Immigrant Founders: Pitch, Network, & Learn from Unicorn Founder Sharmin Ali

💡 What’s the Unspoken Reality of Immigrant Founders
Most people only see the outcome: the company name, the traction, the headline, the visa that “worked out.” What they don’t see is everything underneath: the uncertainty, the tradeoffs, the distance from home, and the pressure to make it work—not just for yourself, but for everyone who believed in you.
For immigrant founders, the journey is about building stability, identity, and belonging. It's where ambition meets constraint, resilience is learned, and progress often happens quietly.
This night is dedicated to founders navigating this reality—to share their experiences, speak openly about struggles, exchange invaluable knowledge, and connect with others who truly understand.

💭 What This Gathering Is Really About
This isn’t a polished demo day or a hype room. It’s a fireside-style conversation and rapid pitch social for deeply committed immigrant founders who sacrifice comfort, certainty, and geography to build something meaningful.
We’ll discuss:

• What it takes to keep going when the path is unclear
• Hard-won lessons across visas, fundraising, hiring, and identity
• What’s truly working, not just what sounds good online
• The transformative power of community when you stop going it alone
  Because for immigrant founders, progress is rarely linear—but it is absolutely shared.

🙋 Who This Is For

• Immigrant founders building startups, products, or communities
• Builders facing uncertainty, pressure, or isolation while still showing up
• Founders who value honest conversations over polished narratives
• Anyone looking to connect over the shared courage of building far from home

Agenda:

• 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Registration & Networking with Drinks!
• 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm: Fireside Chat with Sharmin Ali
• 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Startup Lightning Pitches - Apply to Pitch
• 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Networking with Drinks!

🎤 Speaker Highlight
Sharmin Ali is a 3× founder, bestselling author, and keynote speaker who has built multiple companies, raised over $200M, and created over 10,000 jobs globally. She focuses on how AI is transforming work and decision-making, challenging leaders to rethink their approaches in an AI-driven world.

🤝 Investment & Support

• Drink Sponsor: OoMee, a marine plant beverage that helps curb cravings with its proprietary blend of marine plant fibers.
• Hosts: Funding Breakthrough Lab, a nonprofit pre-accelerator empowering founders through education, networks, and resources for a better tomorrow. Founded by Natalie Pan, an engineer and community builder.
• Space Sponsored by Kranz Consulting, delivering expertise in fractional accounting, CFO advisory, and strategic finance for high-growth businesses.

🔗 For more information and to register, visit Event Registration