“I never imagined my path would take me from humanitarian work in Paris to investing in Silicon Valley.” That’s the unexpected journey of Sophie Durey—a global impact leader, investor, and entrepreneur whose career has spanned France, Switzerland, China, Mexico, and now the heart of Silicon Valley. In this episode of Beyond Borders: American Dreams, Real Stories, Sophie opens up about her international career, her transition from the nonprofit sector into impact investing, the challenges and opportunities of building a purpose-driven life in the U.S., and what she’s learned from supporting founders across the world. Sophie began her career in Paris after earning her Master’s from Sciences Po, then moved to Geneva to join Quadia, where she rose from investment analyst to Head of Impact Evaluation. In 2017, she landed in Silicon Valley, where she founded The Impact Evaluation Factory, co-built a multi-family office for self-made entrepreneurs, and today serves as Partner at Tamar Ventures and Venture Director at Tamar Capital, backing early-stage startups and designing programs to develop better founders. Her story is a masterclass in reinvention, global grit, and forging a mission-driven career across borders.

🚀 KEY TOPICS COVERED:

✓ Building a global impact career across Europe and the U.S.

✓ Transitioning from nonprofit work to impact investing

✓ How impact evaluation actually works for startups & VC funds

✓ Investing in early-stage founders with purpose-driven models

✓ What it takes to build a career in Silicon Valley as a European immigrant

✓ Starting a consulting firm in the U.S.

✓ Lessons from supporting founders through Tamar Ventures & Tamar Capital

✓ Navigating identity, purpose, and belonging across multiple countries

✓ The realities of being a multi-continent operator and investor

💼 WHO IS THIS FOR?

→ Immigrants building careers in impact, VC, or entrepreneurship

→ International professionals trying to break into Silicon Valley

→ Founders interested in impact measurement or purpose-driven business models

→ Students exploring careers in social impact or venture capital

→ Anyone seeking honest stories about reinvention across borders

→ Listeners who want a nuanced look at global careers and immigrant journeys

Pr. Julieta Gabiola grew up in a poor rural village in the Philippines, with no financial security, no network, and almost no pathways toward higher education. Today, she’s a professor at Stanford.

The distance between these two worlds is filled with turning points she rarely shares — moments of doubt, courage, discrimination, reinvention, and a quiet, relentless determination that changed everything.

In this episode, Julieta opens up about:

• the unexpected event that first pushed her into nursing

• what made her start over again — this time in medicine

• the structural barriers she faced as a first-generation student and immigrant

• the discrimination she encountered in academia, and how she chose to respond

• the mindset that sustained her through years of uncertainty

• why globalizing education is her life’s work

*• the deeper meaning of resilience when starting with nothing

This is not just an inspiring journey. It is a blueprint for purpose, courage, and long-term leadership.

Explore Julieta Gabiola’s work

ABC’s for Global Health (website): https://abcsforglobalhealth.org/

"I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake." That's what Florent Breton thought while driving for Uber in San Francisco, watching his student visa expire, and getting rejected by companies who wouldn't hire immigrants on temporary visas. Ten years later, Florent has led teams at Tesla, launched two venture-backed startups, raised millions, and became a US citizen. This is his real story — the visa struggles, the National Interest Waiver green card process, building a family in America, and what it actually takes to succeed as an immigrant entrepreneur.

KEY TOPICS COVERED:

✓ Student visa to green card pathway

✓ National Interest Waiver (EB-2 NIW) process

✓ Job searching on temporary visas

✓ O-1 visa vs NIW green card

✓ Immigrant founder visa strategies

✓ Fundraising in Silicon Valley as an international founder

✓ Tesla career experience

✓ Venture-backed startup journey

✓ US citizenship process for entrepreneurs

✓ Immigration policy and reform

In this episode, Orestis Trasanidis shares his journey from Greece to Silicon Valley, exploring how purpose and cultural understanding drive innovation across continents. Drawing from his experience leading the EIT Hub in the U.S., he reflects on the contrasts between European and American startup mindsets—and how collaboration bridges those worlds. Together, we unpack what it truly means to “lead with the why” in a global innovation ecosystem shaped by communication, adaptability, and shared vision.

Daniel Zimmermann is an accomplished lawyer with extensive experience in complex corporate transactions and venture technology issues. For more than 20 years, he has advised entrepreneurs, emerging companies and technology startups, and draws on his global experiences counseling companies in the United States and Europe. His technology clients span the industry, including telecom, infrastructure, digital media, software, energy, clean tech, ecommerce, FinTech, edtech, digital health and healthcare IT, robotics and big data. Daniel is originally from Germany and has been in the US for over two decades. He has been consistently recognized by Super Lawyers and Chambers USA as one of the top venture capital and corporate lawyers in California.

Nathalie Bonin is an internationally acclaimed violinist, Grammy-winning composer, and inspirational speaker who blends the power of live music and storytelling to ignite transformation. Her career spans performances on the largest stages to Netflix, Bridgerton, and collaborations with Stevie Wonder. Known for her soul-stirring performances and emotional storytelling, Nathalie empowers audiences to reconnect with their authentic selves, embrace resilience, and unlock their creative wings.

Anjan Sundaram is an Indian author, journalist, academic, and television presenter. He is the author of three memoirs of journalism, Stringer, Bad News and Breakup, and has been called "one of the great reporters of our age" by the BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane.

George has a diverse professional background that includes entrepreneurship, venture capital, business innovation, and digital transformation. Prior to attending graduate school, he worked with several startups and co-founded his own data mining software for economic forecasting. While attending UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, he was the co-president of the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association where he hosted pitch competitions, mentored startups, and connected entrepreneurs with venture capital firms. He lectured at the Haas School of Business on entrepreneurship, digital transformation, AI, IoT, and Business Strategy. He is also currently co-authoring a book on New Business Strategy & Innovative Design. George holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from London South Bank University. Prior to joining SkyDeck, George worked with Anheuser-Busch InBev and consulted on innovation and business strategy.