On March 21, The Vertical announced the Immigrant Founders Report at ‘What moves the needle,’ an inaugural event held at Mindspace Wynwood in Miami.
The Vertical‘s 500-page Immigrant Founders Report will be the first in-depth examination of international talent in the U.S. venture ecosystem in over a decade.
The discussion panel that followed the announcement provided deep and authentic insights from immigrant entrepreneurs and key players in the local venture ecosystem.
Our speakers included: Shiri Sivan, Google.org Accelerator, Alejandra Winter, Cambridge Innovation Center,Julia Lucidi, Founder Tactics, Olga Ayo, Citizen Concierge.
‘What moves the needle’ was part of a series aimed at drawing attention to The Vertical‘s report initiative, with additional events scheduled in major U.S. cities.
The coming Immigrant Founders Report promises to offer invaluable insights into the untapped potential of immigrant entrepreneurs in the tech industry. The Vertical will air diverse techpreneur voices through feature articles, interviews, profiles, vlogs, and podcasts.
“There’s very little information about immigrant startup founders in the U.S. business landscape,” said Victoria Zavyalova, The Vertical’s publisher and co-founder.
“Insufficient data clouds a deep understanding of immigrant tech potential for investors and policymakers.
What are the best regions for immigrant startups to land?
What obstacles do they face, and what are their success rates?
We seek to better understand this market.”
Over the course of 12 months, a group of data scientists, journalists, experts and analysts will research and reveal valuable insights about the role and impact of immigrant-led startups within the U.S. startup ecosystem.
The Vertical will survey over 5,000 tech entrepreneurs and conduct nearly 500 one-on-one interviews with immigrant founders, investors, and key ecosystem players in innovation hubs across the U.S.
The research will cover:
- Emerging U.S. hubs and industries attracting immigrant techpreneurs;
- The impact of government policies on immigrant entrepreneurship;
- Challenges that female immigrant founders face in fundraising;
- Case studies on billion-dollar “unicorns” founded by immigrants;
- Disparities between immigrant and native-born founders;
…and more.
According to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), immigrants have started 55% of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion or more. Nearly 80% of billion-dollar ‘unicorn’ companies have foreign-born co-founders, CEOs, or VPs. Immigrants also founded or co-founded nearly two-thirds of the leading AI companies in the U.S.
‘What moves the needle’ was sponsored by Citizen Concierge, Delta Air Lines, Tell Friends, and others.
