776: Forge Connections That Help You Thrive, with Neri Karra Sillaman

776: Forge Connections That Help You Thrive, with Neri Karra Sillaman

From Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

March 30, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 776

About this episode

Neri Karra Sillaman discusses the importance of forging meaningful connections and the lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs for thriving in business and life.

Neri Karra Sillaman: Pioneers Neri Karra Sillaman is a refugee-turned-entrepreneur, academic, and author whose work focuses on the importance of resilience, purpose, and vision in business and in life. She is the recipient of the Thinkers50 Radar Award, an entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, and the founder of Neri Karra, a global luxury leather goods brand. She is the author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs ( Amazon , Bookshop )*. We all know that the right connections can help in our careers, but how do we actually get more intentional about forging the connections that will be most meaningful and sustainable? In this conversation, Neri and I explore the key lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs and how their successes can help us all thrive. Key Points Robins and titmice have vastly different outcomes because of their divergent abilities for flocking. Social capital is critical for success. Diversity brings many strengths – and it also introduces new challenges for connection. We can’t as easily rely on connections through traditional cultures or experiences. All of us have the ability to forge connections based on…

People in this episode

Host: Dave Stachowiak

Guest: Neri Karra Sillaman

Topics covered

  • connections
  • immigrant entrepreneurs
  • resilience
  • business longevity
  • social capital
  • diversity

Keywords

  • connections
  • entrepreneurship
  • resilience
  • social capital
  • diversity
  • business
  • networking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Oxford, Thinkers50, Neri Karra

Books & works: Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs

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