RSS Feed Link

1 Comments

RE: Startup 3 Introduced

March 03, 2013 @ 10:11 AM

Dr. Suresh Kumar said...

I am delighted to learn of the progress with the Startup Visa. But some of the proposals need to be grounded in reality. My doctoral research findings a for the making the StartUp Visa Act more effective include.

a) Shifting the Focus to Skilled Non-Immigrant Workers and Foreign Students Already in the United States: The founders of high-growth firms in the current study came to the United States either as skilled workers under the H1 visa or as foreign students under the F1 visa, we recommend that a majority of the total visas under the StartUp Visa be reserved for these 2 groups not just foreign entrepreneurs. A relatively simple way to encourage H1/F1 visa holders to start new venture is by fast tracking their permanent residency application (green cards). Remember that entrepreneurs delayed starting their ventures until after they obtained their permanent residency, which was an important event that seemed to trigger the entrepreneurial intentions leading to the startup. The eligibility criteria for the fast-track to permanent residency under the StartUp Visa act should be based on the indictors of entrepreneurial potential, including entrepreneurial intentions, richness of prior work experience in the United States, and the extent of professional, social and financial embeddedness in United States. Evidence argues that those who successfully navigate being embedded in two cultures reap disproportionate results (Galbreath, et al. 2007; Leung 2001; Pare, et al. 2008).

b) Selection Criteria for Foreign Entrepreneurs: For those coming to the United States for the first time, weight has to be given to those who have a proven track record as serial entrepreneurs and those who are currently providing products and services to client in the United States. Due consideration has to be given to other factors that are critical to their eventual success in the U.S. including knowledge of technology tools, social media marketing, familiarity with the English language, and contacts with ethnic/professional networks in the United States.

c) Mandatory Training for Foreign Entrepreneurs: Our findings argue that work experience in the United States was the most critical factor in entrepreneurial success; we recommend that the Startup Visa Act has to have provisions wherein it be mandatory for foreign entrepreneurs to get specialized training that will help them quickly understand the socio-political, economic, legal, policy, and strategy framework for startups in the United States. Equally important is training that will help connect them with the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the United States, which includes vibrant ethnic and professional networks that support entrepreneurs. An easy way to implement this is via pre-existing training and mentoring programs such as those developed by organizations like the Kauffman Foundation, Startup Weekend, et al.

d) Revision of the Benchmarks for Measuring Startup Success: The requirement of the StartUp Visa Act for raising capital from qualified investors in the United States has to be reconsidered. Raising capital is a time consuming and daunting task even for seasoned entrepreneurs and will be even more so for foreign entrepreneurs with limited exposure to the U.S. As was discussed previously all the entrepreneurs in the current study were able to grow high-growth ventures without reliance on capital from qualified investors or institutional loans. Instead of reliance on capital from qualified investors, we recommend that the benchmark of success for the entrepreneurs be the number of jobs created in the United States over a 5 year period. Our study shows that in every case, the new venture started slow and after about 4 years achieved rapid growth in terms of both revenues and number of employees. Based on this finding we recommend a lower target for years 1 thru 3, with an increase in years 4 and 5. In addition to job creation goals, we recommend a multi-dimensional scale to measure the success of the startup that includes the ability to attract experienced co-founders, the ability to attract corporate and government clients, and the ability to bootstrap, and the ability to build network ties with ethnic and professional networks.