Built By: Eveline Buchatskiy

Growing up in Brazil, Eveline initially attended university in her home country, but after two years decided to continue her education in the US. Education was extremely important to her and due to a lack of resources in Brazil, she arrived in the US in 1992 to study chemical engineering at UC Berkeley.

One could say entrepreneurship runs in Eveline’s blood. She grew up with a father who was not afraid to take risks and a mother who found it hard to believe that her daughter might want to work for someone other than herself. Later in life, Eveline discovered that her love for entrepreneurship ran very deep.

Her current venture, One Way VC, a venture capital fund that focuses on early-stage tech companies founded by immigrant entrepreneurs, is a natural segue: she has been investing for six years. Eveline first entered the startup world after completing her MBA and switching careers from engineering to investing. Her entrepreneurial genes came to light when she decided to launch a startup accelerator in Ukraine in 2011. Upon returning to the US, Eveline joined TechStars Boston as a director and mentor-in-residence before leaving to co-found One Way VC earlier this year.

True to her engineering background, Eveline is extremely analytical and likes to “get to the root of things.” Her innate curiosity and ability to listen aside, Eveline describes herself as “a hustler”–something that not only runs in her family but was also cemented by her experience immigrating to three different countries (the US, Ukraine and Luxembourg).

Eveline sees immigration as an entrepreneurial act because it involves a lot of ambiguity and “sacrificing a lot for a bigger goal and a better future”. She finds it almost equivalent with starting a business, as founders tend to put in their venture everything they have. Other similarities she finds between the two include ability to look at problems from a different perspective, adaptability and constant persistence.

According to Eveline, the US is not only a great place for entrepreneurs but it also provides a unique feeling of safety. She elaborates that the safety she feels does not only refer to the crime rates, but also in the ability to have your voice heard, and thinks that the country is founded on principles that one can easily relate to, such as justice and freedom. Although these concepts may often be taken for granted, she points out that immigrants usually appreciate them a lot because they’ve experienced a different way of life.

Written by: Nomunaa Purevbayar of Ellis Project

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