Built By: Semyon Dukach

Originally from Moscow, Semyon Dukach moved to the US at the age of 10, after his parents decided to leave the Soviet Union in 1979. He went on to earn a BS in Computer Science from Columbia University before continuing his education at MIT, where he made his first claim to fame by leading the MIT Blackjack Team in the early 90s.

Since then, Semyon has gone on to play an important role in the Boston startup ecosystem: he founded Fast Engines, a solution that enhanced the performance of web applications, which sold to Adero in 2000. He has become one of the most active angel investors in New England, and led TechStars Boston. His most recent venture, One Way VC, is an early-stage venture capital fund that focuses on a special group of founders — those that immigrated to the US.

When asked about the reasons behind creating a fund for immigrant entrepreneurs, Semyon explains that he considers immigration a moral imperative. He strongly believes that people should be free to live in the country of their choice, and that immigration by itself is an entrepreneurial act. “It takes a special kind of person to uproot themselves”, he says.

In fact, Semyon thinks that immigrant entrepreneurs may have higher odds of success. His rationale is that immigrating to a different country generally requires a lot of tenacity and perseverance, as migrants often need to separate themselves from their milieu, face uncertainty and adapt to their new home. Therefore, the gumption displayed by immigrants could be interpreted as an indicator for their success as founders. Moreover, Semyon points out that 51% of the billion-dollar startups in the US have at least one immigrant founder and the percentage increases if second-generation immigrants are taken into account — a fact that supports his stance on the connection between immigration and entrepreneurship

Semyon believes that the challenges faced by foreign-born entrepreneurs often overlap with those that native founders may encounter. Although immigration adds a layer of complexity, he maintains that the most difficult thing for an entrepreneur is finding a product-market fit, and there’s always a way to solve the visa problem.

True to his desire to help entrepreneurs succeed regardless of their national origin, Semyon wants to provide support for immigrant entrepreneurs throughout their startup journeys and work with them to navigate the challenges along the way. In fact, even the name of the fund, One Way, was carefully chosen to align with this objective — because when leaving their country of origin, “immigrants buy a one-way ticket.”

Written by: Leia Ruseva of Ellis Project

If you’d like to share your story, get in touch with us at info@newenglandvc.org