I’m an immigrant, a founder, and I believe in the future of an open America
Given the most recent changes in immigration policies by the new US government, I’d like to share my own experience being an immigrant founder. It’s often tricky to share political opinions as a company CEO but this is more than a political opinion — it’s a matter of diversity and the positive impact it creates in the country I now call home. I also believe this is a stand we need to take together in the tech community.
Born and raised in Barcelona, the first time I heard about Silicon Valley was during a semester abroad at the University of Michigan in 2008. I started listening to a podcast from a Stanford University class where entrepreneurs and leaders like Reid Hoffman, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marissa Mayer shared their experiences. I was inspired. So inspired that after graduation, I bought a one-way ticket to California so I could get closer to joining this incredible group of people that was leveraging technology to change the world. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I would be joining a legacy of immigrant entrepreneurship in this country.
Settling in Silicon Valley
When I first arrived in California, I landed a job at Tapulous, one of the first mobile game developer studios. My business card said “apprentice entrepreneur”. Then, it felt mostly like a pretty awesome place to get started. In hindsight, I realize it was so much more. It was the type of opportunity that often only exists in free and flourishing communities. The founders were also Belgian and Australian.
After Tapulous was acquired by Disney, inspiration hit me again. I saw an opportunity in a growing mobile gaming industry that was missing key infrastructure elements to support it. In 2011, with my Tapulous colleague turned co-founder, Sean Fannan, we launched what would become the company we still co-run today — mobile game monetization and discovery platform Chartboost. At the time, one of our advisors helped us find a desk at an incubator that provided us free office space for six months plus a good network of business mentors. I saw first hand how this country is inherently designed for business growth.
Chartboost is in its sixth year now. We’ve raised over $20 million, we have generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for game developers around the world and we have created over 100 American jobs. At the same time, we have a significant percentage of our team in San Francisco on visas and green cards. In fact, half of our leadership team has a green card. One thing I can guarantee is that without this diverse team the wealth we’ve created here in America, and in the world, wouldn’t exist.
Being An Immigrant Founder Today
Being an immigrant is not an easy choice or path. Friends and family left behind, learning a new language, assimilating to the culture of wherever you start building a new life are all challenging. What softens these challenges is the open acceptance of America. A place where you can build a new life, a place that supports big dreams and encourages you to reach for them. I remain focused on the great opportunities this unique place has offered me. I came to Silicon Valley confident that this was the best place to start a business, or at least to learn that skill — and I am still convinced I was right.
Being an immigrant is American, it’s how this country was founded and why it’s the place it is today. The US must not close its doors, it must continue to be a leader in what freedom truly stands for. All of the reasons that I left my life behind to settle here — opportunity, acceptance, the ability to create and to have a big impact — are at risk right now.
I’m proud of our community of tech leaders who have publicly showed support of immigration. I lend my voice in support of immigration in America and I believe this continues to make our country, my new home country, stronger overall.
