Startup Ignition Podcast · 2026-02-05 · 1h 26m
In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Sam Stoddard, the co-founder and CEO of Simple Citizen - a platform often described as "TurboTax for immigration." Sam shares his journey from an accounting student at BYU to navigating the complex US immigration system for his wife, which sparked the idea for his startup. We dive into his unique path of raising venture capital before joining Y Combinator, the crisis that almost sank the company during their YC batch, and the eventual acquisition of Simple Citizen by the world's largest immigration law firm. (00:00:00) Introduction and the power of student entrepreneurship (00:04:07) Sam Stoddard’s bio: Building the "TurboTax for immigration" (00:07:32) Icebreaker: Equity vs. salary and night owls vs.
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