After spending about three years working as a Software Engineer at Apple and then Snapchat, I quit my job to pursue my own startup. I ran my startup Hype AR for about a year before I decided to sunset it and take up a job at Facebook.
When we were bootstrapping, I and my co-founder were sitting with an RFE (Request for further evidence) in front of us that the USCIS had sent us on the very same day we were leaving our full-time jobs. But having possibly taken all the calculated risks we did up until this point, the RFE seemed like a joke more than a roadblock. For those who are not sure what an RFE is, it is basically a document asking for further evidence to prove that you deserve to be in the country.
Being an entrepreneur is already challenging and top it with all the immigration issues — it feels almost impossible. It is just so ironic that a country made by immigrants and a country that strived on entrepreneurship has made this process so tough, nevertheless, there is still plenty of support for immigrant founders!
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur stuck in your visa but have a great idea, team or just want to do your own thing then here are some lessons I learnt from my own startup experience being an immigrant:
- Work on your idea till you bootstrap it fully and are sure of it
Great ideas are not born in a night. It takes a lot of time to figure out the exact problem and the feasibility of your solution. Most ideas get shot down early, which is why people say 99% of startups fail.
Think things into existence and work till you believe it.
Look for traction in various ways. Start with your mom, talk to your friends, then post on the internet and observe trends. Once you have done some level of validation almost to a point where someone is asking you for pricing, that is probably the best time to quit and start working on your own.
Remember that startups are not a sprint but a marathon. It is good to sprint and get there quickly and fail, however if you truly want to be successful you have to be in it for the long haul and come prepared regardless of the outcome.
2. Get angel investing or funding from people who believe in you and only when you need it.
It is highly important that the angel investors you reach out to believe in you regardless of your idea. This is crucial at an early stage because of various reasons: you might pivot, your idea might not work in reality, your team dynamics might not work or if your visa is denied you might even have to go back home. For all the worst situations that could possibly occur, it is best to seek investment, mentorship, and support from people who believe in you because they will support you, no matter what, throughout your journey. We were very lucky to have found this support at UnshackledVC who back immigrants. They sponsored our visas and supported our team at the pre-seed stage. There are other investors in the valley who do the same but UnshackledVC is best known for supporting immigrant founders. They also just raised $20M in new funding.
3. Finding product-market fit
Product market fit seems like this magical place where even when you put in zero effort — everyone is talking about how great your product is, everyone is referring your product and there is an overall pull from the market for you to develop your solution. The best advice I heard about product-market fit is from Rashmi Daga, the founder of FreshMenu — a food-delivery company in India.
Very early on in your startup journey, look for signs of product-market fit. Set a deadline and work yourself through various feedback cycles and keep iterating your idea.
It took us several months till we had realized that our market timing was just not right. Unfortunately, we had spent those months educating our clients, pushing our way through to get media attention and presenting at several conferences with not so much inbound commitment.
4. Legal procedures are just a waste of time at least in the beginning
My advice to new founders is to not even bother setting up your corporation until you have a legitimate client asking you for it so they can pay your financial entity or sign contracts. Legal procedures take time, cost money and become an overall burden when you decide to pivot. It is best not to invest time into thinking about it at least in the beginning. Some attorneys are flexible and can defer payment and it is also best to consult them if your solution is consumer-facing or when developing in heavily regulated industries.
5. When it becomes really easy to give up, remember what got you to start in the first place.
It’s very easy to give up when you feel stuck and your startup seems like it is going nowhere. You find that your friends are doing well in their careers, other startups are raising funding but you are still nowhere you want to be.
The startup journey gets very lonely. It is not always rosy.
Having a team that believes in you is very important. There were several times when it was very easy to give up on the whole idea and take up a job. You should always weigh your opportunity costs of time, money and effort. Does taking up a job makes sense right now? Are you mentally ready to make a transition? Are there any other problems that you could possibly be passionate about and work on? What drove you to do your own startup? Why are you giving up now?
Some questions to ask yourself throughout the process. At the end of the day, self-motivation is what is going to drive you in tough situations. Not the market, not the people, not the investment, not the media attention, not even how well/unwell your startup is doing.
6. Don’t cry, TRULY celebrate your failure!
Ending things gracefully is challenging. It takes a lot of courage to admit, accept and be proud of what you worked on even if it failed. Yes it is embarrassing when friends/colleagues ask you. You want it gone from your resume. You do not want to talk about it. You want to just run away from it.
When there is only a feeling of sadness, it is difficult to see the light and write a happy ending to your journey. In such a situation, take a step back and normalize your life.
Discuss with your co-founder/team and identify possible outcomes for the ending you are about to write, learn from what failed, the issues, the mishaps, the wrong-doings and identify how to use these learnings as stepping stones in the next exciting thing you want to build. During this phase, communicating the end of the startup to all stakeholders who supported you through this process is very very important because if they are truly rooting for you, they will continue supporting you no matter what!
7. Pivot but don’t get pressured
When we decided to pivot, we were experimenting with all sorts of new spaces and ideas, however, it felt like we were in some sort of pressure cooker as our visa was contingent on our funding/savings. This is why it is so important to start on a solid foundation, especially when you are an immigrant.
The best ideas truly come to you when you are in the most relaxed, positive and stable state of mind. Often times when I pressured myself thinking about ideas, either they were repetitive, did not have a clear value proposition, or were very abstract and vague.
I started to realize that when I jotted down problems/frustrations instead of my ideas/solutions, I was able to think far more clearly, get good feedback without bias and gain greater context of the problem. Maintain a problem book instead of an idea book and see how much of a difference it makes!
This is also a good way to see what sort of problems/areas in the world you naturally think about and are most passionate about.
8. Maintaining balance is the key
Something I wish I knew before I started my startup was how important it is to maintain work-life balance. The startup journey gets stressful easily. You can catch yourself always pondering about the future. I found myself dealing with copious amounts of stress and anxiety without even consciously realizing. And very soon I lost myself and my life to work. I sacrificed dancing, hanging out with my friends and family, shopping, traveling and even eating.
Do things outside of work that have ZERO outcome on your startup. At all times, maintaining a healthy balance is important for your mind and body to work their best.
9. Don’t let the imposter syndrome drive you
Even though I moved to this country almost ten years ago, I still feel a level of “inadequacy.” That I do not have certain skill sets that people born in this country have. And it is okay to feel that at some points but if it is stopping you from properly communicating and tapping into your full potential then you have to change your mindset or grow your skills.
When I found myself in such situations, I identified how grateful I had to be in order to take the risks that I was taking. I told myself my story of moving to America and going through a cultural transition. That got me to build confidence in myself.
10. Finally, be relentless and embrace failure
The entire journey was truly an emotional rollercoaster, so many proud moments and so many honest f***-ups. As I was wrapping my journey with Hype, I realized that some of my best learnings came from my failures.
We, as a society, often like to brag about our successes and almost never talk about our failures. In fact, we look down upon them. We follow people who are successful, we like to be associated with greatness, we get inspired from the awards and recognitions. Only if we knew that success comes from a great deal of hard work and a series of failures, that we somehow conveniently ignore. As an immigrant growing up in India, failure was a big NO NO! You know, all the aunties would know.
Luckily, my parents always inspired me to push boundaries just like they did as immigrants themselves. Didn’t matter if I succeeded or failed, being relentless is the key. The next time you meet someone, instead of asking them how they got to where they are, be sure to ask them —
When was the last time you tried something and failed?
Leaving you with my all-time favorite failure story:
