ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Vasanthan Ramakrishnan is the founder of Ascend HSI Advisory Partners, a firm that helps individuals and families navigate the complexities of U.S. immigration. Vas's path into immigration was anything but planned. He came to the United States from India to study engineering, found himself stranded abroad and without a job during COVID, and used that uncertainty as an opportunity to pursue a long-held desire to help others. What began as a small blog grew into an international nonprofit, work that unexpectedly shaped his own immigration journey and eventually led him to build a company around helping others navigate theirs.
In this episode, we talk about the influence of his childhood, finding opportunity within disruption, turning personal experience into expertise, building credibility in an emerging space, and why you shouldn’t wait for the perfect time.
About Vasanthan Ramakrishnan:
Vasanthan Ramakrishnan, born in Madurai, India, is an entrepreneur, immigration consultant, technologist, and human rights activist known for developing AI-based child safety systems and founding Ascend HSI Advisory Partners, a firm specializing in U.S. employment-based visas. He began his technical career at the MIT Hackathon, where he led the development of a non-contact glucometer later deployed in rural India, and went on to found the Feminist Pen Foundation, where he created CySafe, an AI tool to detect cyberbullying across languages and platforms. He has supported over 300 immigration clients with more than 160 successful filings, received multiple honorary doctorates and awards, authored two books, and gained recognition in global media for his contributions to technology and child safety advocacy.
Find out more about Vasanthan at:
- Website: https://ascendhsi.com/
- Instagram: vas_ramakrishnan
- LinkedIn: Vasanthan Ramakrishnan
To learn more, visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-shupp-18b4619b/
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https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/
