Posted on 11/15/2006 9:32:19 PM PST by CarrotAndStick
WASHINGTON: Indian immigrants to the United States account for 28 per cent of all foreign-founded private start-up companies in a climate dominated by migrant entrepreneurship, according to a new study.
The study found that over the past 15 years, immigrants have started 1 in 4 (25 percent) US public companies that were venture-backed, representing a market capitalization of more than $500 billion. Topping that, a survey of private, venture-backed start-up companies in the US estimated that a staggering 47 percent have immigrant founders.
In that group, "India was the most prevalent country of origin with 28 percent followed by the United Kingdom (11 percent), China (5 percent), Iran (4 percent), and France (4 percent)," the study says. No numbers were given for public venture-backed firms, but even in that category, "the most common countries of origin are India, Israel and Taiwan."
The findings back the long-held view, based on more limited surveys in Silicon Valley, that Indian immigrants are a significant force in America’s start-up culture. Indians have been founding companies in the U.S even outside Bay area for decades, going back to Amar Bose's Bose Corp in Massachusetts and Suhas Patil’s Cirrus Logic in Utah.
The study also found that immigrant founders are responsible for building a high percentage of the most innovative American companies, with 87 percent operating in sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, information technology and life sciences. These companies are headquartered across the country but are concentrated in five states: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Texas.
Nearly half of the immigrant entrepreneurs in the current nationwide survey (46 percent) arrived in the US as students, the study says. More than half of the founders started their businesses within 12 years of entering the US They hold an average of 14.5 patents. Sixty-nine percent of these individuals have become American citizens.
Authors of the survey cited this to emphasize the need for the United States to remain open for legal immigration and higher work visa quotas.
"There is no question that the US must remain a magnet of foreign-born talent if we are to maintain our competitive edge. However, current quotas on highly-skilled immigrants are insufficient and these great minds are beginning to look elsewhere to build their businesses," says Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, which commissioned the study.
"A key lesson of the study is the importance of maintaining a more open, legal immigration system," adds Stuart Anderson, co-author of the report. "Few of these impressive immigrant entrepreneurs could have started a company immediately upon arriving in the US -- many were just children, international students or H-1B professionals -- but it's clear that America helped shape them into entrepreneurs as much as they have helped shape America..."
The study cites some of today best known companies, including Google, Yahoo!, Intel and Sun Microsystems (co-founded by New Delhi’s Vinod Khosla) as exemplars of America’s openness to immigrant entrepreneurship.
"Yahoo! would not be an American company today if the United States had not welcomed my family and me almost thirty years ago," Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang tells the authors. "We must do all that we can to ensure that the door is open for the next generation of top entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists from around the world to come to the US and thrive."
"Whether they arrive as children, students, or professionals, we want the best and the brightest here. Our immigration policy should reflect that or these talents will go elsewhere," adds Yang.
The study comes at a time of increased resistance in the United States to immigrants and a campaign to limit work visas. At the same time, there is also a fear of migration of jobs and talent abroad -- which the study talks about -- if there is a squeeze on immigration.
Pinging.
And guess what? They qualify for minority programs. If you're going into business make sure that your majority partner is an Indian.
For some posters this India-gasm never ends. Every single post is India-centric.
"And guess what? They qualify for minority programs. If you're going into business make sure that your majority partner is an Indian." Females and disabled veterans also qualify under SBA and other programs. The female aspect is played up, but not the disabled veteran angle.
Indian americans are very smart people to be sure.
but alot of these "startups" go like this - some Indian american rises in the ranks of a US tech company, he develops contacts in India for contract programmers, he leaves the corporate environment and sets himself up as an offshoring shop - to move the technology he worked on while on the "inside", offshore to India. and US companies are eager to sign up - they get lower costs, and they get a "trusted liason" to move the work offshore. I've seen this pattern many times.
this kind of venture, doesn't add anything to the US tech base - it just helps move it offshore faster.
Not an attack, just interested in your statement.
Thanks
The federal government markets and publicizes the "female-owned minority business" programs much much more than it does the "disabled veteran minority owned business" programs. Just stating facts. I'll bet most people here didn't even know about the veteran programs until I mentioned them...
Thank you.
looks like they are ramping up to a point where they will push up the H1B limit again.
how does that part have anything to do with what I said. my point is - their "entreprenuerial" business, is many time, designed to help assist offshoring of jobs to India.
those aren't the kind of "entrepeneurs" US tech needs. I don't care whether they are citizens or not.
I didn't say "because of it", its that they take advantage of the situation.
they don't "offshore the jobs", but they've jumped on the trend and are facilitating it - that's what many of these indian "entrepreneurial ventures" are all about. that's not innovation.
I know dozens of qualified US engineers - blown out of the field completely by offshoring. and when you look at the matriculation rates of incoming college persons in the US, if you take out foreign nationals, the field is dead here in the US for anyone except managers.
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