Five questions with alum and podcaster Harshita Girase
Alum Harshita Girase started the Founders Without Borders podcast and works as a senior analytics engineer at Sigma Computing. Photo courtesy of Harshita Girase.
By Sarah D'Iorio
Published October 17, 2024
Harshita Girase (BS'19) is the founder and host of Founders Without Borders and a senior analytics engineer at Sigma Computing.
Tell us about Founders Without Borders?
Founders Without Borders is a podcast I started in 2023 that highlights the journeys and stories of immigrant founders building generational businesses.
What inspired you to create Founders Without Borders?
I am an immigrant myself and I have watched many of my immigrant friends attempt to start companies. Starting a company is super hard on its own. Add navigating visas, the lack of financial support, and the lack of emotional support, and it’s all the more challenging.
After I moved to San Francisco, I met more immigrants who had taken the leap of faith and started their businesses. Each founder’s story was different, but they had all overcome similar barriers just to start a company. I wanted to share these stories with the world. To my surprise, there wasn’t much media highlighting these stories, so I decided I was going to be the one to do it.
You also work as a senior analytics engineer. What do you like most about your role?
I work on the data team at Sigma Computing, so we collaborate with all other teams within the company—engineering, marketing, revenue, sales, you name it. I think the collaborative nature of it is what’s really exciting. Our team gets to understand the different parts of the company and bridge the gap between the business teams and the technical teams, while providing data to help answer questions and inform decisions.
What advice would you give to UB students who want to be entrepreneurs?
Just do it. Do it sooner rather than later, because it’s very hard and it’ll suck up a lot of energy. If you realize a few years down the road that you’re not happy, it’s fine. You are still employable and have a good degree.
Reaching out to people who’ve done it is always helpful as well. There are the UB incubators and the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory on campus. The school has resources. You just have to be a little bit more proactive and go after it.
Is entrepreneurship in your future?
I do want to start a company at some point. I want to find a problem that I’m passionate about. I would love to just make a small dent in the world and have an impact.
Listen Now: Find the Founders Without Borders podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.