Raj Sardana, the founder and CEO of Innova Solutions, moved to the United States in 1981 with $100. He pursued higher education, started his career on an H-1 visa, and later built a multi-billion-dollar business.
Early life in India
Born in 1960 to Punjabi parents who migrated to India during the 1947 Partition, Sardana grew up in government housing in New Delhi. His family lived without modern amenities, but his parents prioritised education.
“Despite our humble beginnings, my parents instilled the values of relentless hard work and found a way to provide quality education to me and my brother,” he said in an interview with Authority Magazine.
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Moving to the US for education
In 1981, Sardana moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. With limited funds, he worked at the university cafeteria to support himself.
“I started my life from scratch here. I got a job at the cafeteria of Georgia Tech and supported myself through college,” he said.
After graduation, he secured an H-1 visa, the predecessor to the H-1B visa, and joined Howmet Aerospace.
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Career setback and decision to start a business
By 1987, Sardana was working at Teledyne CAE, a firm that manufactured engines for Tomahawk missiles. In 1990, following the end of the Cold War, missile production ceased, and he lost his job.
“I had just bought a house with a mortgage, had a six-month-old daughter, and my parents were also living with me. At that moment, I had no income to support my family,” he said.
Instead of looking for another job, he decided to become an entrepreneur.
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Founding Innova Solutions
With $25,000 in savings, Sardana started his own business. Over the next decade, it grew into Innova Solutions, an IT services firm that now employs over 50,000 people worldwide.
A recent Forbes report featuring billionaire immigrants who started their careers in the US on an H-1B visa includes Sardana. His journey from a student arriving in the US with minimal resources to leading a global firm reflects his resilience and strategic decision-making.
