's a good network of pro-migrant activists like me that will fight for you to resist and stay.
Personally I am guessing that the education they receive is as bad on the subject of economics as it is here and the people really just assume that those who come from the outside is out to get what they have. This wouldn't be so bad when the economic times are good, but when they are bad (or perceived to be bad, historically they are ridiculously good) people becomes less willing to talk to, and help, strangers.
xenophobia means fear of foreigners or strangers, and as such has nothing to do with race or religion per se.
Surely he is not just another one of the uneducated, unwashed masses that America fears so much from its immigrants?
I simply don't understand why productive, educated, intelligent people are ever turned away. These people will find opportunities elsewhere - and make some other country more powerful in exchange.
There was time when you would give your kidney to be in the USA - what Americans need to wake up and realize that that day has passed. The US is still a very valuable place to be, particularly for a tech entrepreneur, but the advance in the rest of the world over the past two decades has been even more dramatic. The US is unquestionably losing its edge, and IMO there is more justification than ever for a (finally) sane immigration policy.
Yes, it is. Are you suggesting that more than half of the world's population wouldn't move to the US if doing so was a reasonable option for them?
Seriously - for most people, being poor in the US would be a huge step up. (As someone put it, almost every "Occupy" protestor is in the 1% on a world-wide basis.) And they're pretty sure that they would do better than the worst.
"One of the 20 Hot Silicon Valley Startups You Need to Watch"
Assuming the US has an intake quota and that intake quota is divided between reasons for immigration, then proponents of the Startup Visa are petitioning that other seekers of asylum or immigration take a back seat. I absolutely support this to an extent, but do we want them to deny all non-tech immigrants for every kid with a website?
At what point does a startup deserve to take someone else's place in the queue. And I'm well aware that politicians hate to concede there's a queue, but of course there is.
The argument is that sweat equity should be equivalent in some way to cash money investment, which is what the EB-5 represents.
I know Amit and how hard working he is and am very thankful this was resolved so quickly. At the same time, I hope it grows into something more than just a lone media frenzy-induced example. If the US is to stay competitive, it needs to reconsider its immigration policies. (Full disclosure: I am a foreigner myself).
The desperate unskilled have far less to lose if they are caught so are more willing to take the chance.
The US is unbeatable in one thing, though: you can find almost anything you want at prices much lower than any other countries. That's an important advantage no matter what industry you're in, or heck, even for everyday life.
It's not like he'd get deported even if he got arrested, sure as hell wouldn't happen in California. Just continue working and have your lawyers stall and get the Visa stuff handled. You won't be able to travel outside the states and then come back in until your paperwork is done but that shouldn't be a huge problem in the internet world we live in. Or have an investor sponsor you at one of their (most likely many) companies so you have a valid job that the government can't complain about.
To be fair, the government is only going by what they know. If anyone could go created an LLC, call themselves CEO and be free to work here then everyone would do it. Most likely he didn't keep up with his visa paperwork and this is the result.
However, these recent changes open the door for H1-B and EB-2 visas as founders: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f... Vivek Wadhwa is hopeful that adjudicators will shortly be much friendlier to founders applying for visas, as long as they have a board set up and are funded.
Have you read the requirements of an E2 Investor Visa? You have to:
* Set the company up (register your C-Corp/LLC, etc)
* Invest/put a large amount of money at risk
* Employ staff
BEFORE you apply for the visa itself.