Hamdi Ulukaya

I started a feta cheese company, Euphrates, in upstate New York in 2002. ”

I came to the U.S. in 1994 to learn English and go to business school, but I took only a few business courses at the State University of New York at Albany and didn't finish. ”

Just about anyone can make a good product, but it's the people that count. In the end, it's the employees who will take it from a kitchen-table idea to the next level. There are a lot of important things in business, but the people portion comes first. ”

There are a lot of studies about small businesses and how they make a difference in their community and create a lot of jobs and values. So we need to focus on small businesses or entrepreneurs who want to start manufacturing or making things. ”

Entrepreneurship is seen as if you're in Silicon Valley or New York City and starting an app business or a social-media business, which is cool. But what we really have to focus on is people who make things, and how can we fund them, and how can we encourage people to stay in their community and make a difference in their community. ”

On the tech side, little start-ups can do something magnificent. They don't need too much in terms of plants and infrastructure. ”

A closed plant is like a cemetery; it really is. The walls will talk to you; the machines will talk to you if you really talk to them. ”