Making It Work is a series is about small-business owners striving to endure hard times.
Hakki Akdeniz, the founder of the Champion Pizza chain in New York City, speaks openly about his past. In 2001, when he first moved to the United States from Canada, he was homeless and had to sleep in subway cars and at Grand Central Terminal before staying at a shelter for three months.
Mr. Akdeniz’s experience is prominently featured on the website of Champion Pizza, and the company’s mission is to support people who are homeless. According to experts and business observers, Mr. Akdeniz, 43, is part of a growing group of small-business owners who incorporate some of the most personal aspects of their lives into their company’s brands.
While it is not a new phenomenon for company founders to share their personal backstories, these stories are often straightforward and positive accounts of a determined person who sets out to solve a problem. However, a new generation of founders is…
2023-04-28 04:00:48
Original from www.nytimes.com