Alumna Neri Karra Sillaman and her family were forced from their native Bulgaria when she was 11 years old. Growing up in exile in Turkey, she looked for role models in immigrants who overcame difficult beginnings to achieve great things.
Her research revealed that nearly 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants, and 80 percent of billion-dollar startups in the United States have founders or senior leadership who are first- or second-generation immigrants (despite being only 28 percent of the population). In a world where 90 percent of startups fail, these statistics were striking.
In her recent book, “Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs,” Karra Sillaman explores why immigrants often excel at building businesses that last and shares practical lessons that anyone can use to create a legacy of their own.
Informed by her research, she transformed her parents’ small business in Istanbul into the global leather handbag and accessories label, Neri Karra.
How did you become an immigrant?
In 1989, when I was 11 years old, I, alongside 360,000 Bulgarians of Turkish ethnicity, were asked to leave with only what we could carry.
I realized that if I wanted a better life for myself, I had to get a good education. I worked hard and believed in myself. By the age of 18, I applied to the University of Miami. There were setbacks, but I had a vision of who I wanted to become, and I was determined to make it a reality.
Now, I have cousins who also followed in my footsteps, earning undergraduate and advanced degrees. My extended family members tell me how girls and boys in their villages—people I have never even met—view me as an example of what they can achieve.
How did your time at the University of Miami develop you as an entrepreneur?
I graduated in 2 1/2 years, but my time there opened my eyes. After all, America is a country built by immigrants.
I remember struggling with computers in my first year of college. Then, I learned that the computer’s first microchip was built by an immigrant—Intel’s Andrew Grove—and that inspired me to persevere.
I began to research immigrants and their contributions, and the data was astounding.
Why are immigrants more likely to be entrepreneurs?
During my Ph.D. program at Cambridge University, I focused on ethnic entrepreneurship and international entrepreneurship as the bases of my thesis. In my research, I found a lot of professors asking that same question.
I found that immigrants are more likely to create businesses with an emphasis on longevity, impact, and legacy. Oftentimes, their work is informed by values common to immigrant populations, like respect for the community they serve, pride in the reputation of their business and products, and the humility to center the customer experiences regardless of their own position, whether CEO of a billion-dollar company or owner of a small business.
The idea came to me to write a book on the topic. Six months later, I wrote “Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs.” It’s a testament to the resilience of immigrants.
How did you make the jump to create your own business?
The idea for my company was born in the business management department of the University of Miami. We were told to write a business plan as a capstone project for the class. I thought about my parents’ business selling leather products in Turkey.
I built on that idea, finding Italian companies with dead stock leather—leather that was to be discarded due to minor defects or changes in fashion—and buying it for very little money. From this, we could design durable, quality bags and accessories to last a lifetime. In 1999, I launched my school assignment into a real business.
I didn’t want to call the brand Neri Karra, but my cousin in Bulgaria said it sounded like a brand name already, so that’s what we decided to call it.
How does your experience as an immigrant inform the way you do business?
Because of my background, I know what it’s like to be the other. I know what it’s like to be discriminated against, so the way I do business is informed by compassion and empathy.
Any advice for students?
Without kindness, you cannot practice any of the principles in my book.
When I first got to the University of Miami, I was tremendously afraid—of failure, of not belonging, of not performing well.
My first exam was an essay in English literature, a language that is not my native tongue, and I was incredibly nervous. After the test, my teacher called me into her office and told me I had earned an A+, but more importantly, she was kind to me and encouraged me. To this day, I am profoundly grateful to her for that.
