The ridiculous advantage non-immigrants often have
In business & life, there is crucial unfairness children of immigrants have to face. But there’s hope.
Recently I read a great story written by Teresa Stiens for the “German Wall Street Journal” called Handelsblatt, who also had written an article about our startup. Her story was about How Germany was squandering the tech potential of migrant children — wow! I instantly felt how accurate that was. So many high potentials and risk-takers, and no one cared.
Teresa wrote about how, far too often, founders with a migration history are thwarted on their way to the top.
Obviously, many founders with an immigrant background have a strong startup mindset and have a greater willingness to take risks — and therefore frequently break new ground economically.
The most common explanation for the disruptive entrepreneurial potential of immigrant children is that they are driven by a particular hunger for success. There are no comfortable life paths dictated by their parents that they simply have to follow, which is a key advantage non-immigrants often have.
People without any immigrant history don’t see how fortunate they sometimes are. Of course, it’s much simpler to walk a comfortable route, already made for you. All risks are calculated and thought about.
But as a society competing with advanced technology from different countries, we have to face the reality: As a nation and community, we can only survive the battle of technology with a growth mindset and a greater willingness to take risks.
Unfortunately, in this country, children of migrants still face major career obstacles. Lack of access to education and capital makes advancement difficult. Crucial is also the lack of possibilities of going outside your community (e.g. travel) for personal and business growth due to financial weakness or other related reasons.
As a result, Germany is squandering its opportunity to make better use of the unique potential of immigrant children.
Great companies and huge potential are already in the pipes. We should start acknowledging that and unleash the potential.
For now, we are still in the learning process.
But we will get there one day.
