9 Immigrant Entrepreneurs Who Founded Great Companies

In this article, we’re heading to the boardroom to meet nine immigrant entrepreneurs who founded great companies.

The world of entrepreneurship is a diverse playground, filled with captivating stories of immigrant entrepreneurs who have risen to great heights.

From tech giants to design and innovation moguls, their stories fascinate and inspire. Alongside these inspirational individuals, it’s also important to recognise the indispensable role of immigration lawyers for businesses, providing crucial support and expertise in navigating complex immigration laws.

In this article, we’ll be celebrating nine immigrant entrepreneurs who founded remarkable companies.

1. Timo Boldt

If you’re a foodie, you will no doubt have heard of Gousto – and may even have tried it yourself. The popular recipe box company was founded in 2012 by German entrepreneur Tim Boldt and now has a revenue of £315 million and sends around two million meals to customers every month.

2. Kristo Kaarmann & Taavet Hinrikus

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a hugely successful foreign exchange fintech company which was founded in 2010 by Estonian entrepreneurs Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus.

3. Yonatan Raz-Fridman

There’s little doubt that technology will play a big part of our future and many parents are keen for their kids to learn tech skills as early as possible. Israel born Yonatan Raz-Fridman has cashed in on this with his company, Kano, which produces computer building kits for children. Founded in 2012 with Saul and Alex Klein, Klano raised $15 million for the project and went on to sell 40,000 kits in its first year.

4. Will Shu

Us Brits love our takeaways and, in 2013, UK based American businessman, Will Shu, launched his food delivery service, Deliveroo. The business which collects food from local restaurants and delivers it to customers ticked along quite nicely to begin with but then quickly skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic which began in 2020. The company now operates in 40 cities around the world – 35 of which are in the UK. When asked about his secret to success, Will says, “If there’s any advice I would give to would-be entrepreneurs, it would be, to have one idea that you’re super passionate about. Don’t start ‘Etsy for pets’ if you don’t really like dogs right!”

5. Miguel Amaro & Mariano Kostelec

The key to any successful business is to find a gap in the market and then deliver a solution and, in 2013, that’s just what Portuguese Miguel Amaro, Slovenian Mariano Kostelec and Brit Ben Grech did when they launched Unplaces.

The company was created to help students find accommodation and as Ben explains, it was born from their own experiences. “Our experience was horrible. It was clear that people were doing more online and that marketplaces such as Airbnb were a great travel solution, but finding accommodation was such a problem for students around the world.”

6. Alexandra Margolis & David Santoro

From Sweden and Italy, Margolis and Santoro, along with British national James Hind, created CarWow in 2009. In just three short years, the car buying comparison site which is based in Holborn, London, has amassed over a million users and has sold over £550 million worth of vehicles.

7. Stelios Haji-Ioannou

In the last couple of decades, budget airlines have helped to open up the world for millions of travellers and founder of EasyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was one of the first to tap into this lucrative industry. Athens born Stelios was educated in London and launched EasyJet in 1995. Known as much for his flamboyant personality as for his business savvy, Stelios has taken the company from strength to strength with a current revenue of around £5.769 billion.

8. Nikolay Storonsky & Vlad Yatsenko

Another fintech company, Revolut was launched in 2015 and was created to offer a number of banking services through a single app. The company was founded by Nikolay Storonsky from Moscow and Ukrainian Vlad Yatsenko and has a revenue of approximately £162.7 million.

9. Michela Magas

From beautiful Croatia, Michela Magas is the founder of design and innovation lab Stromatolite and winner of the EU Prize for Women Innovators. UK based Stromatolite is responsible for the Music Tech Fest platform among other innovations.

Entrepreneurship from Overseas

The stories of these nine immigrant entrepreneurs who founded great companies remind us that the entrepreneurial spirit knows no boundaries. Their journeys teach us that regardless of our backgrounds or where we come from, we all have the potential to achieve greatness. Their stories serve as a testament to the incredible impact immigrants have on society and inspire us to embrace our own entrepreneurial aspirations.