In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I’m joined by Samuel Ekpe, the CEO and co-founder of Grupa.io, with a mission to democratize access to innovation. Grupa strives to get startups to work with the best talents and the best products built on Grupa – making it an entire ecosystem rather than a marketplace. At Grupa, you can hire expert developers and pay them with equity. By creating this level playing field for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, Grupa hopes to empower people to create new solutions that are innovative and beneficial for society as a whole.
Today, Samuel shares his experience as an international startup founder and immigrant presently living and working in California. Getting your visa and green card is like this whole chicken and egg thing with money and company, funding and investors, and proving your legitimacy to the U.S. government. It’s a long road, but if you really want to do it, then you’ve got to start now.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- The Silicon Valley in the cloud
- Setting up the foundation for his company
- The challenge of getting a visa when you’re from Lagos
- Finding his co-founder
- The importance of looking at technology shifts and changes
- The ultimate vision for Grupa
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Supporting Resources:
Angel: How to IGrupa IOnvest in Technology Startups by Jason Calcanis
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Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.