When Koji Kanematsu moved to the U.S. to launch his restaurant, he had experience, but zero credit history, no bank statements, and couldn't get a loan or a location. Instead of giving up, he served up persistence - founding Onigilly, the popular Japanese kitchen dedicated to bringing authentic, healthy Onigiri to America.

In this episode of Founders Without Borders, host Harshita sits down with Koji to talk about the brutal financial barriers that greet immigrant food entrepreneurs and how he stayed committed to introducing a new, authentic staple to the American palate.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How Koji navigated the "zero credit history" problem to secure his very first business location and funding

- The mission behind introducing the Onigiri (Japanese rice ball) as a healthy, everyday option in the U.S.

- The critical role persistence played - and how he kept going when other contemporary businesses decided to quit

- Why "never giving up" is the fundamental mindset needed to break through the initial hurdles of immigrant entrepreneurship.

✨ Check out Onigilly: bringing delicious, handmade Onigiri to communities across the United States.

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🎧 Listen to Founders Without Borders - the podcast highlights stories of immigrant founders who are building impactful, generational businesses across borders.📲 Follow us for more inspiring founder stories:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@foundersglobal

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCb2We4MMvzj-DwNt95K0zIw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/@foundersglobal

Akash Bhat came to the US dreaming of a career in sports media. Instead, he ended up in private equity, moved to investing, built a podcast, and finally pivoted to founding Leen, a cybersecurity company. His path proves that the most impactful journeys are rarely linear.

In this episode of Founders Without Borders, host Harshita sits down with Akash Bhat, founder of Leen, to talk about his incredible evolution across multiple facets of the tech world, why your career should be an "open canvas," and the immense personal growth that often follows professional pivots.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

- Akash’s "outrageous" philosophy on networking and why you must do things that make you stand out to attract real mentors

- How to embrace a non-linear journey - from wanting to work in entertainment to building a cybersecurity company

- The importance of showing up and demonstrating your worth through quality work

- Akash’s raw, honest perspective on navigating a fragile mental health state and the dramatic positive changes that can happen in just 12 months

✨ Check out Leen - Akash's new venture, building next-generation security tools for the digital world.

******************************

🎧 Listen to Founders Without Borders - the podcast highlights stories of immigrant founders who are building impactful, generational businesses across borders.📲 Follow us for more inspiring founder stories:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@foundersglobal

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCb2We4MMvzj-DwNt95K0zIw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/@foundersglobal

When a visa scare almost ended her dream, Liesel Vaidya turned fear into fuel — founding Imera, a platform helping immigrants and visa holders build better lives in the U.S. 🌎

In this episode of Founders Without Borders, host Harshita sits down with Liesel Vaidya (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lieselvaidya) , co-founder of Imera, to talk about her journey as an immigrant entrepreneur, the challenges of navigating complex U.S. visa systems, and how those experiences inspired her to create a startup empowering visa holders around the world.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How Liesel turned her visa struggles into a mission-driven startup idea

- What it takes to build a tech product for underserved communities

- The power of community and support for immigrants and international professionals

- How Imera is redefining what it means to live, work, and thrive on a visa

✨ Check out Imera: www.withimera.com - your all-in-one companion for visa holders offering guidance, community, and tools to simplify life in the U.S.

******************************

🎧 Listen to Founders Without Borders - the podcast highlights stories of immigrant founders who are building impactful, generational businesses across borders.📲 Follow us for more inspiring founder stories:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@foundersglobalYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCb2We4MMvzj-DwNt95K0zIw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/@foundersglobal

Welcome to the last episode of Season 2! In this episode, we chat with Sneha Saigal -  the co-founder and CEO of Geeks and Experts, a platform for startups and scale-ups to hire fractional PR talent on a contract basis. Sneha has over a decade of experience working in early-stage bootstrapped and VC-backed companies across industries, from food tech to social impact, and has obtained her MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. Apart from being a wine sommelier, she is also a top writer on Medium, where she writes about entrepreneurship, immigrant founders, and the future of work.

Sneha candidly chats about:

- why she moved back to India after completing her undergrad in the US

- the PR space and how her past experiences led her to start her company

- the importance of building a personal brand

- how to take charge of your life

That's it for Season 2! Thank you for your support over the last 2 seasons. To stay updated on when Season 3 launches, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with ⁠⁠Gian Segato - a hacker,  writer, occasional investor, and exited entrepreneur. He founded and sold Uniwhere,  a popular career management app for college students in Italy that went viral and was featured in several international media outlets from SkyNews24 to The Huffington Post.  He was born and raised in Italy and currently lives in San Francisco where he is now part of Replit's core AI team.

In this conversation, Gian shares:

- how the roles entrepreneur, writer, researcher, and hacker play in his life

- why he wanted to move to the US and how he made it happen

- what Europe can learn from the US and vice-versa

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with ⁠Swarali Karulkar⁠, aka Swara, a choreographer, movement therapist, and dance educator. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and moved to the US to pursue a career in dance therapy. She's the driving force behind ⁠BollyHeals⁠, NYC's premier dance wellness brand. In 2017, Swara introduced the transformative BollyHeals and BollyItems workshop series, combining her love for fusion dance styles, with her expertise in movement therapy. After testing her method across five different countries and 26 cities, she expanded it into the multidimensional brand known as BollyHeals.

In this conversation, Swara opens up about:

- how dance became a part of her life at a very young age

- the challenges she faced when she first moved to New York

- how she navigated getting her first job after grad school

- the source of her confidence and go-getter attitude

- how she started BollyHeals and a community around dance

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with Rohit Gijare, a dancer, choreographer, creator and founder of Exodus Artistry. Born in India and raised in the U. S. Rohit strives to blend aspects of both of his cultures through art. Dancing since the age of three, Rohit received formal training in Kathak, an Indian classical dance form. He further went on to expand his training in western forms such as hip hop and street jazz through studios such as Broadway Dance Center. He started his dance company Exodus Artistry a few years after college and most recently was casted in Yash Raj Film's newest endeavor, Come Fall in Love, the DDLJ musical, as an ensemble member and dance captain. His continued growth has led to choreography for two NBA halftime shows for the Philadelphia 76ers. Rohit's love for teaching has created a unique community, and he continues to tour all around the world to teach people dance.

In this conversation, Rohit shares:

- what it was like moving to the US from India when he was a kid

- how the support of his parents enabled him to pursue a career in dance

- what made him start his dance company and how COVID impacted his career

- how he sees competition vs. collaboration in the industry

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with Shai Unterslak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Co-Founder of Based Social Company (formerly known as Everything Bagel)⁠, a startup in the consumer AI space. Shai is a South African software engineer and founder based in San Francisco. He sold his first company to one of Africa's biggest scale-ups at age 22, before moving to the US in 2023 to build an AI startup. Since then he has navigated the O-1 visa process, met his co-founder, and is now building something new. On the side, Shai is also very passionate about helping other immigrants realize their dreams and has been actively helping aspiring founders navigate the complex US visa process by hosting monthly community calls.

Shai talks about:

- his experience tinkering and building businesses from a young age

- meeting his idol in South Africa and selling his first startup

- the importance of trying to be the kind of person you want to be surrounded by

- getting a cease and desist for a hackathon project that he worked on with some friends

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mika Reyes, Co-Founder and CEO of Parallax, a startup that aims to help people send money and get paid from abroad faster and cheaper. She moved to the U. S. to study at Wesleyan University. Prior to starting her own company, she worked in product roles at LinkedIn, Kumu, and Ripcord. Mika is very passionate about broadening access through tech in emerging markets like her home, the Philippines, and the rest of Southeast Asia. She currently lives in New York City and is an avid dancer.

Mika talks about:

- growing up in the Philippines

- navigating culture shock after she moved to the US for college

- why she likes to write and vlog her journey in tech

- what led to her leaving a comfortable job to start her own company

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.

Welcome back to another episode! In this episode, we chat with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arjun "Arj" Agarwal, Founder and CEO of ⁠Inaam, an Australian impact investing fintech company. He is a TedX speaker and a globally recognised entrepreneur and leader having worked across 3 continents. At 27, Arj is a social impact advocate working to bridge the global gap between capital, young people and entrepreneurship for a better tomorrow. Although he was born in India, Arj spent the majority of his life growing up in South Africa before relocating to Melbourne, Australia where he currently lives.

Listen to Arj talk about:

- what growing up as part of the Born Free Generation in South Africa was like

- where he gets his "dabbler" personality trait from

- how the loss of his father influenced his decision to start Inaam

- his childhood experiences that nurtured his interest in creating an impact

To stay updated on future episodes, please follow Founders Without Borders on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to message us on any of our social accounts.