I
ran across this article today and thought, Hmm, looks like
people with expertise in international entrepreneurship could be in
high demand in the near future - right here in the U.S.
I discovered during my first year abroad (in Belgium in 2006-07) that I wanted to work in an international environment, and I wanted to do something that embraced and promoted the entrepreneurial spirit. It's no wonder these objectives led me to Belmont, where I was all too excited to find out that I had the opportunity to actually create a one-of-a-kind personal major, tailored precisely to my research and career interests. I decided right off the bat that my eventual goal would be to open a business consulting firm catering to small- and medium-sized enterprises with high growth potential and the desire to expand internationally. The fun I see in this is a perpetual game of "connecting the dots" -- across borders, languages, cultures, and different markets' needs.
What
I didn't realize was that it might not be so much about exporting
goods as it could be about importing
entrepreneurs. If
this "U.S. Startup Visa" pans out, who is going to educate
the foreign entrepreneurs that are queuing up, undoubtedly ready to rush our borders? Who will know enough about how the
system works in their countries of origin, so as to be able to best
explain the major differences in how we do things here in the U.S.?
Who will these aspiring business owners turn to when they have
questions about business terminology? -- anyone who's studied a
foreign language knows that there are lots of "false
friends" (words in language A that look or sound the same as
words or constructs in language B, but actually represent quite
different concepts) and these can be exceptionally deceptive once you
start navigating the business and financial lexicons.
With a lot of
research and continued travel & language study, I'm hoping to get
on the front end of this new trend and be ready when the
entrepreneurial expats come flooding in. Navigating a new
country and culture is hard enough as an individual. Pair that with
the pressure of meeting all the alleged seed capital, investment, and
sales thresholds required to keep your visa (see the article for vague details), and the uncertainty of
starting a new business skyrockets. If someone offered to guide you
through that process, ultimately allowing you and your family to
maintain residence in the U.S. and even profit from a private
enterprise, how (and how much) would you be willing to compensate that business coach when your new company gets off the ground and
starts seeing success?
No really. I'm
curious. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Comment below or email me:
shiraheden(at)gmail(dot)com
