Summary:
Jyoti Bansal moved from India to the US on an H-1B visa with the goal of building his own startup
He waited seven years for his green card before quitting his job to found AppDynamics
His company grew to 2,000 employees and was acquired by Cisco for $3.7 billion in 2017
He now runs multiple companies including Harness with 1,300 employees and has hired 4,000 people total
He believes immigration and H-1B visas are key to Silicon Valley's success in attracting global talent
The Journey Begins
When Jyoti Bansal was studying computer science at one of India's top universities, he became fascinated by startups. He was captivated by the impact startups had: the idea that you could start a company from scratch that provided outstanding services, technologies, and jobs.
Naturally, he then became fascinated by Silicon Valley. That's where the top startups in the world were being formed. His goal was to build a company, and it seemed like Silicon Valley was where he needed to be.
Jyoti Bansal came to the US with an H-1B visa and sold his company for $3.7 billion in 2017.
Overcoming Immigration Hurdles
Since he wasn't American, he couldn't just move to California and get to work. Instead, he came on an H-1B visa, which allows American companies to hire skilled workers from abroad.
He arrived in the US in 2000, when he was 21. There was so much excitement: not only about a new country and new job, but about the caliber of people he was exposed to. Silicon Valley is home to some of the smartest people in the world, and he was always surrounded by top talent. There was a buzz everywhere, even in the coffee shops.
He was working for a startup that had about 30 employees. When he moved to the US he wasn't sure he would stay forever. He thought he would get experience, then start his own company, maybe in the US or maybe in India. But once he was in Silicon Valley, it became clear to him that this was the best place in the world to be part of the startup ecosystem.
Building a Billion-Dollar Company
However, the H-1B is a work visa. He couldn't just up and start his own business. It was very frustrating. He knew he could create the technology to solve a specific problem. He just needed the right immigration status. Getting that took seven years.
When he finally had his green card (or permanent residency), he immediately quit his job, even before the final paperwork came through, and started his company, AppDynamics. The early days were a struggle, like any startup. He realized then how valuable his time working in other startups when he was on the H-1B visa had been. He learned a lot about what went right and — even more importantly — about what went wrong at those businesses.
That knowledge helped him grow his company quickly. At one point he had about 2,000 employees under him. In 2017, the company was acquired by Cisco for $3.7 billion.
Becoming an American Citizen and Continuing the Journey
After five years of being a permanent resident, he was eligible to apply for citizenship. He knew he wanted to. He has his Indian heritage, which he's very proud of. But he is also proud to be an American.
Getting his citizenship meant a lot to him personally, but he didn't change much professionally. Business travel became easier once he had an American passport.
Today his latest company, Harness, has about 1,300 employees. He also runs a venture firm and another company. Overall, he'd say he's hired about 4,000 people since he became a permanent resident in the US. He always prefers to hire Americans. And yet, that's not always possible. When you're recruiting for the top talent in the world, the competition is stiff, and you want to cast the widest net possible.
That's always been the beauty of immigration. People ask him why Silicon Valley is so successful. It's because of the people, many of whom come in on the H-1B visa. We attract the top talent globally, and that's good for the country and the economy.
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