Entrepreneurs 4 | The Vertical

From busboy to millionaire: How this Bangladeshi immigrant made his big break in the U.S. restaurant industry

Lunchbox founder Nabeel Alamgir has worked his way up from bussing tables at a fast food chain to being featured on Forbes’s ‘30 Under 30’ list and securing $20 million in VC funding.

Clubhouse co-founder Rohan Seth. Credit: Rohan Seth/Twitter

How Indian American Clubhouse co-founder Rohan Seth started a global audio revolution

Launched in April 2020, the audio-only app Clubhouse now has more than 10 million weekly active users around the world. Its success has led to Twitter introducing Spaces, Spotify launching Greenroom, and Facebook announcing live audio rooms. Despite the Clubhouse boom, few users are aware that one of the app’s co-founders, Rohan Seth, was born in India and raised in its capital city, Delhi.

Joseph Lee (left) and Joe Duarte, co-CEOs, InnoCaption. Credit: InnoCaption

Hear me out: Technology developed by two immigrant entrepreneurs serves 10,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans

Joe Duarte, a Portuguese-American entrepreneur with hearing loss, made it his life’s mission to empower those like him. Together with Joseph Lee, a former engineer at Samsung, he developed technology to make phone calls easier for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. During the pandemic, their app, called InnoCaption, saw a record 65 percent growth in active users.

Hoppers & curry. Photo by Broken Simulacra. Source: Flickr

Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs bring taste of home to NYC’s Staten Island

Demand for spices, curry powder, and the taste of home Sri Lankans crave has kept Staten Island’s restaurants and groceries afloat during the pandemic.

How South Asian women are breaking into the U.S. entrepreneurship scene

Entrepreneurship, especially for women, has traditionally been shunned as “risky” in South Asian culture, but times have changed. A new generation of immigrant women business leaders is rising in the U.S.

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.

Great Escape to Florida: Is Miami a new destination for international entrepreneurs?

With its warm weather, lack of state income tax, and low coronavirus restrictions, Miami is the latest destination for investors and tech executives. Could the city become an alternative to New York and Silicon Valley?

Four international entrepreneurs who made 2020 a little less terrible

Although 2020 turned out to be a difficult year in many different ways, things could have been worse without technology keeping us connected, masks protecting us from infection and, finally, vaccines that brought us hope. Here are just a few international entrepreneurs helping to improve our lives in the pandemic.

Could COVID-19 be an opportunity for international startups in New York?

For years, international founders invested heavily in U.S. expansion. Now, New York, one of their top destinations, has been hit hard in the pandemic. How is the city’s global startup ecosystem dealing with the challenges?

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

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.

Pitching in the time of corona: How to succeed on Zoom

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the traditional ways in which businesses raise investment and acquire new clients. Although tech savvy founders are likely to have adjusted quickly, online communication isn’t always easy. How can you make the most of this time?

Are immigrant entrepreneurs left behind by small business aid?

The pandemic eliminated 36 percent of immigrant small-business owners, according to reports. Although the Paycheck Protection Program supported some entrepreneurs, most said their experience has been nothing but frustrating.

How American entrepreneurs are making India great again

In the pre-COVID-19 era, a common sound at a Mumbai Starbucks was a loud American accent. U.S. citizens with Indian backgrounds are returning to their motherland, and technological prowess is moving back with them.

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

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

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.

This tech enthusiast helps Latinx businesses in the U.S. transform their digital presence

Colombian-born entrepreneur Rosario Casas launched a free-of-charge support program for her compatriots in the U.S. to help them move their businesses online.

Visas on hold: What’s next for international entrepreneurs?

In the midst of the pandemic, many foreign entrepreneurs have been experiencing visa application delays. The situation is improving, but the U.S. approach to immigration could become far more punitive.

“In the US, people expect you to be confident”: Irish entrepreneur Feargal O’Sullivan talks the art of sales

Feargal O’Sullivan runs an outsourcing sales firm focused on international fintech startups. Early this year, his company, USAM Group, hit the five-year mark. Since launching, O’Sullivan has matched hundreds of US financial institutions with dozens of new tech solutions.

How Chloe Vichot founded Fresh Bowl, bringing fresh vending machines across NYC.

In 2019, Chloe Vichot’s restaurant Ancolie evolved into Fresh Bowl, a tech startup. While Ancolie sold sustainable lunches served in mason jars, her new startup plans to set up 100 fresh vending machines in the following year.

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

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.