My name is Neri Karra. I am Turkish-Bulgarian.
I did my PhD in management studies at the
University of Cambridge.
Currently I'm an academic in addition to having
my own leather products label.
When I actually first got into Cambridge, I
thought they'd made a big mistake. I thought,
I definitely don't belong here because everyone
is much smarter and much more intelligent than I am.
There was a counselling service that I spoke
to, and they said to me "Actually, you are
not the only one that feels this way." She
introduced me to other students who felt the
way I did, so immediately you no longer feel
alone, and you also don't feel like there
is something wrong with you.
I decided to do my PhD first on foreign direct
investment from Turkey to Russia.
Around the same time I had actually also started
my family business, and I was becoming interested in entrepreneurship.
I thought "That's a great opportunity for
me to do my PhD on global companies and
international entrepreneurship."
My supervisor and the professors at University
of Cambridge, they were very open minded and
also very supportive and they provided me
with everything I needed in order to make that a reality.
My business started in the year of 2000. The factory is based in Istanbul. We employ about 175 craftsmen.
We also manufacture our own label, which is
Neri Karra, but we also manufacture for other,
very well know high-end Italian labels as
well.
For me, the cornerstone of my business is
based on education.
We have supported financially students who
wanted to further their education, and we
also offer internships, where we work in a
collaboration with artisan schools in turkey.
It's about doing good, it's about giving back.
To me this is the foundation. It should be the foundation of any business.
This is actually one of the biggest gifts that I got from my UK education.
I would wholeheartedly recommend studying
in the UK. It made me ask a different question
and changed the definition for success and happiness for me.
To anyone thinking of studying in the UK,
the advice I would give is to 'take the leap.'
Don't forget to have fun.
It's an amazing experience.
