Succeeding in the US as an immigrant means choosing where to focus

Executive overview

Building a network and reputation from scratch in a new country puts you at the bottom of the credibility ladder. The opportunities you say no to matter as much as the ones you pursue. Splitting attention between two markets signals you are "halfway here, halfway there" — and that limits what others will invest in you.

Committing fully to your new environment, even at the cost of easier wins at home, is the prerequisite for breaking through.

Networking requires local credibility

• Investors and collaborators need to hear about you from multiple trusted sources, not just one introduction.
• Being unknown in a new market is the core problem — not money, not skill.
• A strong reputation at home does not transfer; it has to be rebuilt locally.
• Declining flattering opportunities back home frees calendar space for local networking.

The cost of staying half-committed

• Entrepreneurs who travelled back and forth every two weeks were perceived as not fully present.
• Significant fundraising (including from top-tier investors) only happened after they stopped the back-and-forth.
• Choosing the harder path — selling to an American audience, hiring locally — builds durable leverage.

Quality of audience over quantity

• 1,400 engaged Substack subscribers outperformed 140,000 passive Instagram story viewers for meaningful connections.
• Two highly relevant followers beat three thousand loosely interested ones.
• Focused content attracts like-minded collaborators; mass content attracts passive viewers.

Reframing taxes and prices

• Comparing a new country's costs to your home country drains mental energy without producing action.
• A 50% combined tax bracket feels unfair until you stop benchmarking against a 6% Russian sole-proprietor rate.
• Accepting the rules of the new environment is the mental unlock for pursuing higher income levels.

Where to build a product

• Products built and proven in the US travel globally; the reverse is rare.
• Targeting an American audience first is a strategic choice, not a cultural one.
• Identifying a gap elsewhere (e.g. Substack-style monetisation in Russian-speaking markets) is interesting but worth deprioritising if your growth goal is here.