Built By: Nilanjana Bhowmik of Converge
My story is part of a broader narrative. I was born in India and came to the United States in 1991. I belong to the “brain drain” generation that was India’s loss and America’s win. Post-independence from Britain in 1947, India built strong educational institutions that trained some of the best engineers, scientists and doctors. But a closed economy, stalled growth and continued political quagmire led to deep disillusionment about the future and an exodus of the best trained from elite institutions including the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science and All India Institute of Medical Science. The phenomenon was most acute from the mid ’70s to the ’90s, so much so that it was dubbed the “brain drain”. The United States was the main beneficiary for several reasons: commonality of the English language; highly selective graduate programs at top Universities that offered generous scholarships; clear immigration policies that gave an onramp from graduate programs to employment & naturalization; a dynamic economy; and above all, an open and welcoming society.
The “brain drain” generation rolled up its sleeves and got to work. Their contribution to the US economy, particularly in tech has been remarkable: Vinod Khosla co-founder Sun Microsystems, Naren Gupta co-founder Integrated Systems Inc., Vinod Dham “Pentium Engineer”, Prabhu Goel founder Gateway Design Automation, Sabeer Bhatia founder Hotmail, Sundar Pichai CEO Google, Satya Nadella CEO Microsoft, Padmasree Warrior ex-CTO Motorola & CISCO, Shantanu Narayen CEO Adobe Systems and closer home in Boston, Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande co-founder Sycamore Networks, Jit Saxena co-founder Netezza, Vijay Manwani co-founder BladeLogic, Ash Ashutosh founder Actifio and Nitin Nohria Dean Harvard Business School, to name just a few. Collectively, Indian founders account for 33% of all immigrant founded startups in the United States (Kauffman Foundation). And their story in turn is part of the even broader success narrative of immigration and entrepreneurship in the United States. Together, they underscore how a well-designed immigration policy attracts the very best talent from all parts of the world to fuel the nation’s economy. The “brain drain” generation could have gone to any developed country, they chose to come to the United States. Favorable immigration policies were a major factor.
As for my story, it’s about a journey of integration, assimilation, bridging back and giving back. I too belong to the Indian “brain drain” generation. And I have benefited greatly from America’s meritocratic system: a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Univ. South Carolina, a dynamic start-up Object Design that fed my boundless appetite for tech and business, working at a premier tech investment bank Broadview, and the gratification of backing hard-charging entrepreneurs as a VC. All through this journey, my simple view of “America, the land of opportunity” circa 1991 has evolved into a more nuanced understanding of what it takes to maintain that meritocratic system: the deep civic, political and economic engagement of its citizens to keep the playing field level, for all. Which brings me to the present. Of late, my adopted hometown of 24 years, Boston, risks losing its dominant position in tech entrepreneurship (2nd only to silicon valley) due to an acute lack of early stage capital. With a fabulous, like-minded co-founder Maia Heymann, whom I have known for 13 years, I am engaging to keep the playing field level for our Boston founders. Read about the start of that journey here.
Written by: Nilanjana Bhowmik of Converge
If you’d like to share your story, get in touch with us at info@newenglandvc.org.
