BUCHA Official Trailer | Streaming February 24, 2026 |
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Semyon Dukach
2nd degree connection
Founding Partner at One Way Ventures
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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- 500+ connections
About
Founding Partner, One Way Ventures, a $125M AUM venture capital firm backing exceptional immigrant
tech founders at pre-seed and seed stage. Portfolio includes Chipper Cash, Helm.ai, KarmaCheck, Brex,
Tive, Preply, and 140+ investments across fintech, healthtech, AI/machine learning, SaaS, cybersecurity,
robotics, and enterprise software.
Named top VC in New England by The Boston Globe's 2025 Tech Power Players list.
Managing Director Emeritus, Techstars. Former Chairman of the Board and Non-Executive
Director, SharpSpring/SMTP (NASDAQ: SHSP/SMTP) – took public, uplisted to NASDAQ, established
corporate governance and audit committee, guided to $240M acquisition by Constant Contact.
Serial entrepreneur and operator: Founded Fast Engines (exited to Adero, 2000). 100+ angel
investments with 36% IRR over 14 years. Seed investor and Interim CEO at AccuRev.
MIT MS Computer Science (Master's thesis: first internet payment protocol, 1991). Columbia BS
Computer Science (IBM research on virtual reality, late '80s).
Co-founded Cash For Refugees (now See Forward Ukraine). Created the Troublemaker Award (2012) and
One Way Foundation (2019). Led one of the MIT blackjack teams to beat the casinos in the early '90s
(chronicled in Busting Vegas).
Featured
- Starting from scratch in a new country takes grit, adaptability, and a willingness to move forward without guarantees. It’s why we invest in exceptional immigrant founders. and why they deliver.
This week, TIME and Statista named One Way Ventures one of America’s Top 350 VC Firms, out of more than 10,000. We’re proud of that - not just for us, but for what it signals: that the disproportionate value that immigrant founders create for their stakeholders and for their chosen homeland is being noticed.
Each time that our strategy of investing in immigrant founders is recognized in this way, the narrative shifts a little more towards gratitude, and a little further away from fear.
To everyone who’s been part of this journey - thank you. We’re in this for the long haul.
- I'm honored to be named a 2025 Tech Power Player by @Boston Globe Media.
I first came to Boston 35 years ago, and never left.
I spent some formative years at MIT, met inspiring founders during my time at Techstars Boston, and eventually decided to commit to immigrant entrepreneurs when I launched One Way Ventures.
We’ve never wavered in our thesis that immigrants are the most determined and resilient founders out there. That has consistently proven to be true, especially in times of adversity.
I’m proud of what One Way Ventures and our exceptional startups have achieved since launching in 2017. Of course, none of it would be possible without our equally exceptional team - Eugene Malobrodsky Lex Zhao Rhie Lim Mimi Yagoub Nadia Asoyan Dawid Przybysz.
Living in Boston, surrounded by thriving global universities, a huge international student community, and incredibly ambitious tech companies reminds me of why I do this every single day.
https://lnkd.in/espE_ZAt
https://lnkd.in/ecZYcDtd
- ⏬ Since launching One Way Ventures six years ago, we’ve repeatedly doubled down on our thesis that immigrants make better founders. In my latest Fortune op-ed, our I reflect on my own journey across borders, and why I'm convinced that backing immigrants is the smarter bet for investors.
I started out life in the Soviet Union, fled to the US, joined one of the MIT blackjack teams, and eventually chose to dedicate my career to supporting foreign-born founders in the United States.
As I explain in the op-ed, that bet has paid off - 75% of portfolio companies from our 2018 Fund I are still active today, and that fund is already up 2.5x overall, with four years still to go.
We’ve backed industry disruptors like Brex, Chipper Cash, FightCamp, Greeneye Technology, Impilo, KarmaCheck, Lynk, Nuvocargo, and Helm.ai.
We’ve put together a portfolio that’s 56% founded by minorities — far above the rest of the industry.
Give the op-ed a read to better understand where One Way partners come from, and why we do what we do.
https://lnkd.in/dayytTAZ
hashtagimmigrantentrepreneurship hashtagimmigrants hashtagimmigrantfounders hashtagimmigration hashtagVC hashtagdiversity
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Finally — it’s happening.
After two years of negotiations (and a fair amount of political resistance along the way), our feature film “Bucha” premieres on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. on February 24, the 4th anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The world still needs to see the truth about the heroism of Ukrainian civilians under Russian occupation.
As an executive producer of this film, I have done everything in my power to help it attain a sufficiently high level of production quality and to reach a sufficiently broad audience to actually move the needle in overall western support for Ukraine.
I am now asking each of you to personally help by taking three simple actions:
• Pre-order the film
• Share this post with friends in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
• Watch it within the first 3 days after release
This helps push the film into platform Top rankings — allowing hundreds of thousands of viewers to discover the story.
Thank you for helping Ukraine’s voice be heard.
Pre-order link:
https://lnkd.in/eK6XXQMV
Experience
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One Way Ventures · Full-time Jun 2017 to Present · 8 yrs 10 mos Greater Boston AreaFounding Partner-
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Founding Partner of One Way Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm with $125M AUM investing at pre-seed and seed stage in technology startups founded by immigrant entrepreneurs building category-defining companies across North America and Europe. Raised over $100M across three flagship funds and multiple SPVs, deploying capital into 146 investments with 67 active portfolio companies and 22 exits to date. Remained the largest LP in Fund I to stay fully aligned with founders and investors. Oversee capital allocation, due diligence, and strategic planning across portfolio. Portfolio spans information technology, B2B, B2C, e-commerce, SaaS, fintech, financial technology, healthtech, healthcare technology, edtech, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, logistics, real estate technology, and enterprise software. Notable portfolio companies include Chipper Cash, Helm.ai, KarmaCheck, Brex, Tive, Preply, and FightCamp. Provide hands-on portfolio support including board roles, investor introductions, fundraising guidance, and operational support for early-stage companies navigating growth challenges. Currently serve on the boards of Retrocausal, Instock, Kebotix, Impilo, and Provision as a director or observer. Named top VC in New England by The Boston Globe's 2025 Tech Power Players list. Recognized thought leader on immigrant entrepreneurship, contributing op-eds to Fortune and Forbes.
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Appointed to advisory board of Horasis, an independent, international think tank headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 2005 by Frank-Jürgen Richter, former director of the World Economic Forum, Horasis convenes senior business leaders, policy-makers, and heads of state across all continents to shape global business and policy dialogue. Contribute perspective on venture capital, technology entrepreneurship, immigration policy, ESG, and the startup ecosystem in shaping international business strategy and economic development.
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Hold the honorary title of Managing Director Emeritus at Techstars.
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Ran the Techstars Boston accelerator (2014–2017), one of the premier pre-seed and seed stage programs in North America. Invested $3.2M across four cohorts achieving 6.6x MOIC with $21.2M total value ($8.4M realized, $12.8M still compounding). Backed breakout startups at pre-seed stage including Own Up (64x), Tive (45x), and Rocketbook (51x). Conducted rigorous due diligence and provided hands-on mentorship to early-stage founders navigating product-market fit, fundraising, and scaling challenges.
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Co-founded and served on the board of See Forward Ukraine, a nonprofit mentorship and leadership program empowering displaced Ukrainian women through curated workshops, industry mentorship, and community engagement. Secured independent funding from private donors and foundations, ensuring operations free from government support. Provided fiduciary oversight and governance leadership. Oversaw programming focused on rebuilding Ukraine via technology, entrepreneurship, and social innovation.
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Chaired the board of NASDAQ-listed SharpSpring (formerly SMTP.com) as Non-Executive Director, overseeing the company's strategic transition from a profitable email infrastructure business to a high-growth B2B SaaS marketing automation platform. Provided corporate governance leadership including audit committee oversight, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Ensured data privacy practices aligned with GDPR requirements for international customers and CCPA standards for US operations. Guided the strategic shift following SMTP's acquisitions of GraphicMail (South Africa-based email marketing platform) and SharpSpring (marketing automation startup), leading to the rebranding of the parent company and repositioning of product and market focus. Helped lay the foundation for SharpSpring's $240M cash acquisition by Constant Contact, delivering shareholder value through sustained operational growth and market repositioning. Cloud-based platform served global customers with multilingual support across enterprise and SMB segments.
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Education
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Master's thesis described the first internet payment protocol.
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Conducted research at IBM on early virtual worlds and virtual reality during undergraduate studies.
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