Foreign Founders

Archer Chiang had just $100 and 30 days to pay his college tuition when he landed his first client—a 70-year-old casino owner. That desperate moment launched a journey from building IoT companies with Panasonic in Japan to creating Giftpack.ai, an AI platform helping Fortune 500 companies measure something no one else tracks: emotional trust. In this episode, Archer shares why he builds AI in NYC instead of Silicon Valley, what it's like getting shut down by the Chinese government, and how corporate gifting became the infrastructure for measuring business relationships.

What You'll Learn:

• How to turn financial crisis into entrepreneurial opportunity
• Why emotional trust matters more than traditional CRM metrics
• Building AI applications for real-world industries vs. pure algorithms
• Navigating political risk as a Taiwanese founder in China
• Why NYC beats Silicon Valley for AI implementation
• The future of relationship intelligence in B2B
• 
  

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Archer Chiang, Founder of Giftpack.ai 01:23 - Growing Up Across 3 Countries: Cape Town, Taiwan, and Japan 04:13 - The $100 Crisis: Mom Says Pay Your Own Tuition 07:03 - Landing a Casino Client at 19 Years Old 08:58 - From $0 to $20K/Month in 30 Days 10:14 - Running Two Companies in College: The Worst Decision Ever 12:36 - Shut Down by Chinese Government Over Taiwanese IP 14:25 - Building $10M ARR IoT Company with Panasonic 17:42 - Why Stanford for Human Interaction and Design 19:30 - The Pivot to Corporate Gifting and AI 23:05 - What is "Incentive Infrastructure"? 25:18 - Building AI Before ChatGPT: The 2020 Innovation 27:28 - How Giftpack Measures Emotional Capital 30:05 - Why Money Doesn't Lie: Real Relationship Data 32:12 - Building an AI Company in NYC, Not Silicon Valley 33:56 - What Archer's Optimistic About

🔗 Connect with Archer:

Website: https://giftpack.ai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/archerwindy/

🎯 About Giftpack.ai: Giftpack transforms how enterprises engineer authentic relationships through emotional intelligence and AI. The platform automates relationship building, helping Fortune 500 companies measure emotional capital and activate human connection at scale.

#Entrepreneurship #AI #EmotionalIntelligence #B2B #CorporateGifting #StartupStory #NewYorkTech #GlobalFounder

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Nikhil Teja Kolli built mokSa.ai after witnessing small retail businesses lose 10-15% of their revenue to theft. His solution? Privacy-first AI that catches shoplifters without facial recognition - and small business owners are obsessed with it.

From collecting 20,000+ theft videos to building patent-pending AI technology, Nikhil's journey shows how turning a massive problem into data can create game-changing solutions. His AI watches actions, not faces, works with any camera (even $40 ones from 2014), and sends real-time alerts when theft happens.

But here's the twist: mokSa.ai doesn't just catch thieves. It predicts customer counts, optimizes employee scheduling, and provides heat maps - basically turning any security camera into a business intelligence powerhouse.

🔥 What You'll Learn:

• How to build AI models from real-world data (20,000+ theft videos)
• Why privacy-first AI is dominating the surveillance market
• The camera-agnostic strategy that eliminates hardware costs
• How to solve problems for overlooked small businesses
• Building operational intelligence beyond just security
• Scaling from manual monitoring to 200+ AI-powered locations

⏰ Key Moments:

00:00 - Meet Nikhil Teja Kolli, Founder of mokSa.ai

02:30 - Growing Up in Family Retail Business in Hyderabad

05:45 - The Liquor Store Incidents That Sparked Everything

09:15 - How Small Businesses Lose 10-15% Revenue to Theft

12:00 - Building the 20,000 Video Dataset (The Hard Way)

15:30 - From Aeronautical Engineer to Railroad to AI Entrepreneur

18:45 - Privacy-First AI: Actions vs. Faces

21:20 - Why Any Camera Works (Even 2014 Models)

24:15 - Beyond Security: Customer Forecasting & Heat Maps

27:40 - The Camera-Agnostic Business Strategy

🔗 Connect with Nikhil:

Website: moksa.ai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilteja-kolli/

About mokSa.ai: Privacy-first AI platform that detects theft, fraud, and provides operational insights for retail businesses using existing camera systems.

#AI #RetailTech #SmallBusiness #Privacy #Surveillance #Entrepreneurship #StartupStory #TechFounder

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You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Joseph Lee went from selling electronics in parking lots at age 14 to building Supademo, the world's fastest-growing AI-powered demo platform. Born in Seoul, raised in Vancouver, and now thriving in NYC, Joseph shares his journey from creating multiple ventures to fund university, building North America's first demand-driven seafood marketplace, to discovering the power of interactive product demos. In this episode, he reveals his systematic approach to finding the right co-founder and idea, the viral growth strategies behind Supademo, and why location still matters for ambitious founders.

What You'll Learn:

• How to build multiple revenue streams as a student entrepreneur
• The systematic approach to evaluating startup ideas and co-founders
• Why product-led growth requires viral loops, not just free tiers
• Creative customer acquisition strategies that don't feel spammy
• How AI is transforming product demonstration and onboarding
• The real truth about location for immigrant entrepreneurs

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

05:15 - The 14-Year-Old Entrepreneur: Electronics Arbitrage Business

08:45 - University Ventures: Candles, Clothing, and Web Development

12:20 - Coastline Market Origin: Why Seafood Supply Chain Needed Disruption

15:30 - The Pandemic Pivot: From Marketplace to Business-in-a-Box

18:45 - The Supademo Lightbulb: When Demo Videos Weren't Enough

21:20 - The Systematic Startup Process: March Madness for Ideas

24:15 - Product Differentiation: Speed and Ease Over Feature Wars

27:40 - Target Market: B2B SaaS Teams Across Three Key Functions

30:45 - PLG Reality Check: Viral Loops vs. Free Tiers

33:30 - Early Customer Acquisition: Network, Reddit, and Value-First Approach

36:20 - Growth Momentum: Why Speed Solves All Problems

39:15 - Location Debate: SF FOMO and the Network Effect

41:25 - Optimistic Outlook: AI's Positive Impact on Wealth Distribution

🔗 Connect with Joseph:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhylee/

Website: https://supademo.com

Try Supademo: Start creating interactive demos without signing up

🎯 About Supademo: Supademo is the world's fastest-growing AI-powered demo platform, helping B2B SaaS companies create interactive product demos for sales, onboarding, and customer success in minutes, not hours.

#Entrepreneurship #ProductLedGrowth #AITools #SaaSDemos #ImmigrantFounder #StartupGrowth #CustomerSuccess #B2BSaaS

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If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Anna Ratala went from running major tech events in Singapore to building Zvook, a venture-backed podcast advertising platform that she ultimately had to shut down after 4+ years. In this deeply honest conversation, she shares the emotional journey of letting go, rebuilding her identity beyond "founder," and finding her next chapter at a former competitor.

What You'll Learn:

• How to recognize when it's time to shut down your startup
• Challenges of transitioning from founder to employee
• How to use authentic storytelling as a marketing channel
• The reality of fundraising struggles and investor conversations
• Why failure is more accepted in America than other countries

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

02:30 - From Finland to Singapore: Running Slush Singapore

12:00 - Content Strategy: Using Founder Stories as Marketing

15:30 - The Complexity of Scaling Host-Read Advertising

18:45 - Running Out of Money: The Final Year Struggles

24:15 - The Hard Decision: Shutting Down After 4+ Years

30:45 - Identity Crisis: Who Am I Without Being a Founder?

36:20 - Joining Red Circle: Working for a Former Competitor

39:15 - Leaving Ego at the Door: Transitioning to Employee

42:30 - Current Role: Marketing Director at Red Circle

49:30 - Optimistic Outlook: Seeing Opportunities, Not Obstacles

Connect with Anna:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaratala/
• Company: https://redcircle.com/

Anna's story is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn't just about the successes - it's about resilience, learning from failure, and finding new ways to contribute to the industries you're passionate about.

Subscribe for more immigrant founder stories and startup insights!

#Entrepreneurship #StartupFailure #PodcastAdvertising #ImmigrantFounders #StartupStories

Enjoy the episode!

If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Jose Carlos "Charlie" Sarmiento went from corporate finance executive in Guatemala to extreme triathlete competing on the world stage, ultimately building VTX Athlete - a platform that connects endurance athletes with funding and brand sponsorships. In this episode, he shares his incredible journey from losing his father at 14, overcoming depression through ultramarathons, and creating a revolutionary algorithm that ranks athletes based on performance data rather than social media followers.

What You'll Learn:

• How to transition from corporate executive to sports entrepreneur
• Why endurance sports funding is a $100 billion untapped market
• The real costs of competing internationally ($15K per race, $100K annually)
• How performance data can revolutionize athlete sponsorships
• The mindset system that took Charlie from depression to world championships
• Immigration strategies: From O1A visa to green card in 3 months

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Charlie Sarmiento, Ultra-Athlete & Entrepreneur 03:23 - Losing His Father at 14: The Gift That Shaped His Character 07:14 - Building VTX Athlete: The "NASDAQ for Athletes" Concept 08:47 - Why Endurance Sports? The Untapped 100 Million Athlete Market 09:44 - The Real Cost Breakdown: $15K Per Race, $100K Annual Budget 12:07 - The VTX Algorithm: Performance Data vs. Social Media Metrics 14:29 - Three-Index System: Training, Social Impact, Athletic Results 16:36 - Market Size: 100M Athletes Worldwide, 60M Target Market 17:24 - Beyond Gear: Airlines, Hotels, and Real Sponsorship Needs 19:51 - "The Real Ultraman" Book: System to Rewire Your Brain 21:43 - From Zero to 50 Miles: Using Ultra Running to Beat Depression 23:02 - Immigration Journey: O1A Visa Through Athletic Excellence 27:40 - Why Entrepreneurship is Harder Than Ultramarathons 31:49 - Favorite Race: Lavaredo Dolomites, Italy (Family Heritage) 32:55 - Living in Gratitude: What Charlie is Optimistic About

🔗 Connect with Charlie:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ultrasarmiento/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliesarmiento/

Company: www.vtxathlete.com

Book: https://a.co/d/33SuRkQ

🎯 About VTX Athlete: VTX Athlete is revolutionizing endurance sports by creating the first performance-based marketplace connecting athletes with funding and brand sponsorships through data-driven algorithms.

#Entrepreneurship #EnduranceSports #UltraMarathon #Immigration #PerformanceData #SportsSponsorship #Guatemala #Austin #StartupStory

Enjoy the episode!

If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Supercharge your existing KYC with e-IDs

Polish born Jarek Sygitowicz is co-founder and CSO at YC backed and London based Authologic. Founded in 2020, Authologic is a digital ID startup bridging legacy KYC systems and AI-era identity verification, helping businesses stay compliant, secure, and user-friendly.

As traditional verification methods like plastic IDs and photo uploads become more vulnerable to AI fraud, Authologic’s platform minimizes these risks, enhances privacy, and streamlines onboarding while cutting operational costs for customers. With regulations pushing digital ID adoption across Europe, Authologic supports both digital and traditional verification methods, making KYC and AML processes easier for financial services, gaming, and crypto industries.

What You'll Learn:

• How craftsmanship principles from tailoring translate perfectly to digital product design
• Why COVID accelerated the urgent need for digital identity solutions
• How AI is making traditional photo-based ID verification dangerously outdated
• The mechanics of how eIDs and identity wallets actually work (with live demo!)
• Why London became the strategic choice for a Polish fintech startup
• The YC application strategy that got them accepted on their first try
• How to fundraise by focusing on traction, not persuasion

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Jarek Sygitowicz, Co-founder of Authologic

01:00 - Family of Tailors: How Bauhaus Design Principles Shape Tech Products

04:00 - Early Tech Journey: From Linux Blogs to First Exit in the 90s

07:00 - The Authologic Vision: Why Plastic IDs Are Like 19th Century Ships

09:00 - COVID's Impact: How Lockdowns Forced Digital Identity Innovation

12:00 - The Global eID Hub: Building "Stripe for KYC" Across Countries

14:00 - Why London?: Strategic Positioning in the Global Fintech Ecosystem

16:00 - AI's Identity Crisis: Proving You're Human in a Deepfake World

18:00 - Live Demo: How eID Wallets Work in Practice (12-Second Verification!)

21:00 - Apple's Game-Changer: Passport Support in Apple Wallet

23:00 - YC Journey: Getting Accepted on First Application

26:00 - Fundraising Philosophy: Why Traction Beats Persuasion Every Time

32:00 - Future-Proofing Identity: What Average People Should Do Today

33:00 - Ultimate Optimism: Why Technology Will Solve Our Biggest Problems

🔗 Connect with Jarek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sygitowicz

Website: https://authologic.com/

Enjoy the episode!

If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Startup Founders Can Accelerate Their Fundraising with Boxsy

Elisabeth Bykoff went from aerospace engineering in France to building Boxsy, an AI-powered platform that helps startups scale operationally while connecting them with investors and ecosystem partners. In this episode, she shares her 20+ year journey in the US, the challenges of being a non-technical founder in AI, and why she believes the venture ecosystem needs more transparency on both sides.

What You'll Learn:

• How to transition from services to product companies successfully
• Why taking calculated risks as an immigrant entrepreneur pays off
• The evolution from "ops in a box" to agentic COO platforms
• How AI is changing fundraising and startup operations
• Why VCs and startups both need more transparency
• The challenges of losing multiple CTOs as a non-technical founder

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Elisabeth Bykoff, Founder of Boxsy

02:30 - From French Aerospace Engineering to Seattle (Early Background)

05:45 - The Boeing Rejection: Pivoting from Engineering to Business

09:15 - 10 Years at PWC: Building Salesforce Practice and Getting Green Card

12:00 - Leaving Partnership Track: Jumping into Pre-IPO World with Aptus

15:30 - Key Learning: Services vs. Product Company Transition

18:45 - Series A Experience: From $290M Revenue to $1M ARR

21:20 - The Boxsy Origin: "Ops in a Box" Concept During COVID

24:15 - 2023 Validation Year: Patient Approach to Market Research

27:40 - The Pivot Discovery: Investors Want Transparency Too

30:45 - Current Focus: Fundraising Readiness and Investor Matching

33:30 - Target Market: VCs Managing 10-400 Portfolio Companies

36:20 - The Challenge: Losing Two CTOs Since July 2024

39:15 - Non-Technical Founder Reality: Lovable vs. Months of Development

41:25 - Future Predictions: More Solo Entrepreneurs, Hands-On VCs

44:30 - Book Discussion: "French Landing" - 20 Stories from 20 Years

47:15 - Healthcare Horror Stories: Why Pet Insurance Makes More Sense

49:45 - Optimistic Outlook: AI as the Next Internet-Level Breakthrough

🔗 Connect with Elisabeth:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethbykoff/

Read Her Book: "French Landing" (Available in audiobook, narrated by Elisabeth)

Website: https://www.boxsy.io/

🎯 About Boxsy: Boxsy is a unified platform helping founders raise faster and investors make smarter, data-backed decisions.

#Entrepreneurship #AI #StartupOperations #Fundraising #VentureCapital #Immigration #TechFounder #BookLaunch

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If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Nestor Castillero went from having just $51 in his pocket to building Maera, a seven-figure company that helps global entrepreneurs launch US businesses. In this episode, he shares the raw truth about bootstrapping a business, the power of content marketing, and why US LLCs are game-changers for international founders.

What You'll Learn:

• How to build a business with almost no capital
• Why US LLCs give global entrepreneurs massive advantages
• Content marketing strategies that actually convert
• The decision between bootstrapping vs. raising capital
• How to turn financial pressure into business momentum

⏰ KEY TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Meet Nestor Castillero, Founder of Maera 02:30 - From Panama Lawyer to Wealth Management (Early Background) 05:45 - The Gold Fund Failure: Losing Everything and Starting Over 09:15 - The $51 Beginning: Birth of Maera in 2022 12:00 - First Customer: $899 from Peru and the Validation Moment 15:30 - Working 3 Jobs: Madrid Restaurant + Building Maera at Night 18:45 - The Green Card Approval and Move to New York 21:20 - Why LLCs Over Other Business Entities 24:15 - The 3 Key Benefits of US LLCs for Global Entrepreneurs 27:40 - Target Customers: Who Uses Maera's Services 30:45 - E-commerce and Amazon: Physical Products Strategy 33:30 - Content Marketing: The Free Customer Acquisition Strategy 36:20 - What Works vs. What Doesn't in Content Creation 39:15 - The Decision NOT to Raise Capital 41:25 - What Nestor's Optimistic About for the Future

🔗 Connect with Nestor:

Website: https://www.maera.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nestor-castillero

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maerahq/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maerahq

🎯 About Maera: Maera helps global entrepreneurs launch and grow US businesses with LLC formation, bank accounts, tax support, and more - all from anywhere in the world.

#Entrepreneurship #BusinessFormation #ContentMarketing #Bootstrapping #GlobalBusiness #LLC #StartupStory

Subscribe for more founder stories and business insights! 🔔

Enjoy the episode!

If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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Helping immigrants navigate life in the U.S.

From Nepal to New York City, Liesel Vaidya is the co-founder and CEO of Imera, a venture-backed platform focused on expanding access and opportunity for immigrants. Liesel previously served as CTO of a digital health startup, where she built award-winning products that transformed access to care for survivors of sexual assault. Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, she understands firsthand the barriers immigrants face when building a life in a new country.

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:06 Starting the First Company, and raising $9 million

02:51 Challenges and Lessons Learned

05:34 The Birth of a New Idea

09:52 Introducing Imera - bridging the knowledge gap for immigrants

14:02 Community Building and Partnerships

17:03 Future Vision and Goals

Connect with Liesel:

• Website: www.withimera.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lieselvaidya

Enjoy the episode!

#ImmigrationTech #ForeignFounders #StartupStory #EntrepreneurshipJourney #ImmigrantSuccess

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Measure and manage all your ad campaigns with RedTrack.io

Vlad Zhovtenko is the CEO and co-founder of RedTrack, the AI-driven analytics and automation platform for media buyers. He has been an active player in the digital advertising space since 2000, and has held multiple marketing and managing director roles in the industry. Beginning in 2008, Vlad worked as an independent consultant and advisor to companies seeking to improve their lead generation and ad tech, helping them create comprehensive digital sales and marketing strategies and establish relevant processes for sustained growth.

He co-founded AdxGeeks in 2015, which provided programmatic media-buying solutions through a white-label DSP SaaS program, then co-founded RedTrack in 2019 to make digital marketing analytics & automation more accessible to SMEs and to help media buyers to make smarter decisions and easily scale campaigns for revenue growth.

In this episode, Vlad shares his experiences:

• Fundraising for RedTrack over the course of 3 years
• Advice on Fundraising in a competitive vertical
• Building for product market fit with Chess and Go as a framework
• Life and pace in Lithuania

Find Vlad Zhovtenko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhovtenko/

Track, attribute, automate, and scale your advertising with RedTrack

Enjoy the episode!

If you love this episode, please share and review the podcast! It will help more immigrant and international founders find these content.

You can find us here: https://linktr.ee/foreignfounders

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