Foreign Entrepreneurs Finding the American Dream

It's hard enough to start a small business in your own country, let alone in a foreign land.

However, there are countless entrepreneurs who've found success after immigrating to the U.S. with little more than an idea for a business. It's the old story of the American Dream.

According to a May 2007 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, incoming Asians, Latinos and others outpaced native-born Americans in entrepreneurial activity last year. The immigrant rate of entrepreneurial activity increased from 0.35% in 2005 to 0.37 % in 2006; similar to previous years, this rate was substantially higher than that for the native-born population (0.27%).

Finding Opportunity

Russian immigrant Alex Konanykhin, 40, ran a successful banking and investment business in Russia but was kidnapped on a business trip to Budapest in 1992. He managed to escape, decided to come to the U.S. and eventually was granted asylum here.

He recently wrote about his fascinating, life-changing events in Defiance, or How to Succeed in Business Despite Being Hounded by the FBI, the KGB, the INS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, Interpol, and Mafia Hit Men.

Konanykhin, then 25, arrived in the U.S. without any baggage, money or even the ability to speak English, which forced him to learn quickly and take advantage of opportunities. "It took courage to jump on a new opportunity. Many people wait too long trying not to take risks, but taking risks is what makes entrepreneurship possible," Konanykhin points out.