Many international founders dream of moving their startup to the U.S. - the land of endless opportunity. But moving to the U.S. can be a challenge and won't be cheap.
In this week's podcast episode, we talked to Liran Rosenfeld, founder & CEO of Pass Right about the best visa options for founders. Disclaimer: The information on the podcast is not legal advice, but pure information. If you want to move to the U.S. we recommend talking to a licensed US-Immigration Attorney.
Liran is a true global citizen. Originally from Israel, he is a citizen in three countries, received a U.S. Green Card twice, and is currently living his best life in Costa Rica. Knowing the struggle of immigrating to the United States in and out, he is now helping founders of technology start-ups to live their American Dream through Pass Right.
Patrick and I were also brave enough to leave Europe behind us and move to America. For us, it made sense, because we went through the Techstars NYC accelerator in 2016 and built a huge network of mentors, advisors, and investors in the US.
Additionally, with Europe being very fragmented with many different languages and many different country-specific regulations, America made more sense for us, as we're having a company with consumer elements in the healthcare space. And, 33% of all clinical trials are happening in the USA (compared to 5.7% in the UK and 5.4% in Germany), which is very handy for a company like ours (Citruslabs) that makes money through clinical trials.
When talking to European founders, most of them want to move to the US without a specific reason. Actually, that's not true: the #1 reason I hear why European founders want to move to America (or specifically the Silicon Valley) is access to funding. When I learned one thing during my years as an entrepreneur in the US: fundraising is not easier here, in fact it's even harder than in Europe. Why? Competition!!!!
One thing that many foreign founders underestimate: nobody waits for you in America, and especially not in Silicon Valley. Deal-flow for investors is strong everywhere in the country and specifically in Silicon Valley. You have to build a network from scratch, which takes years.
It's also likely that you underestimate the cultural differences between the US and Europe. How your deck looks like, how you pitch, how you answer questions, what investors are looking for; all of this is very different. You probably never realized that during your countless trips to San Francisco and New York.
And on top of all of that, you also have the issue of getting a visa that lets you work and live in the United States.
This is why it is important that you first think about if it makes sense for your company to move to America in the first place. Questions you should ask yourself:
How big is the opportunity in the US?
What are the costs involved in operating in the US compared to the country where you are now?
Am I willed to stay in the US for the next 5-7 years? (You will probably answer this question with "hell yeah"! But are you willed to still stay even when a close family member gets sick? When things get hard you can't just "go home" easily and have some family time.)
How can I build my network in the US? (if you are accepted in one of the top accelerators like YC, Techstars or AngelPad, this is easy to answer).
Do I have enough cash to start out in the US in the first place? (You should not underestimate the cost to register a business and also the cost to get your work authorization, i.e. visa).
What is the long-term visa strategy (all visas expire after a certain period of time).
To which city do I want to move my company? (Many of you will answer: San Francisco Bay Area! You should think twice here :) Especially in the U.S. there is a trend that is moving away from SF and into "opportunity zones" with specific incentives for investors to also invest in startups in cities like Austin, Columbus, LA, Denver etc.).
Once you figured all of that out and feel that you want to move to the United States not only because it's cool to say that your startup is based in Silicon Valley or because you think that it's easier to raise funding in America, you should get a corporate counsel involved who helps you with incorporating a company in the States and makes sure that you comply with all federal and local laws. You should also involve a licensed immigration attorney to help you figure out your visa strategy.
Patrick and I worked with a bunch of different immigration attorneys and corporate counsels and if you need some recommendations, just let us know. We're happy to help and point you in the right direction.