When Neri Karra Sillaman was 11 years old, she became a refugee with only two suitcases to her name. Her family fled Bulgaria during communist rule, facing nights without bread and winters without heat in a tiny Turkish apartment. That experience of losing everything shaped not just her childhood, but her entire approach to building a business that would eventually generate over a million dollars per month.
In this conversation, entrepreneurship expert, strategy specialist, and award-winning author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Neri Karra Sillaman shares how her family transformed from refugees to founders of a global luxury fashion brand without ever taking venture capital. Starting in a third-floor apartment in Turkey’s Grand Bazaar area, they built their business on trust, cultural connections, and what Neri calls “homophilic ties” – the bonds between people who share similar backgrounds and experiences.
Listen in this week for a powerful case study in business longevity for women entrepreneurs who want to build wealth and make an impact their way. Neri shares her perspective on insecurity as fuel for success, why growing too fast with investor money can kill creativity, and how gratitude, not impatience, drove their business forward through multiple crises.
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Today on Woman Owned:
- How the luggage trade economy became the biggest part of Turkey’s economy after communism fell.
- The strategic value of emphasizing shared backgrounds and creating “homophilic ties” with customers.
- Why financing their distributors without payment upfront actually accelerated business growth.
- How feeling insecure and paranoid can actually fuel business success when channeled properly.
- The difference between social capital and venture capital in building sustainable businesses.
- Why raising venture capital too early acts like a “pacifier” that prevents you from solving real business problems.
- How a family business structure creates resilience through challenges like currency devaluations and wars.
Resources Mentioned:
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- Organic Influence: Build a Loyal Following and Sell with Ease by Eleanor Beaton
- Check out Eleanor’s YouTube channel!
- If you want to be a part of our sales growth case study to see what happens when we partner with you to explode your sales pipeline, contact Eleanor here.
- Get my free ebook, How To Know When Cutting Back on 1:1 Client Work Makes Sense here.
- Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs by Neri Karra Sillaman
- Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove
- A Beautiful Mind – movie
- Feel the Fear… and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers