Monique Woodard I like this! Another sub-trend that’s all too often easy to miss is the rise of entrepreneurs from immigrant populations here in the US. Ofcourse, there are unique opportunities within these markets, e.g. the international money remittance space, though now largely saturated, was one that arose in large part due to the migration of people. Immigrants always send money home, but without any international experience, or international friends, it’s likely one may not be able to appreciate the size of this space and the opportunities therein, hence making an investment decision difficult (among other factors). Of recent, we have seen a surge in FinTech startups from places like Nigeria (PayStack, Flutterwave, etc), Philippines (Remitly — though US based, most of their business is in the Philippines), and many others.

The narrative I’m seeing from these founders is that they are looking deep into their experiences, and solving big and pressing issues that are quite unique, some of which could be drowned out in the US without the support of the likes of Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Techstars, etc. Having more successful founders would definitely help in ushering in the next wave, and I’m glad you are taking a lead role in sourcing and investing in these founders. I think we will see more of these in the near future.

Cheers.