Market Data 
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Orhan Veli, owner of 11 Saladworks locations. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was born in what’s now Azerbaijan. When I was a child, the Soviet Union fell apart. My family was of mixed ethnicity: my dad was Russian, and my mom had mixed roots, including Armenian. When I was 6, violence against people with Armenian heritage rose in our city, and we needed to flee to Moscow.
We then applied for refugee status in the US. It was a long process that involved health screenings, psychological evaluations, and verifying my parents’ education. After years, we were finally approved to move to the US when I was 11.
As a refugee, when you think of the US, you always dream of living in New York City, Florida, or California. We landed in Jacksonville, Florida, and I was thrilled.
Within two weeks, I used my life savings to go to Disney World. It was truly a dream come true. So were the more mundane aspects of my new life. I had experienced sharing a bathroom with four other families and being food insecure. I could literally and figuratively have all the bananas I wanted in the US.
I started a career in wealth management, but it wasn’t for me
When I arrived in the US, I could say, “My name is Orhan,” and that was about it. I started fifth grade and learned English alongside my parents. I was so happy to be in Florida, but I could see how challenging it was for them. My mother has multiple master’s degrees in art, and my dad was an engineer with his own lab in Azerbaijan. In the US, they had to start over, beginning by learning the language. Their advanced education didn’t mean much here.
We moved to Philadelphia, so my dad could attend technical school. I went to an inner-city high school in Philadelphia, which forced me to develop a thick skin. After graduation, I was accepted to Penn State and later got an internship with Morgan Stanley.
I graduated with multiple job offers in wealth management. I was only 22, but I had my own office and a lucrative career ahead of me. But I knew that wasn’t my path. I couldn’t see myself doing the office grind for decades. More importantly, I felt a disconnect with my wealthy clients. If I was going to spend my life doing something, I wanted it to be very straightforward, transparent, and honest.
I run a multimillion-dollar business, but drive a used car
I spoke with my dad, and we began researching franchise opportunities. Everyone else thought I was nuts, stepping away from my finance career, but my parents believed in me so much that they took out a second mortgage to help me afford my first restaurant. To this day, my dad and I are 50-50 partners.
Those early years were rough. I was 23 and doing nothing but working, earning about $4 an hour. After the financial crisis in 2008, I learned how to operate a business with very slim margins, which ultimately made me a better businessman. Today, I own 11 SaladWorks locations; my restaurants brought in nearly $12 million in 2024.
I have some financial independence, and I don’t need to worry about money the way I used to. Still, I live modestly. My three kids are in public school, and my wife and I own an average home in our town. We both drive used cars — a Volkswagen for me and a Lexus for her.
I’ve used my financial security to help other refugees
My wife, Anastasiya, is Ukrainian. When the war broke out, we both wanted to help people. I knew what it was like to have to flee your home country. Although I was a child when it happened, that has never left me.
We started raising money to send to Anastasiya’s Ukrainian network. That was impactful, but we wanted to do more, so we decided to sponsor refugees. Sponsors help refugees get settled but also take on the financial responsibility of covering costs like food and housing if the refugee isn’t able to.
Taking that step was scary. My hands shook every time I signed the paperwork. The first family we sponsored was a husband and wife with toddler twins and an infant. They had been in transit for two months before reaching the US. We’ve also sponsored six extended family members of Anastasiya’s, some of whom she only met once before this.
I absolutely love our country, and I’ve been on the receiving end of its help. A sponsor I never met allowed me to come here. Taking on financial responsibility for strangers was nerve-racking, but it felt right. I don’t care about the politics of it — I just know these are real people in a bad situation. I’m in a position to help, so I’m going to do that.
