San Diego Founder Institute graduate Pablo Ambram, an Argentine native and founder of Agent Piggy, was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal to discuss the topic of a foreigner’s ability to successfully found a startup in the United States. After Ambram completed the Founder Institute in 2009 on a 6 month tourist visa, he had all the right tools to launch his company, including prominent contacts, an expansive network of mentors and colleagues, and a relentless desire for success.
Regardless of one's qualifications, U.S. policies are less than amiable for foreign entrepreneurs aspiring to build a company, so in lieu of fighting the system, Ambram took to the South and set up camp in Santiago, Chile where he has since raised $300,000 and hired four employees. The article goes on to discuss incubators similar to the Founder Institute and the mobility budding entrepreneurs have within the global market.
Some have undeniably creative solutions to the issue, particularly that of PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who proposed launching a cruise ship 12 miles off the coast of San Francisco filled with international entrepreneurs eager to establish companies in the U.S. market. There have also been suggestions to provide visas through venture capital or have entrepreneurs raise money for the visas to launch businesses themselves. Either way, regardless of what solutions are implemented, it is still unfortunate that driven and successful entrepreneurs like Pablo are not able to operate out of their desired market.
Click here to read the full article on the Wall Street Journal.
Pablo Abram is a graduate of the San Diego Founder Institute. If you or someone you know could benefit from expert training and feedback to launch a technology startup in the San Diego or Orange County area, then click here to apply today. The deadline for early applications is Sunday, September 23rd.
