Going Global: Announcing the End of the Local Startup

At their peril, young American entrepreneurs tend to focus exclusively on American markets. Our panelists offer a broader perspective and compelling reasons why international markets -- and international competitors -- should be top of mind.

Moderator Dr. Amol Sarva ‘98CC, is an American technology entrepreneur with international aims. Co-founder of Virgin Mobile USA (IPO, acquired by Sprint for $1B) and Peek (acquired by SoftBank 2012), Mr. Sarva served as Peek’s CEO through worldwide product launches.

Martin Varsavsky ‘84SIPA, ‘85BUS, an Argentine/Spanish entrepreneur, has founded seven companies over the course of his career including Jazztel Telecomunicaciones, Spain’s second largest publicly traded telecom operator and Ya.com, Spain’s third largest Internet web site/DSL provider. Mr. Varsavsky’s current venture, Fon, founded in 2005, is dedicated to building the world’s largest global Wifi network bottom up, spreading the power of Wifi around the world.

Fabrice Grinda, an Internet entrepreneur and investor, co-founded OLX, Inc. in the hopes of building the world's largest local classified site in the world. OLX now has over 300 employees and is present in over 90 countries and 50 languages with over 150 million unique visitors per month.

Join us at the beautiful Midtown Loft and Terrace on Fifth Avenue and 29th Street. Enjoy international wines, a sampling of foods from around the globe, and spectacular views of midtown Manhattan. This speakers series is meant for Columbia University alumni but guests without Columbia affiliation are welcome.