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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Books Kanwal Rekhi, The First Indian To Take A Company Public On NASDAQ, Releases Memoir 2/24/26 Companies Stare Down $100,000 Fee With New H-1B Visa Rules The Groundbreaker: Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and The Rise of Modern India; with Foreword by Congressman Ro Khanna, Available Now NEWYORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, February 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ K anwal Rekhi1is one of Silicon Val- ley’s most influential - and least conventional - pioneers: the first Indian-American founder to take a company public on a US stock exchange, a co-architect of India’s technological rise on the global stage, and an ambitious vi- sionary who paved the way for the Indian tech CEO’s that now run Google, Microsoft and many more. In his new book Groundbreaker2 : Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India (Diver- sion Books; 2/24/26), Rekhi recounts his humble rise from a house in India with no running water to becoming the “undisput- ed Godfather of the Silicon Valley’s Indian Mafia,” as dubbed by Fortune Magazine. Arriving as an engineering student in the tumultuous 1960s, Rekhi worked his way through defense and technology compa- nies in the 70s before founding his startup, Excelan, in the 80s. It was there that he com- mercialized ethernet - which became the foundation of the Inter- net - before interacting with luminaries named Jobs, Gates, and Ellison on his rise through tech. After being ac- quired by Novell, Rekhi became the number two executive and the number two software company in the world. He went on to advise presidents and prime ministers on culture- shifting policies and is perhaps best known for his work mentoring and launching the careers of over 10,000 aspiring entrepre- neurs, many of whom have become mil- lionaires and even billionaires. In the book Rekhi also explores how competition and alliances might evolve in the future between America and India; and why the cooperation of the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy is crucial to the continued balance of global power. Rekhi’s legacy extends far beyond his own success. As the president of TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneur), he helped co-found and build the world’s largest mentoring network for Indian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and jump-started India’s startup ecosystem years before it became a global force. He has mentored politicians (U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and Indian Prime Min- ister Vajpayee, to name a few) and his philan- thropy has reshaped business education and entrepreneurship programs across India and the U.S. Kanwal has been a part of 200 early-stage teams, including Exodus Communications (IPO), which trafficked half of America’s internet usage at it’s peak; Poshmark (IPO), redBus (acq. Ibibo Group), Sierra Atlantic (Hitachi), and NetMagic (NTT). Today, Kanwal is regarded as a founda- tional figure in global tech, a champion of immigrant ingenuity, and a truth-telling advocate for entrepreneurship as society’s most powerful engine of progress. A part- ner at InventUS venture capital fund and Silicon Valley Quad (SVQ), Rekhi is also a prolific writer with a substantial LinkedIn following. Kanwal is also featured in the book Indian Genius released by Harper Collins in 2024, and in the forthcoming documentary Breaking the Code, based on his life, which will launch in mid-2026. He is based in Los Gatos, California. A spring tour featuring Rekhi speaking to audiences in cities across the U.S. is currently underway, with events in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta among others. More infor- mation on his appearances can be found on his LinkedIn. The Groundbreaker: Entrepreneur- ship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India, tells the story of a man whose life mirrors the rise of modern India, and helps to explain the sudden rise of Indian Americans was actually not so sudden, but a long, hard-earned journey filled with sacrifices, hardships, hope and belief. Available now anywhere books are sold. are already in the US and therefore not subject to the $100,000 fee. Her company provides services and ad- vice to clients, mostly tech companies, looking to hire foreign-born workers. “Most companies are still going to proceed with spon- soring first-time H-1B visa applicants, but only if those individuals are already in the US,” Anver said. Trump implemented the $100,000 fee through an executive order in September, saying it was necessary to address abuses of the H-1B system that undercut US wages and job opportunities. Another change announced by the Department of Homeland Security last year: The lottery now assigns better odds to those with higher salaries, dividing ap- plicants into one of four categories based on how their wages compare with others in specific industries and locales. That will give a boost to candidates seeking to fill jobs that pay higher than average for their industry and location. When Los Angeles-based apparel maker True Religion was looking to fill a senior position last year – a director of production and sourcing – the company thought it had found a perfect candidate. But the person was a Guate- malan national, so would need a work visa to get to the US. Under the new rules, that meant a $100,000 fee for an H-1B. That was a nonstarter for the jeans company, which emerged from bankruptcy after the Covid-19 pan- demic and is now owned by the investment firms Acon Investments and SB360 Capital Partners. “We will not seek an H-1B for a role if we have to pay $100,000,” said Mara Roitman, the company’s vice presi- dent for human resources. “It’s a lot of money.” Roitman said the company looked into making the hire via the O-1 work visa, intended for foreigners with “extraordinary ability” in science, education, business or athletics, but the federal government turned down that application. Now the search is on for a new candidate. There’s a possibility there could be some relief next year. The executive order that created the $100,000 fee is due to sunset in October, and so far there is no word on plans for a renewal, adding another layer of uncertainty. But states have also sought to put their own limits on H-1B hiring at universities and other public institutions. On Monday, a board that oversees Florida’s public uni- versities voted 14-2 to freeze hiring of H-1B visa holders this year while officials study if the schools’ past use of the program disadvantaged American workers. The move follows a January decision by Texas state officials to ban H-1B hiring at public universities and state agencies until at least May 31, 2027. For tech startups, the net result of changes to the H-1B lottery and application process – and the broader immigration crackdown from the Trump administra- tion – likely means they’ll have a harder time getting the talent they need to grow and innovate, according to Rahul Gudise, the chief executive officer at Gale. His company, backed by Y Combinator, helps clients navigate work- based immigration processes. Many of them often have a specific person or skill set they want to hire in their early stages because it’s “instru- mental to how your company forms,” Gudise said. “It’s going to set the tone of what you’re building.” Anver, of Erickson Immigration, said the revamped H-1B fees and narrowing legal paths for immigrants will weigh on US companies for years to come. “There are several changes that taken collectively will diminish the tech industry’s ability to attract and retain key talent,” she said. In the end, it “will result in a smaller talent pool for tech companies.”. -Bloomberg Press Release PHOTO:AKASHA RABUT/BLOOMBERG A True Religion store in New Orleans. - Continued From Page 9 News India Times (March 7, 2026 - March 13, 2026) March 13, 2026 10 Business