Foreign Founders

Startup Founders Can Accelerate Their Fundraising with BoxsyElisabeth Bykoff went from aerospace engineering in France to building Boxsy, an AI-powered platform that helps startups scale operationally while connecting them with investors and ecosystem partners. In this episode, she shares her 20+ year journey in the US, the challenges of being a non-technical founder in AI, and why she believes the venture ecosystem needs more transparency on both sides.What You'll Learn:How to transition from services to product companies successfullyWhy taking calculated risks as an immigrant entrepreneur pays offThe evolution from "ops in a box" to agentic COO platformsHow AI is changing fundraising and startup operationsWhy VCs and startups both need more transparencyThe challenges of losing multiple CTOs as a non-technical founder⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Introduction: Meet Elisabeth Bykoff, Founder of Boxsy 02:30 - From French Aerospace Engineering to Seattle (Early Background) 05:45 - The Boeing Rejection: Pivoting from Engineering to Business 09:15 - 10 Years at PWC: Building Salesforce Practice and Getting Green Card 12:00 - Leaving Partnership Track: Jumping into Pre-IPO World with Aptus 15:30 - Key Learning: Services vs. Product Company Transition 18:45 - Series A Experience: From $290M Revenue to $1M ARR 21:20 - The Boxsy Origin: "Ops in a Box" Concept During COVID 24:15 - 2023 Validation Year: Patient Approach to Market Research 27:40 - The Pivot Discovery: Investors Want Transparency Too 30:45 - Current Focus: Fundraising Readiness and Investor Matching 33:30 - Target Market: VCs Managing 10-400 Portfolio Companies 36:20 - The Challenge: Losing Two CTOs Since July 2024 39:15 - Non-Technical Founder Reality: Lovable vs. Months of Development 41:25 - Future Predictions: More Solo Entrepreneurs, Hands-On VCs 44:30 - Book Discussion: "French Landing" - 20 Stories from 20 Years 47:15 - Healthcare Horror Stories: Why Pet Insurance Makes More Sense 49:45 - Optimistic Outlook: AI as the Next Internet-Level Breakthrough🔗 Connect with Elisabeth:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethbykoff/Read Her Book: "French Landing" (Available in audiobook, narrated by Elisabeth)Website: https://www.boxsy.io/🎯 About Boxsy: Boxsy is a unified platform helping founders raise faster and investors make smarter, data-backed decisions.#Entrepreneurship #AI #StartupOperations #Fundraising #VentureCapital #Immigration #TechFounder #BookLaunchEnjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Nestor Castillero went from having just $51 in his pocket to building Maera, a seven-figure company that helps global entrepreneurs launch US businesses. In this episode, he shares the raw truth about bootstrapping a business, the power of content marketing, and why US LLCs are game-changers for international founders.What You'll Learn:How to build a business with almost no capitalWhy US LLCs give global entrepreneurs massive advantagesContent marketing strategies that actually convertThe decision between bootstrapping vs. raising capitalHow to turn financial pressure into business momentum⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Introduction: Meet Nestor Castillero, Founder of Maera 02:30 - From Panama Lawyer to Wealth Management (Early Background) 05:45 - The Gold Fund Failure: Losing Everything and Starting Over 09:15 - The $51 Beginning: Birth of Maera in 2022 12:00 - First Customer: $899 from Peru and the Validation Moment 15:30 - Working 3 Jobs: Madrid Restaurant + Building Maera at Night 18:45 - The Green Card Approval and Move to New York 21:20 - Why LLCs Over Other Business Entities 24:15 - The 3 Key Benefits of US LLCs for Global Entrepreneurs 27:40 - Target Customers: Who Uses Maera's Services 30:45 - E-commerce and Amazon: Physical Products Strategy 33:30 - Content Marketing: The Free Customer Acquisition Strategy 36:20 - What Works vs. What Doesn't in Content Creation 39:15 - The Decision NOT to Raise Capital 41:25 - What Nestor's Optimistic About for the Future🔗 Connect with Nestor:Website: https://www.maera.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nestor-castilleroInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maerahq/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maerahq🎯 About Maera: Maera helps global entrepreneurs launch and grow US businesses with LLC formation, bank accounts, tax support, and more - all from anywhere in the world.#Entrepreneurship #BusinessFormation #ContentMarketing #Bootstrapping #GlobalBusiness #LLC #StartupStorySubscribe for more founder stories and business insights! 🔔Enjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Helping immigrants navigate life in the U.S.From Nepal to New York City, Liesel Vaidya is the co-founder and CEO of Imera, a venture-backed platform focused on expanding access and opportunity for immigrants. Liesel previously served as CTO of a digital health startup, where she built award-winning products that transformed access to care for survivors of sexual assault. Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, she understands firsthand the barriers immigrants face when building a life in a new country.00:00 Introduction and Background 01:06 Starting the First Company, and raising $9 million 02:51 Challenges and Lessons Learned 05:34 The Birth of a New Idea 09:52 Introducing Imera - bridging the knowledge gap for immigrants 14:02 Community Building and Partnerships 17:03 Future Vision and GoalsConnect with Liesel:Website: www.withimera.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lieselvaidyaEnjoy the episode!#ImmigrationTech #ForeignFounders #StartupStory #EntrepreneurshipJourney #ImmigrantSuccessIf you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Measure and manage all your ad campaigns with RedTrack.ioVlad Zhovtenko is the CEO and co-founder of RedTrack, the AI-driven analytics and automation platform for media buyers. He has been an active player in the digital advertising space since 2000, and has held multiple marketing and managing director roles in the industry. Beginning in 2008, Vlad worked as an independent consultant and advisor to companies seeking to improve their lead generation and ad tech, helping them create comprehensive digital sales and marketing strategies and establish relevant processes for sustained growth.He co-founded AdxGeeks in 2015, which provided programmatic media-buying solutions through a white-label DSP SaaS program, then co-founded RedTrack in 2019 to make digital marketing analytics & automation more accessible to SMEs and to help media buyers to make smarter decisions and easily scale campaigns for revenue growth.In this episode, Vlad shares his experiences:Fundraising for RedTrack over the course of 3 yearsAdvice on Fundraising in a competitive verticalBuilding for product market fit with Chess and Go as a frameworkLife and pace in LithuaniaFind Vlad Zhovtenko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhovtenko/Track, attribute, automate, and scale your advertising with RedTrackEnjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Secure your U.S. Green Card with Half the Investment through EB5 LoanNikin Tharan is the co-founder of Greencard Inc and EB5 Loan. Greencard Inc. is a startup dedicated to simplifying the process for high-skilled immigrants to obtain talent visas. Through a personalized program, Greencard Inc helps immigrants build and showcase their accomplishments to secure O1, EB1, and NIW visas. The EB5 Loan program offers foreign investors a direct path to U.S. permanent residency. While traditional applicants invest $800,000 in qualifying American job-creating projects, our innovative financing solution requires just $400,000 upfront - making your American dream accessible today.In this episode, we learn more about the EB5 program and EB5 Loan.Here’s how it works:The EB5 program requires an $800,000 investment.You invest $400,000 of your own funds.We connect you with a lending partner who provides the remaining $400,000 at a competitive ~5% interest rate.You repay the loan over time.This structure is purpose-built for talented professionals already in the U.S. on valid status (H1B, F1, etc.).Nikin himself is a recipient of the O1A visa (July 2020) and EB1A Green Card (July 2022), and his journey overcoming setbacks to obtain the Green Card is featured in the Amazon best-seller Unshackled.Connect with Nikin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntharan/Learn more about EB5 Loan: https://eb5loan.com/Work with Greencard Inc.: https://www.greencard.inc/Enjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Engage your fans with FanlistPat Cheung discovered his passion for audience building in 2011 while serving as Head of Product at EQAL, one of Los Angeles' first celebrity and influencer networks, where he designed a social platform driving fan engagement for over 40 influencers and 20 million monthly fan interactions. Currently the founder and CEO of Fanlist, a platform enabling podcasters to create fan pages for engagement and monetization, he has been a tech founder for over a decade with multiple successful exits. His love for technology, business, and podcasting is reflected in Fanlist, and as an avid podcast enthusiast, he's written three books sharing practical tips for podcasters to engage their fans.Pat took his experience building startups and his new role is to support founders in the Portland Metro Region. Through the Metro Hub, they provider mentorship, connections and mentorship.Born in Hong Kong and raised in Orange County, he now resides in Portland, Oregon.In the episode we talk about:Pat’s life growing up as immigrant from Hong KongHow he found entrepreneurship and tech through designHelping founders in the Portland Metro RegionIndustries that Portland, OR is exceptional at: outdoor apparel, food and bevPortland as the hub for bootstrapping foundersEnjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Watch The Flamingo Effect using TODAQ Micro’s technologyHassan Khan is a co-Founder and the CEO of TODAQ Micro, a fintech that enables instant micropayments for producers of movies, shows and documentaries that want a direct-to-consumer, frictionless, pay-as-you-do experience where they can control their customer relationship, control their content, and have better real-time monetization. Consumers and fans benefit from getting just what they want with one tap without requiring logins or subscriptions.He is also a co-founder of TODAQ Labs, a deeptech R&D lab that works with Cambridge University and ARM Technologies and has released new web application protocols and cryptographic technologies to enable open web microtransactions.In 2015, Hassan founded his first company, Quantius, a fintech lender which collateralized IP and intangibleassets to secure growth credit for knowledge rich SMEs. In 2019, Quantius placed third in the Canadian Hedge Fund Awards Private Debt category. The Quantius platform is now the Business Development Bank of Canada’s National IP Innovation Fund.He was a consultant with McKinsey & Company from 2009 to 2014 serving clients on digital transformation. Hassan’s background started as an Army Signals Officer with the Canadian Army. During his time in service he created integrated cryptographic capabilities for security and emergency response agencies to cooperate for security operations in the former Yugoslavia and the G8 Summit, disaster response for the British Columbia forest fires, and other activities.Hassan is a computer engineering graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada and completed his prior schooling at Upper Canada College in Toronto.In this episode we talk about:Hassan’s upbringing in Canada and joining the Canadian ArmySeeing the process of rebuilding after warCreating opportunities for small businesses in his first startupSupporting studios monetize their work and get paidHow TODAQ Micro created the first digital rental share systemAre you a studio interested in selling and renting your movies and TV show, while getting paid quickly? Work with TODAQ Micro.Enjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Learn more about how PolyGone Systems is removing microplasticsYidian Liu is the Co-founder and COO of PolyGone Systems and a Forbes 30 under 30 Fellow. PolyGone Systems is a Princeton University spinout cleantech company with a mission to remove microplastic pollutants from our waterways. Yidian was a trained designer with a Master’s degree in Architecture from Princeton University. Since 2021, Yidian and her team have won over $2.4M in grant awards and have successfully raised their pre-seed venture capital funding. On this episode, we’re covering everything microplastics from what it is to the Polygone solutions.In this episode we cover:Yidian’s journey from being an architect to wanting to solve the problems “below the surface”The truth about microplasticsHow PolyGone Systems startedPolyGone Systems WebsiteYidian Liu LinkedInEnjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

Try Ohai.ai - a personal assistant for your familySheila Lirio Marcelo is a Filipino-American entrepreneur with over 20 years of leadership experience in internet consumer marketplace businesses. She founded Care.com in 2006, taking the company public in 2014 and serving as Chairwoman and CEO until its sale to IAC in 2020. Currently, she is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ohai.ai, an AI technology startup aimed at improving family life. Marcelo has received numerous accolades, including being named on Forbes 50 over 50, recognized as one of Fortune’s “Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs,” and honored as a Henry Crown Fellow and Young Global Leader. She holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, a J.D. and M.B.A from Harvard University, and became the youngest recipient of the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award in 2014.This incredible conversation is worth listening to. We cover more about Sheila’s background as an immigrant founder, compared to her other interviews! Highlight include:Sheila mirroring her entrepreneurial mother from an early ageBeing insecure about starting her first companyWhy she decided to move on from Care.comStarting Ohai.ai to help more familiesEnjoy the episode!If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders