Ep 03: Manan Mehta | Unshackled Ventures and Immigrant Entrepreneurship

A conversation with Manan Mehta, Founding Partner at Unshackled Ventures. Unshackled Ventures was founded in 2014 with the mission to help immigrant founders succeed. The firm invests in immigrant entrepreneurs at the ideation stage (60% of commits made before incorporation), sponsors visas, and provides full immigration support for immigrant founders who often do not have the support network of native-born founders. Unshackled has made 55 investments to date, backing founders from 6 different continents. Manan shares his experience building a company with an immigrant founder and learning the pain points of visa issues facing immigrant entrepreneurs. He highlights that the main challenge facing immigrant founders is not what they know, but who they know. Manan discusses how Unshackled has found its niche market in the VC space through its expansive access to a fast-growing network of immigrant entrepreneurs.