Meet Delhi-born ex-missile engineer, H-1B visa holder, who owns billion-dollar company in US, is CEO of..., his net worth is Rs...

A recent Forbes report on billionaire immigrants who started their careers in the US on an H-1B visa includes only a few Indians. One of them is Raj Sardana, the founder and CEO of Innova Solutions, who built a billion-dollar business from the ground up.

Humble beginnings in India

Born in 1960 to Punjabi parents who migrated to India during the Partition of 1947, Sardana grew up in government housing in New Delhi. His family lived without modern amenities like heating, air conditioning, or even a refrigerator. Despite financial struggles, his parents prioritized education for him and his brother.

“Despite our humble beginnings, my parents instilled the values of relentless hard work,” Sardana shared in an interview.

A new life in America with $100

In 1981, Sardana moved to the US to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. He arrived with only $100 in his pocket and worked in the college cafeteria to support himself.

After completing his degree, he secured an H-1 visa (an earlier version of today’s H-1B visa) and began working at Howmet Aerospace.

Job loss to entrepreneurship

By 1987, Sardana had a prestigious job at Teledyne CAE, a firm that made Tomahawk missile engines. However, when the Cold War ended in 1990, missile production stopped, and he lost his job.

“I had just bought a house, had a six-month-old daughter, and my parents were living with me. At that moment, I had no income to support my family,” he recalled.

Instead of finding another job, Sardana decided to take a risk and start his own business.

Building a billion-dollar empire

With $25,000 in savings, he launched his own company. Over the years, it grew into Innova Solutions, an IT services firm that now employs over 50,000 people worldwide.

Today, Sardana’s net worth stands at $2 billion. His journey from arriving in the US with $100 to becoming a billionaire is an inspiring story of hard work and determination.