Immigrant entrepreneurship in the United States: Intersectionality as a blessing and a curse

What is it about?

Immigrants are not just participants in the American economy—they are drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the past two decades, they've launched countless small businesses and founded over half of all U.S. unicorn startups valued at over $1 billion—half of them with only immigrants at the helm. Our latest research sheds light on this phenomenon. Drawing on data from multiple sources and advanced econometric techniques, we explore what motivates immigrants to become entrepreneurs—and how certain factors empower them to do so. Unlike previous intersectionality research that generally focuses on innate factors like gender and ethnicity, we explore the intersection of our non-innate identities (e.g., tennis players, diligent dads, passionate social workers, etc.), as there is so much more to us than what we are born with. In other words, without discounting the significance of structural barriers that many of us face, we highlight intersecting identities that can help us overcome our challenges. We find that the intersectional identity of the "educated immigrant go-getter" creates a unique disposition for entrepreneurship among immigrants. We also show how formal institutions and cultural “mindmaps” work together to enable or constrain immigrant entrepreneurship.

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Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Intersectionality theory has been criticized for overemphasizing innate traits, such as race and gender. There is a need to consider dynamic contextual factors that also shape individual lived experiences, with the recognition that the globalizing era provides opportunities for people to develop and enact new identities that are no longer necessarily tied to traditionally defined ethnolinguistic, national, or cultural identities. Individuals, including immigrants, are not confined to their innate identities but can mold them to achieve desired outcomes.

Perspectives