Immigrants and billion dollar startups

From Mark Perry.

"From the Executive Summary of a new paper “Immigrants and Billion Dollar Startups” by Stuart Anderson, of the National Foundation for American Policy (see press release here):

Immigrants play a key role in creating new, fast-growing companies, as evidenced by the prevalence of foreign-born founders and key  personnel in the nation’s leading privately-held companies. Immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion dollars or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70% (62 of 87) of these companies. The research finds that among the billion dollar startup companies, immigrant founders have created an average of approximately 760 jobs per company in the United States. The collective value of the 44 immigrant-founded companies is $168 billion, which is close to half the value of the stock markets of Russia or Mexico. The research involved conducting interviews and gathering information on the 87 U.S. startup companies valued at more than $1 billion (as of January 1, 2016) that have yet to become publicly traded on the U.S. stock market and are tracked by The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones VentureSource. The companies, all privately-held and with the potential to become publicly traded on the stock market, are today each valued at $1 billion or more and have received venture capital (equity) financing.

From the Conclusion:

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of a market economy. But startup companies do not happen everywhere or by luck. Entrepreneurs need a legal structure and access tocapital and workers to take an idea and make it a flourishing reality. In the case of individuals not born in the United States, they also need immigration laws that allow them to work in the United States legally and hire other foreign-born individuals with technical expertise to help them grow.

The achievements of the immigrant entrepreneurs cited in this report are impressive. The job creation generated by their businesses has benefited tens of thousands of Americans, while the products and services produced by these immigrant-founded companies have been enjoyed by millions of American consumers. The research shows immigrants continue to provide many benefits to our country and their successes illustrate that America remains a land of opportunity."