Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs

• Title: Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs
• Author: Neri Karra Sillaman, Ph.D.
• Job title / Position & School:  Entrepreneurship Expert, Oxford Saïd Business School
• Brief bio: Dr. Neri Karra Sillaman is a globally recognized advisor, speaker, and author, recently named to the Thinkers50 Radar List for 2024. She serves as an Entrepreneurship Expert at the University of Oxford and is also the founder of Neri Karra, a global luxury leather goods brand with over 25 years of partnerships with leading Italian labels. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, an MBA from Sabanci University, and a BBA from the University of Miami.
• Published by: Wiley, May 2025
• Where to find it: https://www.pioneersbook.com/

In a world teetering between crisis and reinvention, Neri Karra Sillaman’s new book, Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs delivers a timely, powerful reminder: the future belongs to those bold enough to begin again.

The book, already earning accolades across academic and entrepreneurial circles, isn’t just another business manual. It is aimed at rewriting how we think about immigration, entrepreneurship, resilience, and identity in today’s economy. Drawing from two decades of scholarship and lived experience, Sillaman, an Oxford academic and founder of a luxury leather business, makes a compelling case that immigrant entrepreneurs are not just survivors, but architects of enduring business success. 

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your new business book? What motivated you to write it?

The inspiration for Pioneers is deeply rooted in my own journey as a refugee and immigrant entrepreneur. Fleeing Bulgaria at age 11 with my family, my personal and professional path – from refugee camps in Turkey to Cambridge PhD, from startup founder to Oxford lecturer – gave me an intimate understanding of what it means to build under pressure. Originally intending to write about resilience, received over 100 rejections to a subject I both lived and researched for decades: immigrant entrepreneurship. My husband’s encouragement to “write what you know” unlocked the direction of the book. The result is a study of how those who begin with the least often build the most enduring, impactful businesses.

What are the key takeaways or main ideas that readers can expect to find in your book?

Pioneers introduces eight principles for business longevity, drawn from compelling interviews and data. These include reframing rejection, building with community, daring to play your hand (a reframed approach to luck), and centering values like kindness and service. The book argues that immigrant founders, because of their backgrounds, embody these principles naturally. I redefine “business longevity” not in terms of years, but in terms of impact. A key takeaway is this: enduring businesses are not just successful-they are valuable, human-centered, and purpose-driven.

Who is the target audience for your book, and how do you believe it will benefit them?

While initially written for aspiring entrepreneurs and business school students, Pioneers has found an unexpectedly wide audience. Healthcare professionals, educators, corporate leaders, and life coaches have reached out, sharing how the book’s principles resonate beyond business. At its heart, I hope Pioneers benefits anyone who wants to build something meaningful-whether that’s a startup, a community, or a personal journey. The blend of practical strategies and emotional depth is intended to give it broad relevance across industries and life stages.

What do you think makes this topic particularly relevant or timely in today’s business world, or for the years ahead?

The conversation around immigration is often dominated by politics, fear, and misinformation. At a time when immigrants are either pitied or vilified, Pioneers reframes the narrative with data, empathy, and optimism. With nearly half of Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children, and 80% of billion-dollar startups having at least one immigrant founder or executive, the evidence is clear: immigrants drive innovation. As global displacement rises and entrepreneurship becomes increasingly decentralised, understanding and empowering diverse entrepreneurial voices has never been more crucial.

Can you discuss any specific case studies or real-world examples from your book that illustrate its principles in action?

Yes-Pioneers is rich with vivid case studies. Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani and a Kurdish immigrant, revitalised a rural U.S. community through yogurt production, later giving equity to his employees and hiring refugees as a business principle. Other examples include WhatsApp, Duolingo, Moderna, Wondery, BioNTech, Numi Tea, and Dermalogica-many of whom built businesses that are values-led, deeply resilient, and surprisingly different from the typical fast-growth playbook. The book offers practical lessons for any company in today’s highly dynamic, volatile business environment, and with its timeless advice, it will offer guidance to those who want to build resilient businesses of impact and legacy. 

How does your book add to/expand existing discussions on this topic?

While many studies acknowledge that immigrants are more likely to become entrepreneurs, few-if any-have made the connection between immigrant entrepreneurship and business longevity. I challenge the standard metrics of business success and critiques classics like Built to Last for being out of touch with modern challenges. By centering immigrant voices and redefining “longevity” in terms of impact, Pioneers advances a more inclusive, realistic, and values-driven framework for thinking about entrepreneurship in the 21st century.

Can you provide some practical tips or strategies from your book that readers can immediately apply to improve their business or career?

One of the most actionable insights in Pioneers is deceptively simple: ask yourself in every interaction, “What value am I bringing?” Whether pitching a product, negotiating a deal, or presenting in class, the emphasis on value creation-rather than self-promotion-can transform outcomes. Other strategies include reframing rejection as the beginning of negotiation, cultivating strategic optimism, and building with and for community rather than ego. These principles are not only practical-they’re human.

Finally, what book written by another author would you consider essential reading for your audience and why?

There are several authors whose work aligns with the spirit of Pioneers. Amy Edmondson’s Right Kind of Wrong is essential reading for anyone navigating failure. Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential complements Pioneers by exploring how talent is developed, not just discovered. And Ayesha Bursell’s Design the Life You Love offers tangible methods for crafting a vision-one of the foundational principles in my own framework. These books, like Pioneers, focus not just on doing more-but on becoming more.

By, Matt Symonds

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