Victoria Zavyalova

Venture funding for the first quarter of 2024 was the second-lowest period since early 2018, according to Crunchbase. Nevertheless, these international startup outliers are bullish about their prospects for expansion in the U.S.  Robovision: Labor shortages as an opportunity In early April, Belgian AI computer vision startup Robovision raised…

The “Unicorn Founder DNA Report” by Defiance Capital studied the ‘DNA’ of 845 unicorns and 2,018 unicorn founders, focusing on the U.S. and U.K. from 2013 to 2023.  According to the results, only 21% of immigrant and female founders raised funds from top 10 VCs. At the same time,…

Join our initiative to lead the conversation on immigrant entrepreneurs in tech. The Vertical’s Immigrant Founders 500-page report will be the first comprehensive publication on immigrant entrepreneurship in the U.S. in over a decade.  To get more info, provide your contact information below: Through 12 months of…

By the time Olga Ayo arrived in Miami to study international arbitration, she had three MA degrees from the EU and spoke five languages fluently. “I had wanted to be a lawyer since I discovered a criminal code book in my parents’ cabin at the age of eight,” she…

The list of brands that have at some point sourced from supply chains using forced labor is endless. According to reports, among the offenders were household names such as Nike, Apple, Amazon, Kraft Heinz Co., Google, Microsoft, Zara, Coca-Cola, and many others. Miami-based entrepreneur Déborah Wanza knows the issue all…

When Sam Jean was a toddler, his parents moved from Haiti to New York in search of a better life. He stayed behind with his grandmother.  Three years later, once his parents settled, Sam finally reunited with them in the U.S. Later, the family moved to Massachusetts. Sam only…

3 Strategies in Surviving the 2024 AI Hype Cycle. Startups that are now jumping into the AI gold rush will most likely fall victim to the hype and eventually crash. As we head into 2024, what can founders learn from the tech bubbles of the past in order to…

Pinar Seyhan Demirdag, co-founder, Seyhan Lee Back in 2018, Pinar Sayhan Demirdag, a creative technologist of Canadian-Turkish heritage, found herself at the frontline of the AI revolution. As an artist, she had a chance to work with Google, where she learned how technology could disrupt creative industries through picture-based…

Barr Moses, founder and CEO, Monte Carlo As an 18-year old commander in the Israeli air force, Barr Moses learned early in her career that information is power. She led a data intelligence unit made of other young soldiers. There, Barr also gained her first management experience. “I quickly…

After three years in Miami, Jorge is moving back to Mexico City. The co-founder of a LatAm software company says, “There’s too much competition here: many companies offer outsourcing to LatinX developers. Also, the rent is insane.” In the beginning of Florida’s hot summer season, the mood among recent…

Jeni Mayorskaya, founder and CEO, Stork Club  As a young entrepreneur in her early 20s, Jeni Mayorskaya was diagnosed with two reproductive disorders, PCOS and endometriosis. At the time, she lived in Russia, her home country. Instead of receiving quality medical help, Jeni got questionable advice from her doctor:…

Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, CEO and co-founder, Samooha Kamakshi sold her previous startup, Drawbridge, to LinkedIn in 2019. She negotiated the deal from the hospital bed, where she was giving birth to her daughter. LinkedIn acquired the company for just under $300 million.  Her new venture, Samooha, helps enterprises share data…

Malobi Achike, founder and CEO, DEI Directive: “On Blackout Tuesday after George Floyd’s murder, things crystallized for me.” Malobi Achike was born in Nigeria, grew up in Malaysia, and migrated to the U.S. in the early 2000s. When COVID-19 hit, she had two young children, ages six and three. …

Until recently, Central Asia remained a blank spot on the world’s tech map. However, as startup infrastructure develops in the region, increasing numbers of local entrepreneurs are aiming to launch their solutions in the U.S. and globally.  Victoria Zavyalova  As Borat would say, Kazakhstan is “very nice.” But it’s…

The 18-year old gunman Salvador Ramos who fatally shot 19 children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, claimed to be a victim of bullying. In the fourth grade, classmates teased him over his stutter, clothing, and haircut. But Ramos is not unique. According to a study by the University…

Elohor Thomas, co-founder at an online talent marketplace for developers, says U.S. businesses are still surprised to discover tech talent from Africa. But software engineering is the continent’s newest and most valuable resource, she believes.  According to Africa Developer Ecosystem Report, in 2021 the continent’s developer community grew by…

Ksenia Yudina, the founder of a FinTech startup helping parents save for their children, moved to the U.S. in her early 20s and put herself through college. After graduating with an MBA, she found herself with three kids and $180,000 in debt. Since then, Yudina built a career in…

Although at least one third of U.S. tech startups were launched by immigrant entrepreneurs, these founders are often overlooked at the investment stage.  Every year, thousands of immigrant founders launch their businesses in the U.S. They pitch to investors in hopes of raising capital, only to realize cultural…

When Russia invaded Ukraine, many tech companies were caught up in the chaos — and now they’re dealing with the fallout. Some U.S. startups, too, became unlikely casualties of war.   While the Ukrainian developers of an NYC-based startup were building street barricades, their app was being removed from…

Nine years ago, at a hearing loss convention in Providence, RI, immigrant angel investor and entrepreneur Joe Duarte came across a new technology for captioning phone calls. “It was the best I had ever seen,” he said. Joe, who received his first hearing aid at age four, has spent years…