The Peel with Turner Novak

Silicon Valley's Secret 4-Week Visa with Lisa Wehden at Plymouth Street

Jul 11, 2024

Lisa Wehden, Founder of Plymouth, talks about the O1A visa for talented individuals, the challenges of US immigration, and her unique journey. She discusses raising grant money, breaking into Silicon Valley, and the importance of talent in AI development.

01:10:53

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Episode guests

Lisa Wehden

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Quick takeaways

O1 visa offers streamlined process for skilled professionals in the US

Plymouth ensures 4-week visa approval with 99% success rate

Top talent bottleneck in AI industry underscores importance of skilled individuals

Deep dives

Demand for Alternative Visa Categories

Some of the world's best talent faces challenges in obtaining the H-1B visa due to a lottery system. This limits innovation as top minds in AI and quantum may have to leave the US if not selected. The O1 visa, an underexplored option, offers a streamlined process, providing a pathway for technologists to work in the US. With the focus on conciseness and precision, Plymouth aims to increase approval rates through a well-structured application playbook.

Immigration Driving American Innovation

01:16

Efficient O1A Visa Process

01:26

Intro

5min

US Immigration and Visa Categories

7min

Exploring the Benefits of the 01A Visa for Exceptionally Talented Individuals

14min

Navigating US Immigration Challenges and Building a Community

17min

Nurturing Talent for Innovation in AI

12min

Optimizing Productivity and Pursuing Passionate Work

11min

Discussion on Airplane Mode for Deep Work and Proposed US Immigration Policy Changes

2min

Simplifying Immigration Processes for Talented Immigrant Builders in the Technology Industry

2min

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Lisa Wehden is the Founder and CEO of Plymouth Street, making fast and simple immigration for technologists. We go deep on the broken US immigration system, how its holding back US innovation, and the secret 0-1A Visa you can get in as fast as four weeks.

Lisa lived in a sawmill while building her first climate tech startup, and we go inside that journey, giving the VC money she raised back to start Plymouth, raising grants to fund it, and how she broke into Silicon Valley as an outsider.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro (04:51) The state of US immigration (09:26) Why immigrants are good founders (11:43) The secret O-1A Visa (12:18) Why the O-1A is easier to get (16:54) Founders that have gotten their O-1A (20:00) Getting a Visa in four weeks with Plymouth (22:01) The 500-page, physical paper Visa application (25:57) Lisa’s US immigration COVID hobby (27:58) Living in a Sawmill building a climate tech startup (30:59) Giving VCs their money back (32:19) Joining Interact in SF (33:51) Raising grant money instead of VC (34:40) Becoming a paralegal to learn the industry (37:24) The Plymouth 100 community (39:20) How Lisa raised grant funding from Eric Schmidt and Tyler Cowen (43:55) Talent is the bottleneck to AI development (46:04) How to break into Silicon Valley as an outsider (52:43) Hiring on hopes and fears (55:31) "Write it down, make it happen" (56:45) Benefits of doing a calendar audit (1:01:54) Anyone can be an entrepreneur (1:04:53) Why Lisa doesn’t work from her phone (1:06:38) How to fix the US immigration system

More on Plymouth Street: https://www.plymouthstreet.com/

Referenced:

Interact: https://joininteract.com

Lisa’s 0-1 Visa Guide: https://lisa-wehden.medium.com/a-guide-to-applying-for-the-o-1-visa-for-extraordinary-individuals-8ca5f22ff86b

Writing a forwardable email intro: https://also.roybahat.com/introductions-and-the-forward-intro-email-14e2827716a1

Where to find Lisa:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisawehden

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-wehden-aa111385/

Where to find Turner:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovak/

Newsletter: https://www.thespl.it/