Regardless of pricing, this is Windows/Internet explorer vs. Netscape all over. Easy to see Apple introduce features tied to Apple Music that Spotify can't because it doesn't have the same control over iOS
I have had a decent number of forms that would not allow me to enter my last name because it contains a space: De Kok. Apparently over the centuries americans coming from Europe would drop spaces. For instance Vanderbilt is a Dutch name, that stems from the original Van der Bilt (means from the Bilt, which is a Dutch city)
So now American programmers assume a space in a last name (or a dash for that matter) never happens so is an illegal condition that should cause validation to fail. I don't agree
The inertia of the US government on immigration in general and particular for startup founders is astonishing. Once a place like Vancouver or Berlin gets enough traction combined with money for investments, international founders will stop trying to get into SV
LinkedIn built its new iOS app completely in Swift. Only with Swift 2/Xcode 7 it seemed to be feasible, and then still required Mac Pros to compile everything
that mapping from routes to sites seems also great to be stored in a Memcached machine, as it is probably set once and then stays the same for months if not years. Memcached and MySQL is always a great combo
And you are limited by a 30 year old standard (IMAP) with an insane message format. Building a truly new email experience would require a new protocol as well.
In general I think no visa is compatible with startups. Even a relative simple H1B transfer takes months. All work visas are linked to an employer, and this is at odds with the fluid nature of startups
Europe is not that bad. Yes it is nice to earn $120k in Silicon Valley, but life is extremely expensive with $3500/m rent for a 1br apt. Get a job in my home town Amsterdam, earn $80k and spend only $1000 on an apartment. Uber moved its mobile engineering team there for a reason.
In general, the entrepreneurial scene is much smaller, but if you want to concentrate on SE Europe is fine.
Right now the best apps are still by far created with native code. The HTML champions have said for 5+ years that HTML is the future but we are not even close. Given that, I think it is safe to assume that the next 2-4 years native code will still win.
Awesome that you got the O1 without a lawyer, however I would recommend against it. Yes the amounts you quote are correct ($3-$8k) but compare that against your own cost of opportunity. Getting an RFE will set you back months. O1 is one of the most vague visas and it is important to work with someone that submits petitions for them on a regular basis
working on your US company, or your foreign company, is not allowed when you visit the US on a visa waiver. You are allowed to represent your foreign company, look for partners/customers, do marketing, visit conferences etc. But not be "productive"
No, as a founder you can forget to get a H1B visa, even 2 years in. Unless you have a legit board of directors and you can demonstrate you could potentially be fired, they will argue that you started the company to employ yourself and get yourself a visa that way.
One of my Dutch banks, a small investment bank, kicked me out because I am on a temp visa in the USA. This means I have to pay taxes here and therefore need to report my Dutch bank accounts with the IRS. They told me the US penalties for not reporting 100 % correctly on my money with them were so outrageous that they preferred to boot me.
It sounds like most of this abuse goes with employees that are here for a much shorter period than the visa is valid for (2 periods of 3 years for H1B). That is a clear indicator that they were here for only training purposes
Yeah, I also do not agree with this. While there is definitely a certain minimum, you are not going to be paid top dollar on an H1B. More importantly, you have way less leverage for salary negotiations, so as an immigrant you keep at the same salary for years.
Apple cares about your app if it displays unique features of their platform. So build a new Apple Watch app, use extremely nice design, integrate with HomeKit. Otherwise, they don't care
You have no idea what a pain the US visa process is. For instance, for regular employees your employer needs to obtain a H1B visa. There is a maximum of 85,000 a year, which is reached in one week for the last 3 years.
As a foreigner I can relate to your issues, and yes being from Egypt makes a massive difference.
Be aware that your visa petition will be evaluated by different agencies, namely USCIS and DHS. DHS will see if they want you to enter the country or deem you a danger and will deny you entry. So my tip, if you are serious about wanting to work in the USA is getting a tourist visa. This will trigger the DHS check. Then, visit the Bay Area, go to meetups and hackathons and meet people in person. Having entered the USA will make you seem less of a issue to get an J1 visa.
So Kleiner spent $972,815 on their defense. That is absurd amount of money, and I am sure Ellen Pao did not have those kind of funds. That also made it hard for her to win this case