Immigrant entrepreneurs have helped launch some of the most successful tech companies in the US. In fact 51 percent of the unicorns--startups valued at $1 billion or more--in the US have foreign-born founders. And immigrant entrepreneurs have boomed in Illinois in recent years.
But navigating the immigration process can be a challenge, as founders sometimes struggle to obtain the visa needed to build their business in the US. Often, entrepreneurs have to make a choice: Do I risk starting up in the US, or should I go back to my home country?
VC firm Unshackled Ventures wants to help more foreign founders build their businesses in the US through its fund that invests only in immigrant entrepreneurs. The firm, which launched in 2014, says it's on a mission to create 100,000 American jobs by helping immigrant entrepreneurs through the visa process, allowing them to build and scale their fast-growing startups in the US.
Unshackled is based in Silicon Valley but swung through Chicago last week to meet with founders and connect with the Chicago startup ecosystem. The firm doesn't have any Chicago companies in its portfolio as of yet, but hopes to change that.
Founded by Manan Mehta and Nitin Pachisia, an immigrant himself in America on a visa, Unshackled Ventures invests in "pre-seed" rounds between $100,000 and $500,000 in startups with at least one immigrant founder. Unshackled takes care of everything the company needs to navigate the visa process, even going as far as to hire the entrepreneurs as Unshackled employees if their startup isn't mature enough.
"By doing that we’re able to take away the distraction for the founder so they can focus on building their company," Pachisia said.
Unshackled previously raised its first fund of just under $5 million, and is currently raising its second. Pachisia declined to say the size of fund two, citing SEC rules. The firm has so far invested in 15 companies.
Despite their Silicon Valley home base, Unshackled isn’t interested in playing the “old school game” of asking startups to move out West to get funding, Pachisia said.
“They’ve already made a choice to leave their home country and come to where they are,” he noted. “Beyond that, it should be the founder’s choice of where they want to be, not the investor’s.”
Unshackled’s deal flow has tripled in the last six months.
Unshackled, not surprisingly, has gained increased exposure and interest in today's political climate, given President Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric and policy. Pachisia said Unshackled's deal flow has tripled in the last six months.
"With the increased attention on immigration since the election cycle, there's been a lot more inbound [from startups]," he said. "We don’t criticize the policy or the politicians. We simply put our heads down and work on the solution that works within whatever the policy framework is."
Pachisia said Unshackled's goal is to be the first place immigrant entrepreneurs turn when looking for startup funding in the US.
"Our goal is to serve all immigrant entrepreneurs in the country, the best and brightest we can attract," he said.
