Silicon Valley's Secret 4-Week Visa with Lisa Wehden at Plymouth Street
Jul 11, 2024
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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.
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.
The O1A Visa for Extraordinary Ability
The O1A visa stands out as an uncapped visa category compared to the oversubscribed H-1B. Applicants with extraordinary ability in STEM, business, or arts can apply efficiently, with options for premium processing. By meeting specific eligibility criteria, individuals such as PhD graduates or hackathon judges could qualify for the O1A visa, enabling quicker access to skilled professionals in the US.
Facilitating Fast and Simplified Immigration
Plymouth's tech-enabled service offers a rapid immigration process, completing applications within four weeks, unlike the months taken by traditional methods. With a focus on accuracy and customer experience, Plymouth achieves a 99% approval rate compared to the national average. By providing a straightforward and streamlined approach, Plymouth aims to be the pathway to fulfilling the American dream for ambitious technologists.
The importance of talent in the tech industry
Talent is a critical resource in the tech industry, with the ability to find and attract the best minds being essential for innovation. In the AI sector, the availability of top talent is identified as the primary bottleneck hindering progress. The conversation emphasizes that having the right people is more crucial than advanced technology, as skilled individuals can leverage AI tools to enhance productivity and create impactful solutions, driving industry advancement.
Entrepreneurial opportunities for everyone
The discussion challenges traditional views on entrepreneurship, advocating that anyone can be an entrepreneur in various forms beyond startups. It highlights the diverse avenues for problem-solving, such as social entrepreneurship, policy entrepreneurship, or content creation. The narrative emphasizes the importance of aligning work with personal interests and energy, shifting the focus from conventional startup models to innovative problem-solving approaches that suit individual talents and passions.
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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/
