#StartupsEverywhere: Shani Shoham, CEO, 21Labs
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Streamlining the Mobile Test Automation Process
21Labs is an autonomous testing and analytics platform that lets mobile app developers and engineering teams accelerate their release cycle and perfect the user experience of their iOS and Android applications. We recently spoke with 21Labs’ CEO, Shani Shoham, to learn a little more about his startup’s work, his experience as an immigrant founder, and why it’s so important for the U.S. to attract and attain the best talent from across the world.
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an entrepreneur in the United States?
I am originally from Israel. I got into Stanford Business School in 2009 and then decided to stay in the Bay Area. The economy was pretty bad at the time and there wasn’t much funding available, so I had difficulty securing a sponsor for a U.S. visa. Luckily my wife, who works for the Israeli Foreign Service, was able to sponsor me to stay here on a diplomatic visa.
The career choices I made in my first years out of the Stanford Business School were influenced by my immigration status. My wife and I just received our green cards last year as a result of that work. So immigration has certainly had a large impact on my career choices.
Tell us a little more about 21Labs and the work that you’re doing. How does your test automation platform work, and how does this benefit mobile app developers and users?
21Labs connects testing and production autonomously. A lot of companies are trying to close up the feedback loop between engineering and production. The reality, however, is that the loop is broken. We aim to take care of that process for developers. Most developers don’t know what the production team thinks about their design. When something occurs in production, testers don’t have visibility to the obstacle.
Our company powers the whole development cycle and automates the entire loop. We are starting with mobile developers. Mobile testing is mainly manual today because the mobile ecosystem is very complex. There is IOS, Android, and also multiple platforms and kinds of devices. So we streamline the testing process for enterprises.
How has your work been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?
Luckily, the pandemic has not impacted us too gravely. Our employees worked remotely before it happened, so transforming to a virtual environment wasn’t too difficult. Meeting with our clients virtually may take a little longer, but adjusting to the pandemic was not too difficult.
Throughout your entrepreneurial experience, what kind of immigration hurdles did you face?
After graduating from Stanford, I only had 18 months on my Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization to find a job and an employer to sponsor me for a work visa. For aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company, that is not much time. For example, telling investors that you only have 18 months in the U.S. to get a new business off the ground can put your funding process at a disadvantage. Luckily, my wife was able to sponsor our visa status here so I had more time to continue my startup.
If an immigrant has a job in the U.S. and wants to leave their current employer to focus full-time on launching a new startup, it creates a problem because they still need a visa sponsor until the startup gets off the ground. So the process is stressful, on top of all the challenges that come with being in a new country.
What are some other immigration or startup-related policy issues and concerns that you believe should receive more attention from local, state, and federal policymakers?
Immigrants go the extra mile to establish a new life. They move to a new country, they learn new skills, and they take risks. This is self-selection. Immigrants who end up here tend to be founders who could have worked for any other company, but they saw a problem and they started a company to solve it. I think immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs.
Moving to a new country and starting a company, however, is extremely difficult. Immigrant founders have to face both challenges at the same time. Apart from worrying about securing funding, convincing investors, and finding clients, immigrant founders also have to worry about keeping their status valid and following all the changing immigrant regulations in this country.
Given that immigrant founders want to become change agents and make a positive impact on society and the startup ecosystem by moving here in the first place, policymakers should focus on making it easier for immigrants to make more of an impact in the United States. By immigrating from one country to another, you signal that you are willing to get out of your comfort zone. We want to change things for the better, but right now, though, it’s still difficult for us to do so.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email edward@engine.is.
