Recently we traveled to New York’s Soho district, to talk with Maribel Lieberman, the founder of Mariebelle, the internationally known chocolate shop, about her experiences as an immigrant entrepreneur. The result was the inspiring ‘Success Story’ called Immigrant Entrepreneur Finds America’s Sweet Spot. When she arrived from Honduras, Maribel didn’t even have a high school […]
Ali Saifi didn’t know what a Subway was when he came to the U.S. Today, he oversees 390 Subway restaurants and helps immigrants like himself become Subway franchisees. Ali Saifi didn’t intend to stay in the United States. When he came here in 1973, his plan was to go to college and then return to […]
Immigrant Entrepreneur: Eddie and Ming Wang | Country of Origin: Taiwan | Emigrated to U.S.: 1978 | Launched Ming Wang: 1986 | Annual Revenue: $15M | Jobs Created: 40 Taiwanese immigrants Eddie and Ming Wang started their business from a kitchen table. Now it’s a $12 million enterprise. When Taiwanese immigrants Eddie Wang spent $600 from his savings to buy […]
Immigrant Business Statistics: Name: Natalia Konovalova | Country of Origin: Uzbekistan | Immigrated: 1995 | Companies Founded: Volver Design Group, Le’ Bulga | Co-Founded Volver: 2012 A beauty pageant got Natalia Konovalova out of the Soviet Union, but her trend setting designs have made her a success in America. As a child in Uzbekistan, Natalia […]
Name: Mark Wilkins | Country of Origin: U.K. | Emigrated to the U.S.: 1997 | Launched: Stampede Presentation Products 1998 | Annual Revenues: $120 million | Jobs Created: 85 Like countless immigrants before him, Mark Wilkins came to the United States because it offered limitless opportunity. Wilkins, who headed a British audiovisual company, moved to the […]
Name: America Corrales-Bortin | Country of Origin: Mexico | Emigrated to the U.S.: 1995 | Launched: America’s Taco Shop 2008 | Annual Revenues: $2.4 million | Jobs Created: 150 A field worker’s daughter from Mexico uses her family heritage to build a successful nationwide franchise: America’s Taco Shop. When she arrived from Mexico as a […]
Sandy Tsangaroulis drew on the training she got in her home country to create Spa at Bedminster, a thriving beauty business. When Sandy Tsangaroulis came to the U.S. from Greece with her husband, she had never lived more than an hour away from the island on which she grew up, and she spoke very little […]
Immigrant Business Statistics: Name: Rohit Arora | Country of Origin: India | Business name: Biz2Credit | Location: New York, NY | Annual Revenue: $14 Million | Jobs Created: 14 Overlooked immigrant market creates opportunity for Indian entrepreneur. If you want to find an entrepreneur who has made the most of his foreign advantage, Rohit Arora […]
A Honduran immigrant combined the spicy flavors from her homeland with native cacoa to make chocolate a hot business. Born in a mountain village in Honduras, Maribel was always a hard worker. At the age of eight she made penny candies and sold them to the other children, earning the nickname “Caramel.” Now she’s […]
The creator of the Pulitzer-Prize winning smash hit Broadway musical Hamilton has some powerful words about the immense value of immigrants in American society. During a memorable and stirring commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania on May 16, Lin-Manuel Miranda reminded everyone that immigrants are the backbone of Hamilton (the hiphop-infused story of Alexander […]
