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Beyond Borders: Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Hult was my stepping stone toward building a career in the US. I chose the master in International Marketing to go deeper in the international and cultural aspect, become better in networking, improve my presenting and leadership skills, but most importantly to learn from other cultures. Networking in Boston, visiting startup events, internships, and doing the same thing in San Francisco where I rotated to was exhausting. I forgot that moving to San Francisco meant I had to do all these things again for the first time; it was hell but also felt like a fresh start, a new and exciting chapter. I had a plan; work my ass off, get connected, graduate with honors, and get the job I wanted before the school year ended.

The Tedious Job Search

After sending out countless resumes, cover letters, meeting alumni to ask for advice, and going to interviews over a period of several months, I found an internship in San Francisco through the Hult job portal. Here I would work in marketing strategy for a startup with the promise of a full-time position and sponsorship so I could continue to grow my career in the US.

Visa Uncertainty and Exploring Countries Other Than the US

My boss and I talked about the work visa various times during my 6-month internship. Even though my boss was very happy with my performance, several events occurred with contracts that rendered my shot at the H1B visa useless. There was enough money to sponsor me, but not enough to afford the yearly salary that was required.

I had to look for plan B. One thing that Hult amplified during my year was my ability to adapt to constant change, whether in projects, leading teams, networking, or other situations. I need to switch jobs I thought, find a company that can sponsor me, but there was no time. I considered other visa options; the investor visa, the F1 again, or the O visa where I would position myself as a thought leader in my field. Since Trump became president I also considered moving to Canada, either on a study visa or for a work permit.

I have never considered to have my roots in The Netherlands and I obviously had my mind set on staying in the US so I explored the possibility of moving to Canada as the next best thing. From what I’ve heard they have great options for European citizens, their International Experience Canada (IEC) allows people between 18-30 to experience Canada through work. They have a visa where you work for 1 company specifically or one where you can work for any employer and can travel as much as you want. Both have their own application process. In addition, Canada favors internationals that have a good education and can speak multiple languages, so it’s relatively easy to gain points; plus, Toronto and Vancouver are becoming major tech hubs that need highly skilled grad students like us.

Going from Intern to Business Owner

In the meantime, I became busy wearing multiple hats beyond marketing strategy, I was doing business development, account management, email marketing, marketing crm, managing projects, consultants and vendors; it was a lot.

I started to notice that things were moving too slowly for me. I could do more, and had different ideas for how things should be done. I felt that I was coming to a crossroads with my current company and I needed to be in control and have freedom. Entrepreneurship represented a clear path forward.

I knew my boss wanted me to stay until my visa would expire (August 31st 2017), so while I kept working there, I researched what it would take to start my own company as a non-resident, and how I could leverage that to stay in the US.

I decided to go for an LLC because it required:

  • Less paperwork

  • Lowest operating cost to have a separate legal entity.

Location and place of business were my first priorities. It was important for me to be in San Francisco for the status, but also because you need a business license in the city where you want to do business. Once I registered my company with the City of San Francisco (including my business name and with website included), it was time to find a virtual office. I decided to go for a shared working space.

The third step was to open a business bank account, something I underestimated in retrospect. There were two obstacles I encountered in finding a bank to open an account:

  • My status as a non-resident.

  • Lack of business registration with the state of California.

I had no idea that if you do business in any city or county, you still have to register with the State of California. One reason is because one of the banks told me that they look in the business registry there for your details before they authorize opening your account. Since big banks either wouldn’t accept me because my status or because the cost for a starting company I decided to go with a small bank that helped me by explaining the process.

Canada Expansion & Challenges

Shortly after this, I brought up the subject with my manager and he understood my need for growth. He started to see me as a business partner and we began transitioning me from a marketing strategist to a contractor providing marketing services. We also talked about the obvious routes to stay longer, (be creative, ladies and gentlemen). Since I was already looking at Canada and I preferred that over Mexico (since I don’t know the language) I started to research what it would take to start a company or branch in Canada and what the pros and cons would be, as well as the cost.

I selected Vancouver on account of its:

  • Proximity to San Francisco

  • Similar environment and time zone

  • Tax environment

  • The CAD exchange rate

I did biggest chunk of research looking into income taxes, business taxes, regulations, international tax treaties, bank accounts, and virtual offices. Another benefit of choosing Vancouver is that the province of British Colombia is small business friendly and does not require the foreign business owner to have Canadian citizenship. In addition, having a company in Canada would allow me to travel there on a visitor visa (Valid 5 years) and come back to the US on a visitor visa. (Valid 2 years) It wasn’t the perfect solution but it was good enough until I could find a more permanent fix, either by generating a higher income with my business so I could sponsor my own entrepreneur visa, or by gaining work experience in Canada which would build towards a permanent residency there.

I discovered that Canada doesn’t acknowledge LLC business entities so I either had to start a corporation or register my LLC as a foreign corporation. The latter seemed to be the easiest and required the least amount of paper work. I needed to visit Vancouver to open a bank account and explore the city and I was 100% confident I could see myself living there. I came to Vancouver and it is a beautiful city and most of all the friendly. I had some issues with the registration of my LLC and opening the bank account which was dependent on that (and I only had a couple days to sort it all out), but the provincial business registry of British Columbia was remarkably well organized and solution driven. They helped me from the start and the bank worked with me via email to put the finishing touches on opening my small business checking account.

Aerial View of Downtown Vancouver

What’s Next?

Now that I have both of my business locations set up and operational I’m able to be creative with my income, make investments, and find additional clients to work with beyond the company I am currently contracting for. To me, running a successful startup isn’t just about laying the foundation to exist, it’s also about using the tools and tricks you’ve learned to show your worth and help other businesses exceed their expectations and make them more successful.

I don’t know what the future will bring but I know that whatever challenges arise, I will be able to tackle them head on. No matter whether I am in the US or in Canada, I will never let a location stop me from moving forward.

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