Walk the main commercial street of any Kurdish American neighborhood and the entrepreneurial spirit is obvious. Kurdish-owned restaurants serve lamb kebab and dolma to mixed crowds of Kurdish families and curious neighbors. Grocery stores stock dried herbs, pomegranate molasses, and imported teas that you cannot find at any chain supermarket. Auto repair shops, construction companies, and cleaning services run by Kurdish Americans employ both Kurdish and non-Kurdish workers.

This entrepreneurship is partly a product of necessity — in the early years, starting a business was often the path of least resistance for immigrants whose foreign credentials were not recognized and whose English was still developing. But it is also a product of culture. Kurdish communities have long valued self-sufficiency and hard work, and the skills required to run a small business — managing relationships, keeping accounts, reading a room — translate well across cultural contexts.

The second generation of Kurdish American entrepreneurs is increasingly moving into technology, professional services, and creative industries. They are not leaving the community behind — many deliberately build businesses that serve Kurdish customers or hire within the community. They are expanding what Kurdish American entrepreneurship looks like.