Heck, 50% of this entire industry is foreign born.
I hear that 95% of the entire world is foreign-born!
"50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
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Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#12What percentage of people who live in SV are foreign-born?
According to San Jose Business Journal, in 2003 36.5% were foreign born. http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/09/01/da...
I guess/estimate if you adjusted for those native-born who are either working at family businesses already (2nd or later generation of a family owned business), or are following their parent's lead on a trade or profession (son of lawyer becoming a lawyer, daughter of ob-gyn becoming a doctor), you would find that the quoted stats are not very important or relevant.
(just adding another data point to the discussion)
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#13Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#14Immigrants by self-selection are already risk-takers, that fits well as a trait to be an entrepreneur.
Immigrants are not only risk-takers, they are mainly avoiding poverty and looking for better conditions.
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#15The H1-B thing seems like a bit of a non-sequitur to me. I thought H1-B was for getting hired to a specific position (i.e. not for founders)?
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hear that 95% of the entire world is foreign-born!
Is that really true? I would guess most people live in the country they were born in.
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, but I think the OP is talking from the perspective of an American citizen. America has 4.5% of the world population (according to Google.)
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#17Although I don't think being an immigrant is a defacto stamp of approval of any sorts, the adversity you face as an immigrant kid does change you. OR being an outcast of any sort. The analogy I think of is you're brain is like a clay pot being formed in your youth. Hard hands (hard experiences) either create something amazing or destroy you. And then your teenage years cure you into that state.
I think it is incorrect to assume an immigrant kid faces adversity. Most of the emigration to SV is from well-off families with well-adjusted kids and they settle in well-off areas.
Perhaps SV is unique but vast majority American immigrants certainly do not come from 'well off families' and live in 'well off areas'.
But thats all beside the point I was getting at - i'm saying facing significant adversity creates a unique type of person.
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#18The H1-B thing seems like a bit of a non-sequitur to me. I thought H1-B was for getting hired to a specific position (i.e. not for founders)?
The article mentions that the H1-B is a path towards citizenship; citizen or green-card holders can then become founders.
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#19This is really just a symptom of the magnetism of Silicon Valley.
To put it into context, here in the UK there is no where really quite like it, in terms of supporting tech startups and harbouring a community that has such prestige and heritage from over the years. From our perspective Silicon Valley is always going to be seen as having greener grass than ours.
Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"
#20The H1-B thing seems like a bit of a non-sequitur to me. I thought H1-B was for getting hired to a specific position (i.e. not for founders)?
H1b is just a start. Once you get there, you can get new opportunities. It's way harder to be hired by someone if you are on tourist visa.