A New Blueprint For Global MBAs: How One Indian Student Forged A Bold Path To Building A Business In The U.S.

Shivek Gupta knows how to build a business.

By the time he was 30, the Chandigarh, India native had scaled a textile manufacturing company from the ground up — taking it, in just five years, from a back-of-the-napkin vision to $25 million in revenue and a team of more than 500 employees. 

Gupta’s business bona fides are beyond reproach. But in 2020, in the shadow of a global pandemic, Gupta made a choice few entrepreneurs would: He stepped away from the company he built and enrolled in the MBA program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Now, as he charts a new course in the United States, Gupta faces an entirely different kind of challenge — one that has nothing to do with operations, hiring, or strategy. It’s about securing the right foundation to build again in the U.S.

FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR TO A KELLOGG CLASSROOM

“This is truly a country of opportunity,” Gupta says. “But to access that opportunity as an immigrant entrepreneur, you have to solve for everything — funding, structure, even your right to be here.”

Gupta’s entrepreneurial education began young. Raised in a joint family of 10, he grew up around his grandfather and father’s textile business in northern India. At 16, he interned with his father, building Excel-based costing models and learning what it meant to be responsible for workers’ livelihoods. That moment stuck with him.

After studying computer science and a brief stint at Oracle, Gupta returned to his entrepreneurial roots and co-founded the textile venture with his father. The pace was relentless. He learned to build from scratch: scouting land, selecting machinery, assembling teams, managing operations. “It was six months of learning crammed into every week,” he says.

By 2020, Gupta knew he needed a broader lens.

“I knew how to run a business, but I had no framework to evaluate if it was the best way,” he says. “Covid gave me the space to step back, reflect, and learn. That’s when I decided to pursue an MBA.”

Kellogg, with its strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and collaboration, was his top choice — not just for him, but for his wife, Devanshi, who joined him in applying. Despite warnings from admissions consultants that it would be nearly impossible to get into a top school as a couple, both were accepted. 

“People said it couldn’t be done,” Shivek says. “Kellogg proved otherwise.”

A NEW KIND OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Like all MBA admits to the M7 school, Gupta refined his leadership skills at Kellogg. More importantly, he discovered a new business model that changed the trajectory of his life.

Walking through Kellogg’s Global Hub one afternoon, he stopped by Professor Karin O’Connor’s office on a whim. That spontaneous conversation led him to the school’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program — a path focused on acquiring and operating small- to mid-sized businesses rather than building startups from scratch.

It clicked.

With mentorship from professors Matt Littell and Alex Schneider and support from Kellogg’s prestigious Zell Fellows program, Gupta learned to navigate the complex world of ETA: deal sourcing, investor relations, valuation models, and more. 

“I knew how to run a company,” he says. “Now I was learning how to buy one.”

But for an international student, a major obstacle loomed.

“I had no idea how to legally stay in the U.S. while running a business.”

THE VISA CHALLENGE: BUILDING  BUSINESS WITHOUT A CORPORATE SAFETY NET

Unlike his MBA peers heading to Amazon or McKinsey, where legal teams handle visa sponsorship, Gupta had to build his own path.

As an entrepreneur on an F-1 student visa, he couldn’t apply for the traditional H-1B work visa unless he created a formal employer-employee relationship with his own company — something immigration attorneys told him was impossible.

“The U.S. immigration system offers multiple frameworks for immigrants to pursue entrepreneurship,” Gupta says. “With the help of my attorneys, I was able to identify a process that aligned with both my background and my venture.” It took nearly a year of research, persistence, and professional guidance to build a compliant structure that allowed him to move forward. He has since raised funding, and now runs Brightside Legacy, his U.S.-based search fund.

“This is the kind of guidance international students need but aren’t getting,” he says. “Everyone tells you, ‘You can’t start a business. Just go work for Big Tech or consulting.’ That’s false. It’s harder, yes — but it’s not impossible.”

PITCHING THE AMERICAN DREAM — AS AN OUTSIDER

Gupta isn’t just building legal infrastructure — he’s also raising capital. And to do that as an immigrant, he says, you need more than a good pitch.

“You need to understand what investors fear — and remove that fear,” he says.

So Gupta highlights his past success scaling a business, lays out his visa plan, and makes the process frictionless for potential backers. “They’re not betting on a visa risk,” he says. “They’re betting on me — and I’m solving for the rest.”

Twelve U.S.-based accredited investors have already backed his search fund — most of them white, most of them American-born. 

“People ask me if there’s bias against immigrant founders,” he says. “But I’ve seen the opposite. If your idea is sound and your story is strong, people will listen.”

REPRESENTATION, MISCONCEPTIONS & THE WILL TO STAY

For Gupta, perhaps the biggest barrier isn’t policy — it’s perception. Too many international students, he says, eliminate themselves before they begin, steered off course by misinformation or fear.

“One of my friends wanted to work in baseball. But as an immigrant, he gave up that dream. Said he’d wait until he gets a green card. That could be 10 years. By then, he won’t take the risk.”

That’s why Gupta is committed to telling his story — to show that alternative paths are real and worth fighting for.

“The American Dream is alive,” he says. “But it’s not handed to you. You have to build the steps yourself. It takes grit, and it takes information. I want to be the person I wish I had when I started.”

THE TIME IS NOW

With immigration debates continuing to roil U.S. politics, many would-be international entrepreneurs hesitate. But Gupta’s message is clear: Don’t wait.

“There’s no perfect time. If you’re serious about building something here, start now,” he says. “Yes, there will be hurdles. But this is still the country where strangers will invest in your idea, where professors will open doors, where anything is possible if you figure it out.”

As he continues his search for a U.S. business to acquire, Gupta hopes his story encourages more immigrants to claim space in the American business landscape — not in spite of the challenges, but because of them.

“You don’t need to look like everyone else in the room,” he says. “You just need to belong there.”

Q&A WITH SHIVEK GUPTA

On visas, venture capital, and the immigrant mindset in American entrepreneurship

P&Q: What’s been the hardest part of navigating the U.S. system as an international entrepreneur?

Shivek Gupta: It’s the uncertainty. As an immigrant, you’re not just building a business — you’re also building your right to exist in the country. Every step comes with legal, financial, and emotional weight. But the lack of a clear path is what makes it most difficult. There’s no one guidebook for how to do this as a non-citizen. You have to stitch it together from scattered information, and often from scratch.

P&Q: What’s something you wish more international students knew before coming to the U.S. for business school?

Shivek Gupta: That there are so many more opportunities than what you’re initially told. Most people are steered toward tech, consulting, or banking because those companies already know how to handle visas. But there’s a whole universe — like entrepreneurship through acquisition — that people don’t even know exists. You can buy a business, raise funding, and build something meaningful. You just have to be willing to do the extra work.

P&Q: What was the most important thing Kellogg did to support your journey?

Shivek Gupta: Kellogg opened doors. It gave me access to professors who cared, like Karin O’Connor, who spent over an hour with me on a chance meeting, and professors like Alex Schneider and Matt Littell, who showed me what ETA is and helped me build a strategy. Being part of the Zell Fellows program also helped me refine my pitch, meet investors, and gain confidence. Kellogg didn’t give me a map — but it gave me the compass.

P&Q: What advice would you give international MBAs who want to start their own business in the U.S.?

Shivek Gupta: Learn the visa system better than your lawyer. Know exactly what’s required, and have a plan to make it work. Be proactive — don’t expect people to solve it for you. And when you pitch, de-risk yourself. If you’re going to ask someone to believe in you, show them that you’ve already solved the hard stuff. Your background isn’t a limitation — it’s part of your value proposition.

P&Q: What do you say to those who feel the American Dream is fading, especially for immigrants?

Shivek Gupta: It’s not fading. It’s evolving. The dream was never about ease — it was about possibility. And that possibility still exists. I’ve had twelve investors back me, most of whom don’t look like me or come from my background. But they believed in the idea and the effort. That tells me the dream is still real — you just have to chase it with your eyes open and your plan ready.

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