The Vertical

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

SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT! Meet Olga Ayo, an attorney turned #startupfounder who challenges status quo with technology. Here's just a glimpse into her story -- learn more from Olga TODAY, March 21 at our event @ Mindspace Wynwood. By the time Slovakia-born Ayo arrived in Miami to study international arbitration, she had three MA degrees from the EU and spoke five languages. However, life took a dramatic turn after her graduation. She gave birth to her daughter and found herself navigating parenthood alone, with no immigration status or income. “I didn’t even have a work permit,” she said. “I only had myself, the newborn, and a dog. Then COVID hit and made things even worse.” Several immigration attorneys with whom she consulted couldn’t offer an acceptable solution. While lawyers rarely picked up her calls they promptly sent invoices for billable hours. Exhausted by the experience, Olga decided to do things her way. She succeeded, against the odds. This experience motivated her to establish her own legal practice Citizen Concierge LLC. Olga’s hands-on approach to learning and problem-solving serves as an inspiration to others. One of her daughter’s nannies became a paralegal and joined Ayo’s firm.  “She is also an immigrant, very smart and educated, but couldn’t find work,” Olga said. “I knew my nanny, Alejandra, has the capacity to learn so I started training her.” Recently, Olga developed new software to simplify the visa application process for straightforward family immigration cases. “People are pretty scared of the U.S. immigration," she said. "They’ve heard horrific stories, but a small portion of clients are brave enough to file for themselves.” Her another startup is a marketplace connecting security service providers and users. It's still a work in progress, but once the app is developed, it will be able to deliver security service in two clicks. P.S. Olga is speaking at The Vertical event at Mindspace. Registration link is in comments below. #immigrationattorney #miamitech #womenshistorymonth