Community - The Vertical

Untouchables in Varanasi/Luisen Rodrigo, Flickr

India’s “untouchable” Dalits find liberation in American entrepreneurship

Dalits, the lowest caste in the Hindu hierarchy, are victims of thousands of attacks in India each year. In the U.S., Dalit immigrants are escaping discrimination from fellow Indians by creating their own businesses.

Protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in London/Alisdare Hickson

Brands who supported immigrants in 2020 and beyond

Immigration has become a hot topic during the last few years of the Trump administration. Many brands stood up to support immigrants with campaigns advocating for social change. Here are just a few companies that took up the cause in these dark times.

How Sikhs are living the great Indian trucking dream in the U.S.

- Community
- Immigration

In the 1980s, a large number of Sikhs fled a violent insurgency in their home state of Punjab for the U.S. They began their American careers in the trucking and logistics business, where many had worked before in India.

Entrepreneurs against dictatorship: Lukashenko’s regime hurts Belarusian-American founders

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

U.S. tech companies founded by Belarusians have long been a source of pride for Europe’s last dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Now, as entrepreneurs are challenging his 26-year-old rule, they are feeling the same pressure as everyone else. Silicon Valley startups have also taken a hit.

How South Indian classical music entrepreneurs make it in America

- Community

With Indian immigration rising in the U.S. over the last several decades, Carnatic music, a classical system associated with southern India, is thriving.

Black Men Talk Tech: Boris Moyston wants the world to listen

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

Last year, serial entrepreneur Boris Moyston launched a new conference, Black Men Talk Tech, focused on the contribution of people of color in the innovation economy. He is now looking to bring the event to Europe and Africa.

This Colombian music entrepreneur’s new project helps creatives find jobs

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

While discovering the New York music scene, Tomas Uribe, a composer and bass player from Colombia, realized that something was missing. He decided to create a tool for artists searching for new opportunities. Today, his platform, Stereotheque, has users from 277 cities and 38 countries.

From 9/11 to the pandemic: Italian restaurateur on feeding New Yorkers through the city’s most dramatic events

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

Sebastiano Cappitta has seen it all — celebrities, 9/11, city-wide blackouts. He moved to New York from Malta, created a restaurant empire, and sold almost all of it shortly before the pandemic. His remaining venue is now delivering free meals to healthcare workers.

The coronavirus is showing us which entrepreneurs matter

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

The owners of hair salons, bike shops and delis are stepping up to help their communities, all while wondering if they’ll make it.

This entrepreneur built tent floors after hurricane Katrina. Now he’s building a pop-up coronavirus hospital

- Community
- Entrepreneurs

State and federal governments and health systems across the United States are scrambling to find space to treat patients as coronavirus cases have quickly overwhelmed emergency rooms and ICUs.