People move from all over the world to Washington, D.C., and between 10 and 15 percent of the DMV population was born in another country, according to the last Census. The reasons they move here are as varied as the countries they arrive from, but when you look around at the local startup scene, you'll start to notice plenty of founders with stories that start outside the United States. There are far more than any roundup could encompass, but here are seven we've picked as worth watching, chosen from all over the globe.
Samira Sabulis, Bulgaria - Samira Sabulis is the founder of Tagazu, a software startup based at 1776 that can turn objects in a video into clickable links for e-commerce or other websites. Sabulis moved to the U.S. in her late teens, graduating high school in the area and attending the University of Maryland.
Dale Pfeifer, New Zealand - A Kiwi who has only lived in D.C. for a few years, Dale Pfeifer has already garnered some significant successes since founding social enterprise startup, GoodWorld. Her company, which enables people to donate to approved charities using hashtags on social media, has already raised more than $2.5 million and funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to worthy causes.
Yoko K. Sen, Japan - Yoko Sen is an award-winning musician and technologist. A recent graduate of the Halcyon Incubator in D.C., Sen is the founder of Sen Sound, where she is designing new sound designs for hospitals to help improve the experience of patients and help doctors avoid 'alarm fatigue.'
Leslie Tita, Cameroon - Born in Cameroon, Leslie Tita is a serial entrepreneur who's worked in D.C. over a decade. Tita is now the managing director of I/O Spaces, a local co-working space for startups and entrepreneurs, which includes a makerspace for people working on hardware. There are currently more than 40 companies working out of the space.
Sudhakar Shenoy, India - CEO of Alyx Technologies, Shenoy was an early pioneer in the D.C. area's high tech startup scene. He helped make the Northern Northern Virginia Technology Council a power in the region and still serves as chairman emeritus. At Altyx and previous company IMC, Shenoy shaped a lot of the ways that local companies interact with the government when it comes to technology and IT solutions.
Giadha De Carcer, Italy - Rome-born Giadha De Carcer has lived in several countries but has called D.C. home for many years. A serial entrepreneur, De Carcer's current company, New Frontier Financials, performs data collection and analytics in the legal marijuana industry, billing itself as 'the Bloomberg of weed.'
Ximena Hartsock, Chile - Ximena Hartsock is one of the most prominent names in the local tech scene. Born in Santiago, Chile, she's the founder of Phone2Action, a digital communications platform for advocacy that connects the company's clients with elected officials that has raised $5.25 million.
