Conducting the immigration experience — Ramiro Roballos' journey from symphony to startup

Tap into the wealth of experience and unique perspective that having previously worked as a McKinsey consultant and an orchestra conductor brings to this story. In this exclusive Q&A, Ramiro Roballos, CEO of Tukki, delves into the pivotal moments and motivations that led him to create the groundbreaking platform turning the US immigration process into a premium experience.

Drawing from his own challenging experiences with immigration and his passion for technology, Ramiro shares the journey from his initial "Eureka" moment to winning a Hackathon in Austin and partnering with former colleagues to build a solution that addresses the real pain points of migrants.

This in-depth conversation reveals not only the origins of Tukki but also the mission-driven approach that continues to shape its development and impact following Ramiro’s interview with me, your line into Tukki's secrets, Nadine Heir.

Saying yes to the plunge

Q: Where did the “Tukki Eureka” moment come from?

A: I’d been working at McKinsey in Miami before, a truly consuming job where I learned an immense amount, fed my MBA experience, and flexed my business muscles. I had an itch to start something of my own though, to learn how to code, and get back to leading something bigger than me — like I did as an orchestra conductor and at my music school in Argentina — and knew I couldn’t do that while working as a consultant.

So I took the plunge, I left the company with no plan B. I was saying “yes” to all the potential ideas and adventures that crossed my path. I had continued studying programming on weekends and in May of 2023, I went to a Techstars Hackathon in Austin to present myself as a programmer, not a McKinsey consultant for the first time.

So you see, I already had this idea in mind. I knew there was a gap in the market because I’d been through the literal nightmare that was US immigration in the most traditional sense. It’s so old school and has not advanced at the rate of other industries that grow technology. I was ready to change that.

Q: Did the Hackathon reveal demand in the market for your idea?

A: In short, yes. Perhaps it was a sign that another group of programmers wanted to do something similar. We teamed up and pitched an AI-driven solution to immigration headaches and, out of around 30 teams, we won!

I took this as a sign that the idea was more than valid. I was already talking to an old colleague from McKinsey, Saviley Vasilev, and essentially we decided to become partners, and founded Tukki.

Losing 5 months, but gaining a mission

Q: So tell us, what convinced you and your co-founder to join forces on this mission?

A: The initial idea was to create a platform that would help lawyers. However, in-depth research revealed that lawyers weren’t struggling with the process as much — to a certain extent, it “worked” for them. But it didn’t work for migrants.

In my own experience, I’ve never been more frustrated with a process. I was super keen to achieve my green card in 2021 when I was still at McKinsey, so was never taking longer than a 24h to complete my tasks as they came to me. Every copy, every form I had to get hold of, I had it within a day. But the lawyers I worked with would take 7 to 10 days to respond at each step. Even my critical questions would receive a sort of canned response, late, and unspecific.

I lost 5 months of my life in the filing process.

Then, the government took another 18 months to give me a response.

Now, when I say I don’t think immigration should be this hard — you know I mean it. I felt completely alone in the process, fed up, and very ready to flip the process on its head.

By October 2023, I decided to incorporate Tukki with Saveliy Vasilev and supported by José De Wit, our legal advisor who leads a team of lawyers and paralegals. We married the technological expertise with legal structure to make a solution that people really need.

Tukki today

Q: How does Tukki fit into your own life plans and aspirations?

A: Bare minimum, I want to spend my life doing something that matters. It could be the most successful piece of technology, but whatever happens, I plan to enjoy this journey. And you know what, the feeling every time we achieve the “approved” notification for an applicant, and they leave the consulate in the green, that feeling is like no other.

If this interview inspired you, learn more about Ramiro by joining him on LinkedIn. And if you’re curious what the Tukki team’s been building, check out our visa match tool.