The Vertical

How to find a perfect co-founder? Sometimes, an ideal match could be someone quite the opposite of you. The founders of Kandor, a marketplace helping #internationalstudents apply to graduate programs in the U.S., have never met in person. Navdeep Singh, Horlenko Alexander, Mayank Patidar and their team are split across three continents: the U.S., India, and Ukraine. How did they build their product amidst war and across different time zones? Navdeep told me communication was key to overcoming these obstacles. He communicates every single action with his team. The founders’ expertise and personalities complement each other well. Navdeep brings passion and ideas, while Alex Horlenko contributes top-notch engineering skills and a structured approach. “He’s a perfect partner for me because he’s very calm,” Navdeep said. “I am the excited one, and Alex is logical.” Check out Kandor’s full story. Link in comments. #Indianentrepreneur #ukrainiantech

Aditi Bhargava Tandon Tandon, an expert at building teams and connections, has both personal experience and a front-row seat to the challenges of fitting in while growing a business. She shares her networking tips as an immigrant founder and a talent advisor. 

Reflecting on some wise words from Vlada as she said [in similar words] during our panel discussion: "I would rather be recognized an equal and capable entrepreneur than as a token woman entrepreneur". This rings a bell to me at many levels on how my grandma, mom and sister have led their lives as strong, independent, highly capable and inspiring women. There were several occasions during our xPub journey when my Cofounder Pallavi turned down opportunities because she found it very condescending to have a spot for her as a token woman and not as an equal who happens to be a woman. If you have missed us at NY Tech Week by A16Z, here's (in comments) a sweet article by The Vertical on our panel discussion.

Six years ago founders of Welltory, a stress management app, relocated to distant parts of the world to focus on their product. Today, Welltory has nine million users and $14 million in revenue. How did they do it?

Last event of the week The Vertical

Author Spotlight! Meet Jessica Starks, a valued contributor to The Vertical. Jessica brings authenticity, honesty, and emotion to her coverage, whether she's reporting on #VC funds supporting #immigrantfounders or international #startups relocating to the U.S. A Mississippi native, Jessica is a multi-talented entrepreneur, blogger, professional writer, and the author of The Lynching Calendar and Strolling With Stories: Tales From Horsepen. Mud & Magnolias Magazine named her one of the most influential women in Northeast Mississippi in 2017, and in January 2020, she was honored as one of the Top 50 Black Businesswomen in Mississippi. When she’s not working, Jessica enjoys volunteering and engaging in community activities, as well as reading, writing, cooking, and spending time with her family. Check Jessica's stories, links in comments. #womenentrepreneur

Super excited to let you know about our upcoming event, The Vertical "SALES & EXITS", tailored to dedicated #internationalfounders who are looking to expand & sell their businesses 📈 🚀 We are delighted to announce our partnership with with a16z Tech Week 😀 Teaming up with Grow Global Strategy, we're bringing you top-notch experts in business, sales, and scaling. Mark your calendars for June 6th @ NY hashtag #TechWeek! Don't miss out, register NOW. Link in the comments below.

Many #internationalfounders in the U.S. hesitate to express their voices on LinkedIn. Skylar Steudter, an expert in personal branding, pinpoints top 5 mistakes that hinder immigrant entrepreneurs from building their digital presence. Here's one: Thinking your story isn’t worth sharing. Everyone has a story to tell, especially if you’re an #immigrant, a #founder, or both. Just sit down and ask yourself, “What parts of my journey would have helped me if I’d known them before?” Don't miss Skylar's article. Link in comments.

First or second generation immigrants 🌟 built 62% of  of U.S. and UK #unicorns — companies worth over one billion dollars, according to a new study by DeFiance Capital. Contrary to popular belief, the stereotypical founder 😉 archetype — white, male, local, Ivy League-educated — was actually a rarity, constituting only 11% of cases. Only 28% of “underdog founders” had raised capital from a top #VC seed fund (with more than 1% market share). Outside of SV Links Angels (6.4%) and Y Combinator (10%), no other VC fund got into more than 2.8% (Sequoia Capital) of unicorns. Link in comments!

Many thanks to our sponsor Citizen Concierge LLC for sharing this video capturing some wonderful moments from our event last week! Olga Ayo #immigrantentrepreneurship