30 investors said no, H-1B delayed his dream. Then he built two billion-dollar companies

Jyoti Bansal grew up helping his father run a farm-equipment business in a small Rajasthan town. He studied computer science at IIT Delhi, moved to Silicon Valley at 21 on an H-1B visa, and spent about seven years working in the US before receiving his green card.

In 2008, after roughly 30 investors had already said no, Bansal finally secured his first cheque of about $5 million for what was then little more than an idea and the code he had been writing at nights and on weekends. There was no large team and no proven business – just Bansal, his idea and a sudden responsibility for investor capital.