Tribute To 10 Foreign Entrepreneurs Living The American Dream

Foreign entrepreneurs are a valuable asset to the country as they contribute to different communities, create job opportunities and improve the living standards of the people.

Entrepreneurs in the business world need to embrace the change and be welcoming to encourage them to stay and succeed in the country.

Studies say that more than a quarter of US businesses are being launched by immigrants. This is a sure sign of prosperity.

We must never forget the people who settled here and enriched American society. This is especially given the fact that America is considered a land of opportunities where people turn their dreams into reality.

There have been many entrepreneurs who have successfully achieved their dreams in the country with perseverance, strength, and sheer willpower. We must always remember and honor these successful Entrepreneurs on Independence Day.

When we talk about foreign entrepreneurs, it is important to remember that they started businesses from scratch. Considering the fact that they migrated to build new lives for themselves, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

As a result, they possess a more intricate understanding of how American businesses work and how they can serve American society.

There can be many reasons why these people choose to migrate. Whatever these reasons are, the choice to move is still a huge step since they are required to live in an alien country.

In light of this, we’ll be taking a look at the stories of foreign entrepreneurs who are successfully living the American dream:

1. Ben Huh

Follow: @benhuh

Ben Huh, Cheezburger’s Network CEO, was a native of Seoul, South Korea. At the age of 10 he moved to California with his family. As English wasn’t his mother language, he struggled with it initially. But it was hard work and dedication that allowed him to get his degree from the Northwestern Medill School of Journalism. Ben overcame the language barrier by relying on American media.

2. Ayah Bdeir

Follow: @ayahbdeir

Born in Montreal but raised in Lebanon, Ayah Bdeir owns a hardware business called LittleBits which is locatedoutside New York City. As a child, Bdeir always loved designs but her parents wanted her to pursue engineering as she had shown aptitude in math and science. LittleBits is a combination of both her childhood interests.

3. Elon Musk

Follow: @elonmusk

The South African native and CEO of Tesla spent his childhood in different South African cities. Elon Musk later immigrated to Canada and gained admission in Queen’s University. After completing college, he majored in Physics and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

4. Jan Koum

Follow: @jankoum

Co-founder of Whatsapp, Jan Koum hails from a rural village outside Kiev, Ukraine. At the age of 16, Koum and his mother left the country to escape anti-Semitism in their homeland.. They packed 20 Soviet issued notebooks to save the expense of buying school supplies before moving to California.

5. Phil Libin

Follow: @plibin

Phil Libin is the CEO Evernote. He says his family was lucky when they were allowed to leave the former Soviet Union. His family left for the US when he was 8 and spent his life in a tough neighborhood in the Bronx. However, Phil spent most of his time indoors with computers.

6. Sergey Brin

Follow: @Plaid_Brin

Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin came from Moscow. His family had to leave the former Soviet Union to escape anti-Semitic sentiments when he was 6. Sergey’s mother became a research scientist at NASA and father, a math professor at the University of Maryland. Brin received his education from the same university.

7. Arianna Huffington

Follow: @ariannahuff

Co-founder of Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, was born in the suburbs of Athens in Greece. After her parents split in 1969, she moved to London with her mother and later gained admission at Cambridge University. Her Greek accent made her a target for racists because of which she was forced to move again, this time to New York.

8. Vinod Khosla

Follow: @vkhosla

Co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla, came from a military family in New Delhi, India. He studied at renowned technological in his native country.. Unable to pursue a professional career in India, Vinod immigrated to the U.S. where he received a degree in MS in bio medical sciences from the Carnegie Mellon University.

Peter Thiel

Follow: @peterthiel

PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel was born to German parents Klaus Thiel, a chemical engineer and Susanne Thiel in Frankfurt, Germany. His family moved to the U.S. when Thiel was one, where he was raised in California.

10. Max Levchin

Follow: @mlevchin

Born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin moved to Crimea with his family, away from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site. To escape Anti-Semitism, they migrated to the U.S and settled in Chicago, Illinois.

We wish all of these foreign entrepreneurs a very happy Independence Day and thank them for investing their efforts towards making this country a better place to work and live in.