The road to $1M in Buffalo
5 mins read | Oct 20, 2025
Have you heard? Tukki is celebrating its first year of serving US visa hopefuls with a generous giveaway to those who’ve supported the company in its initial growth phase—in the official Tukkiversary month!
To get down to why Ramiro Roballos and Saveliy Vasilev wanted to host a Pitch Competition for founders, I interviewed the two founders of Tukki about their own experiences and what led up to the social initiative. Here’s what they had to say.
What would winning a free visa process have meant to you when you were starting your journey, and how do you see that impacting others now?
Ramiro: A huge amount, I couldn’t start my business until I had the green card. It would have given me freedom, and peace of mind, especially to know the cost was taken care of independently of whether I was successful or not.
We’re here to revolutionize the industry, and it’s going to be about more than improving the process, we think there should be action behind it that involves the whole community.
Where did this whole idea for a US visa Pitch Competition start?
Ramiro: One day, I realized our mission to transform the US immigration experience was about more than just improving the process—it was about reimagining the entire approach. We had already begun innovating with tools like our visa match and pricing calculator, and it became clear that offering a free immigration process through a pitch competition was the perfect next step in supporting immigrants and enhancing their experience.
Saveliy: It’s all about opportunities. I was fortunate enough to have met many people who created opportunities for me — be it via a simple intro email, accepting me as a doctorate student, or endorsing me for a career move while with McKinsey. In retrospect, these people changed my life for the better. It’s time to pay it forward, and Tukki is the perfect vehicle for this mission.
We don’t know how the lives of the winners will change, but there’s a good chance of it being significant and for the better. That’s our reason for doing this!
Ramiro: The votes of confidence, the referrals, as well as the teachings we’ve been given along the way mean so much. That’s why I’ve been setting up initiatives to give back, such as free mentorship to other startup founders. So many people advised me over the years, on everything from how to incorporate a company to when to kill a fevered product vision, that I know the startup ecosystem is full of people who’ll respond “yes” to requests for help.
Why startup founders?
Saveliy: Our current focus is on extraordinary ability visas, for which the process is complex. Entrepreneurs are those extraordinary people, with the potential to generate great value for the society, and are going through a lot running their companies. That’s why we want to facilitate the access to startups first—we know from experience how hard both running a business and applying for a green card can be.
Ramiro: It’s incredibly difficult to be a founder, it requires tons of focus and battling everything that distracts you takes discipline. Applying for a visa or green card alone is a time and energy-drain, so we think making that process simpler is the right way to give back. So much innovation that happens in the world come from startups. So we see Tukki’s Pitch Competition as a way to also contribute to the global innovation system.
Saveliy: There are so many startups out there that could expand and grow professionally. We know that, via this competition, we’ll be bringing standout candidates to the US who could do great things, given the opportunity. Startups always need fertile ground on which to sow their seeds, and allowing them to reach the US could be a game-changer for the winning founders.
Ramiro: With this Pitch Competition, we’re sending out a signal that we’re here for the startup ecosystem, we want to keep changing peoples’ lives, and support founders while they innovate.
Did this pique your interest? You can apply during the month of October 2024 here!