While the Trump administration continues to overhaul U.S. immigration policy and crack down on illegal immigration, southeastern Wisconsin’s immigrant entrepreneurs remain undeterred as they seek to grow their companies in their chosen communities. Wisconsin’s immigrant community has grown to about 5.4% of the state’s residents, according to data from the American Immigration Council. In addition
While the Trump administration continues to overhaul U.S. immigration policy and crack down on illegal immigration, southeastern Wisconsin’s immigrant entrepreneurs remain undeterred as they seek to grow their companies in their chosen communities.
Wisconsin’s immigrant community has grown to about 5.4% of the state’s residents, according to data from the American Immigration Council.
In addition to making up 6.9% of the state’s labor force, approximately 7.6% of entrepreneurs in Wisconsin are immigrants (about 18,200 people).
Depending on where each entrepreneur immigrated from, their respective paths to earning citizenship and launching their companies vary greatly.
Despite knowing for years that she and her husband wanted to start a business, Padmini Chintakayala spent 14 out of her past 18 years in the United States working for someone else.
“We wanted to be founders so bad, but we couldn’t because of how long the visa process is,” said Chintakayala, founder of Madison-based startup Nommli.
Chintakayala and her husband, Raj Peddapati earned their citizenship three years ago even though they moved to the U.S. from India nearly two decades ago with work visas.
This meant they were finally able to launch their business – but the process took so long the couple couldn’t launch the company they originally dreamed of.
“With how long we had to wait to become entrepreneurs, we were 14 years older than if we had started right away, and then we became parents,” said Chintakayala. “That builds some barriers to how investors see you as a founder.”
Undeterred, she officially launched Nommli in 2023. Nommli is a subscription box service that lets customers experience different parts of the world through food, cultural activities and media.
Since first moving to the U.S., Chintakayala has had several friends and family members also make the move.
Even with uncertainty stemming from the country’s actions related to immigration, Chintakayala says her community feels there is “always hope” and that the current climate will pass.
“We all share that unique nature ... we want to be successful,” she said. “We want to have the opportunities and multiply those opportunities and give it back to the community.”
Accessing funding
[caption id="attachment_619325" align="alignright" width="300"] Bobola Odebiyi[/caption]
Much like Chintakayala, Bobola Odebiyi, founder and CEO of Wauwatosa-based fintech startup CrossKudi, faced a lengthy process to become a business owner.
Originally from Nigeria, Odebiyi came to the U.S. as an international student 16 years ago. A series of setbacks landed him in Chicago, where he worked temporarily as a taxi driver to make ends meet.
After meeting his wife, Odebiyi moved to Milwaukee and finished his accounting degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Then, he spent some time working in the corporate world at firms including Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“I started working in accounting because my late grandfather was an accountant, and my late grandmother was a businesswoman, so I got my knowledge of the business world from them,” said Odebiyi.
Along with international business, Odebiyi has always been interested in emerging technologies and how the two industries connect.
During his time at PwC, he started learning more about cryptocurrencies and blockchain through a designated emerging technologies group.
“One day I thought to myself, ‘What if I use this technology to send money to Nigeria?’ So, I tested my idea with blockchain,” said Odebiyi.
His recipients received more than they would have gotten if they had used a traditional money transfer platform, he explained.
This eventually led to the launch of CrossKudi, a global money transfer platform powered by blockchain, in 2021.
Odebiyi didn’t have problems finding initial launch support from programs like FOR-M and Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator, but he quickly encountered obstacles when seeking out funding in a state specializing in more traditional industries.
Making it easier for immigrant entrepreneurs to access funding, and boosting their visibility, are critical ways Odebiyi believes the state – and country – can help the population.
“When you say you’re building a financial technology company and leveraging blockchain, not many people fully understand that or are open to that,” he said.
Still, Odebiyi said he believes Wisconsin is a good place for founders hoping to start a company and is pursuing his seed funding round.
Odebiyi hasn’t been personally impacted by Trump’s immigration policy changes, but said he has several acquaintances who are closely monitoring the situation.
“The environment and policies have changed,” he said. “Everything is up in the air and people are watching to see how things play out before they decide whether to come to the U.S. or not.”
An easier journey
[caption id="attachment_619326" align="alignright" width="300"] Orphée Paillotin[/caption]
Orphée Paillotin is very aware that his journey to become an immigrant entrepreneur has been a much smoother process due to both his country of origin and his chosen industry.
Paillotin, a native of France, is the founder of Oak Creek-based Alpinage Cheese. The company specializes in European-style Raclette cheese.
He came to the United States in 2015 after his French employer asked him to relocate to the U.S. for a new position. That same employer ended up sponsoring Paillotin for a green card, which he received within a year.
“We had some ethnic groups at the plant, and they were waiting for 10-plus years before getting their green card, going through the same process,” said Paillotin.
He was disappointed with a traditional 9-to-5 office job and always hoped he would be able to do something out of the ordinary when he moved to America. This planted the idea of starting a business in Paillotin’s head.
“I had this energy also,” he said. “I feel a lot of energy from people (in the U.S). You see a lot of small brands, a lot of small businesses, and it’s a huge country. I think that’s why you have more opportunities.”
After meeting his now-wife, Paula Heimerl, a sixth-generation farmer from the Sheboygan area, Paillotin began immersing himself in the dairy industry.
“I started learning about the importance of the dairy industry in Wisconsin and I’m from France, so obviously I’ve been eating cheese for a long time,” he said. “I was like, this is it –it’s cheese.”
Paillotin earned his cheesemaker license in 2019 and in 2020, he and Heimerl moved into their current Oak Creek facility at 8625 S. Market Place.
Since launching his business, Paillotin says he’s experienced nothing but support from the government.
“I just can’t believe the amount of support I actually got, not only from the state of Wisconsin but also the USDA and federal government to start a company,” he said. “I think it’s mostly because it’s a dairy company.”
Paillotin guesses this support is due to the numerous challenges facing the domestic dairy industry, and how rare it is to see a small dairy company launch.
He said his business struggles have been the common challenges most entrepreneurs face: scaling the company and funding related initiatives.
Last year, Alpinage Cheese purchased a new facility in Racine County that will allow the company to triple its production capacity. While the facility’s opening was originally slated for earlier this year, that date was pushed back to early October. Construction work has taken longer than expected.
“Sometimes I ask myself why I put all these problems on myself,” said Paillotin. “I had a good job, and I was just chilling. But to me, this is the cost of freedom.”
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