Nada Kiblawi was born in a refugee camp, lived through regional wars and finally found safe haven and economic independence as an entrepreneur in the U.S.

As a child born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp, she suffered from low self-esteem, despite feeling love and affection from her parents.

Nada’s family fled to Lebanon during the 1948 Arab-Israel war, losing all of their possessions and the land they owned in the process. They ended up north of Beirut, in a United Nations refugee camp, which was meant to be a stopgap solution to their crisis.

Nada, her six siblings and her parents were allocated two rooms in the camp in what she describes as “miserable” conditions.

“There was no running water in the houses. There were common toilets in another building that were shared by all the refugees. People would wash and bathe in small containers and then take the water out and throw it in the common sanitary,” Nada told The Story Exchange.

Businesses Bloom from the Seeds of Discontent

by Geri Stengel on Apr 24, 2012 - 12:20am

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Disturbed by the wasted money and ecological irresponsibility of buying toys, then throwing them away after a month? Want organic clothes for your baby? Can’t find the learning tools your special needs child needs? How about being able to sample high-end beauty products without cruising the counters of department stores? Or you “never have anything to wear” when an important occasion comes up? And, oh, those hot flashes!

5 Ways to Break Through Barriers to Growth

by Geri Stengel on Apr 17, 2012 - 12:20am

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I’m delighted with the recent Ernst & Young report, Thinking big: How to accelerate the growth of women-owned companies, which matches what I’ve found from talking with high-growth women entrepreneurs. With the number of women-owned businesses increasing yearly, accelerating their growth is important.

What is entrepreneurship?

by Geri Stengel on Aug 3, 2010 - 7:00am

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Risk-taking. Passionate. Problem-solver.

Investor. Innovator. Business person.

Juggler. Hard worker. Idea person.

Sales person. Leader. Financial Planner.

Palestinian Entrepreneur Exemplifies Adage That Social Responsibility is Good for Business

by Geri Stengel on Jun 1, 2010 - 6:00am

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"Social impact is our entrepreneurship goal and this is also serving us from a business standpoint."

Need I say more? That's a nice definition of social enterprise.

The statement above is from Nasser Abufarha, 46, founder of several social enterprises that serve both the farmers of Palestine and those who want to support organic and fair-trade enterprises. In fact, as indicated in the statement above, the growing demand for fair-trade and organic products is part of his business plan.

Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Social Enterprises Will Benefit From Ventureneer's Free eBook

by Geri Stengel on Mar 2, 2010 - 11:45am

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As a teacher, consultant, nonprofit board member, and entrepreneur, I've learned a lot about starting and growing a business. I'm distilling the key points into a series of free ebooks for small businesses – that includes commercial businesses, nonprofits, and social enterprises.

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It's a Vision Thing: Entrepreneurship Is Seeing What Others Don't

by Geri Stengel on Feb 11, 2010 - 11:45am

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Entrepreneurs are people who see the routine and envision change, who see an opportunity where others see a problem.

Tyga-Box Systems is the perfect example of entrepreneurship. Most of us anticipate moving-day by buying cardboard boxes, packing tape, and marking pens, then throw them all away at the other end of the move. But husband and wife Martin Spindel and Nadine Cino saw that routine as environmentally destructive and just plain silly.

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Gladwell Ignores Most Entrepreneurs to Make Points About a Few

by Geri Stengel on Feb 2, 2010 - 11:45am

Commentary / Opinion entrepreneurs entrepreneurship Malcolm Gladwell Small Business

A recent article by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker, The Sure Thing: How entrepreneurs really succeed has me steaming!

Gladwell's thesis is that entrepreneurs are not daring risk takers – they only bet on sure things, he says – and that they are predators. As an adjunct professor who teaches entrepreneurship at The New School and as a successful serial entrepreneur myself, I say that's a bunch of malarkey.

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What Entrepreneurs/Nonprofits Execs Need to Succeed

by Geri Stengel on Sep 22, 2009 - 11:32am

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The video is the work of creative director Janet Giampietro, with motion graphics by Gestalters, llc. and audio production by Al Fritsch.

A Successful Entrepreneur Is a Student Entrepreneur

by Geri Stengel on Sep 8, 2009 - 1:55pm

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For many, including me, September means back to school. This semester, I’m teaching entrepreneurship at The New School. As I wrapped up my first class, I emphasized a point that I want to share with you – entrepreneurship is a lifelong journey that requires continual learning.