Immigrant Boost Club

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Immigrant Boost

Immigrant Boost

San Francisco

Hosted by entrepreneur Sergey Konovalov, this channel features honest conversations with immigrants, founders, and creators who moved to America to build meaningful careers, companies, and lives.

Interview with Slava Kurilov, the Soviet sailor who swam to freedom (1974)

Interview with Slava Kurilov, the Soviet sailor who swam to freedom (1974)

Slava Kurilov left Soviet Russia in 1974 in a way that reads like a sea legend: he bought a ticket on a government cruise liner and jumped overboard in the Pacific, then swam to a Philippine island. The story is equal parts political decision, personal conviction, and raw physical endurance.

Interview with Marina Morgan, the Cost of Leadership, Founder Mental Health, and Readiness for the Age of AI

Interview with Marina Morgan, the Cost of Leadership, Founder Mental Health, and Readiness for the Age of AI

Marina Morgan is a psychologist, executive coach, and researcher of the neurophysiology of entrepreneurship. In this conversation, she explains why successful founders often hit psychological crises, how mental state shapes business outcomes, and what leaders can do to stay productive and clear-minded in the age of AI. How did you

Interview with Anna Naumova — How to Find a Job in America and Survive Being Fired from Apple in 30 Minutes

Interview with Anna Naumova — How to Find a Job in America and Survive Being Fired from Apple in 30 Minutes

Anna Naumova spoke openly about the challenges of adaptation, how she had to go through more than 100 interviews to land her first job, and why being fired from a major company can happen in just 30 minutes. The conversation is honest, sometimes sharp, and full of practical advice for

Working as a Waiter and in a Hospice: What Immigrants Go Through to Chase the American Dream

Working as a Waiter and in a Hospice: What Immigrants Go Through to Chase the American Dream

Kirill Lutcenko is a former actor and TV host who immigrated to the U.S. in 2016. He worked as a waiter and hospice aide, retrained as a DJ, and eventually launched his video production company, Spinach Video, in Silicon Valley. Today he focuses on viral content for medical brands

7 Lessons from Mark Kofman on Building Lean Tech and Staying Relevant in the AI Era

7 Lessons from Mark Kofman on Building Lean Tech and Staying Relevant in the AI Era

1. Experience is an advantage, not a liability Mark argues that older founders are not dinosaurs in the AI era. The real edge comes from the ability to ask the right questions. Experience lets people identify what they do not know and then frame precise, high-value queries for AI tools.

Interview with Alena Petrova: Why many immigrants struggle most with selling themselves?

Interview with Alena Petrova: Why many immigrants struggle most with selling themselves?

In this conversation, I speak with Alena Petrova about moving to the United States, adapting to Silicon Valley, building a business, raising investments — and why many immigrants struggle most with selling themselves. Below are her honest answers — from the realities of co-living life to the inside workings of a venture

Podcast: Sergei Konovalov and Nick Davidov

How Immigrants from the Post-Soviet World Build Unicorns in Silicon Valley. Interview with Nick Davidov

In this episode, I talk with Nick Davidov, investor and founder of Davidovs VC, about the journey from early startups in Russia to investing in dozens of U.S. companies. It’s an honest conversation about risk, faith, immigration — and how new unicorns are born. When and why did you