TenU Hosts: Startup Teams – International Talent
TenU is excited to host an event series to home in on what makes an ideal startup team. TenU Hosts: Startup Teams breaks down and explores the many layers involved in selecting the right people to guarantee startup growth and success. The third event in the series focused on international talent.
In the UK, 39% of the 100 fastest growing companies have a foreign-born founder or co-founder, despite the foreign-borns accounting for only 14.5% of the UK population. The same is seen in the U.S., where immigrants account for more than a quarter of all business ownership. International talent is an asset to a country’s economic growth; however, recruiting and retaining this talent comes with obstacles and challenges.
In July, TenU hosted and event on international talent in startup teams, as part of a three-event series on how to build the ideal startup team. Chaired by Simon Hepworth, Director of Enterprise at Imperial College London, the distinguished panel featured:
· Alice Li, Executive Director, Center for Technology Licensing at Cornell University
· Desmond Cheung, Senior Associate, Foresight Group
· Dorian Haci, CEO and Co-Founder, MintNeuro
· John Dearie, Founder and President, Center for American Entrepreneurship
The webinar is available as a podcast created in partnership with Global University Ventures:
Here we outline three key takeaways from the event:
1. Immigrants are vital to innovation and entrepreneurship, bringing essential skills and entrepreneurial spirit
According to John, immigrants display a high entrepreneurial propensity. He claimed that the act of leaving a life behind and starting a new one in a different environment is a profoundly entrepreneurial act. The statistics he presented support this: though representing about 14 percent of the U.S. population, immigrants account for more than a quarter of all business ownership in America, one quarter of unicorns have been founded by immigrants, and 43% of Fortune 500 companies – and 57% of the top 35 companies – were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants.
Desmond and Alice pointed at top universities as magnets for highly skilled international students. They drew on their experiences in the university and investments sectors to observe that many of these students engage in entrepreneurial activities, driving economic growth. Metrics linked to funding awards and, further down the line, job creation support their observations.
Dorian emphasised the importance of immigrants' soft skills, such as communication, work ethic, integrity, purpose, discipline, determination, and resilience, which are crucial for both innovation and the general workforce. He noted that these skills are often enhanced through the immigration experience and suggested that governments and institutions work to foster these qualities in both immigrants and the homegrown population.
Dorian also highlighted the differences in global distribution of specific skills and pointed to the opportunities that immigrants offer for disseminating these skills and bridging international ecosystems.
2. Recruitment and retention of international talent is often hindered by political exploitation and restrictive immigration policies
The panel highlighted the challenges and opportunities of recruiting and retaining international talent, emphasising the political sensitivity of immigration issues. John debunked common myths about immigrants, such as taking jobs from native-born citizens and increasing crime rates, citing statistics that demonstrate that immigrants actually contribute significantly to job creation and have lower crime rates than the native-born population.
To Dorian’s point that startups face difficulties in navigating visa processes, Simon highlighted the significant challenges posed by current visa policies. He emphasised that smaller companies struggle to compete with larger corporations in attracting international talent due to the complexities and high costs associated with the visa process. For instance, the cost for researchers and their families to obtain visas in the UK can reach up to £20,000, a figure that has doubled in the past five years. This financial burden makes the UK less competitive compared to other countries, creating barriers for startups and smaller research institutions.
Desmond shared personal experiences with the visa landscape, emphasising the cost and inflexibility of visas as major barriers for startups in accessing top international talent. He expressed that high costs and rigid visa rules prevent many talented individuals from joining startups or gaining diverse work experiences before founding their own companies.
3. There is a need to revise visa policies to better support international talent and foster economic growth
John advocated for "graduation green cards," which would allow foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities to obtain green cards automatically, particularly in STEM fields. John also noted the absence of a "startup visa" in the U.S., a visa category specifically designed to attract and retain foreign entrepreneurs, which many other industrialised nations have already implemented. He believes these changes are crucial for maintaining the U.S.'s competitive edge in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Alice underscored the importance of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship for the U.S. economy. She acknowledged that policy changes take time but stressed the need for immediate support for international talent under existing rules. Alice suggested that universities and research institutions should play a proactive role by offering flexible support and education to help international talent start new ventures in U.S.
Dorian focused on the role of bilateral trade agreements to demonstrate the economic and societal benefits of talent exchange. Showcasing these benefits can influence policymakers to simplify and streamline visa processes more broadly.
The discussion concluded by highlighting the key benefits of international talent in innovation ecosystems, which include the entrepreneurial predisposition, a diversity of perspectives and the connection to international networks of talent.
TenU is an international collaboration of leading technology transfer offices formed to share effective practices in research commercialisation with government and higher education communities, in order to increase the societal impact of research. TenU is funded by Research England and hosted by Cambridge Enterprise.
