Allora Hero’s Journey Story
Allora USA’s story is about the good ol’ American dream fulfilled by a family of Turkish immigrants. A tale of a dad whose vision and grit to bend reality to his will pulled the whole family towards a better life. Mom whose lunches for the entire family established rituals that helped them get through the most challenging times. Son & two daughters who contributed to building & growing the business since their school days (and in no small fashion)
Family business and “pulling yourself by the bootstraps” are overused terms, but if they were ever to fit somewhere, it would be here…
…in the “Birth & Rise of Allora USA” story, starring:
- Hamdi Acikgoz (Dad)
- Berrah Acikgoz (Mom)
- Mustafa Acikgoz (Son)
- Yukie Sherwood (Daughter)
- Deniz Ackigoz (Younger Daughter)
Now let’s time-machine ourselves to the fire-pit of hardship where it all began…*something something something*
1986 – 2006|
Emigration to U.S & Humble Beginnings
TURKEY: Dad didn’t make it past elementary school. But taught himself mechanical work and picked up jobs at local Turkish factories. His natural talent and persistence led him to fix problems at manufacturing facilities worldwide. Dad met his wife Berrah and had three children: Yukie, Mustafa, and Deniz.
UNITED STATES: Dad saves up enough money to move his wife and kids to the United States. He struggles and ends up working as a plumber for a granite fabricator in Virginia. Mom starts an at-home daycare service to pay the bills. Yukie and Mustafa pick up work while studying in junior high school to help the family.
|2007-2009
Chasing an Opportunity
The family continues to struggle to live off credit cards, but Dad is given an opportunity by his boss to find a new supplier with sink & faucets that are easier to install, well-priced, and don’t need as many repairs.
Dad asks Yukie to get a granite fabricator job so she can learn the business. Dad has Mustafa (whose English was better) call for him to different suppliers working late nights due to time zone differences. The family scrapes together what money they can to order samples that Dad would tear apart and test for quality.
2009|
Allora USA is Born
After burning through over 100 bad product samples, Dad and Mustafa find a supplier and white label it under the brand Allora USA. Yukie leaves her job and goes to work for Allora delivering & selling sinks out of a Sprinter Van
|2010 – 2012
Growing Pains
Mustafa graduates high school, mom closes her childcare business, and now the entire family works in Allora full-time. Dad and Mustafa travel to China to address some manufacturing defects and explore scaling. The family living room is converted into a small ‘warehouse.’ Eventually, they order their first shipping container of products and rent a storage unit.
2013|
The Warehouse [Rebirth / Transformation]
Dad spots another opportunity – faucet manufacturers were not willing to warranty their products at the time. Mustafa and Dad head back to China to rework the CNC operations and assembly of their faucets to solve problems leading to repair issues. They start selling their faucets with a direct warranty which grows their sales to the point that they could lease a warehouse. Mom starts a new tradition of daily breakfast & lunch meetings
|2019 – 2021
Another Risk
When the pandemic hits China, Dad stays calm and anticipates supply chain issues. He empties the family and company bank account to make his biggest order yet – 30 shipping containers (over 50,000 units) of sinks. The gamble pays off when shipping times for their competitors stretch out over months – and even years. And Allora USA’s improved fulfillment ops shorten the stateside shipping to less than a week. The family celebrates their 10-year anniversary.
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
– Warren Buffet –
2021|
TODAY – Passing the Torch / Family Takeover
Dad and Mom finally decide to transition into a hard-earned “retirement mode” and hand off the business to their children. Deniz is finishing school at ______________, Yukie steps into the CEO role, and Mustafa runs the operations as COO.
In April 2022, Forbes Advisor ranks Allora USA #6 nationwide for sinks and faucets.
THE FUTURE OF ALLORA USA
Both continue strengthening their parents’ hard-earned legacy of a family-first business while adding more amazing people to their ‘company’ family.
Yukie and Mustafa have also launched onto an ambitious path to dominate the ADA sink & faucet category without losing the family spirit that got them this far. Their biggest fear is failing their parents, who invested and sacrificed so much for the business’s success.
Dad still sneaks into the warehouse occasionally to check up on his company and kids.
Allora's Core Philosophy
These principles and ideals established by Berrah (Dad) & advanced by Yukie & Mustafa allow Allora to continue running “run a tight ship” :
- Slow & Steady Wins the Race
-
- Rather than
-
- No Tolerance for Drama
-
- We don’t care how good you are if you spoil the atmosphere for the rest of the team members. Bad apples causing drama are removed from our team.
-
- Comfortable Work Environment
-
- Make workplace a place where employees look forward to coming. Monthly team-building events.
-
- Money is No Object
-
- Salaries are high enough so team members don’t have to worry about paychecks and instead focus on doing excellent work.
-
- Co-workers are Family
-
- If anyone has an emergency or needs help
Allora Hero’s Journey Story
Allora USA’s story is about the good ol’ American dream fulfilled by a family of Turkish immigrants. A tale of a dad whose vision and grit to bend reality to his will pulled the whole family towards a better life. Mom whose lunches for the entire family established rituals that helped them get through the most challenging times. Son & two daughters who contributed to building & growing the business since their school days (and in no small fashion)
Family business and “pulling yourself by the bootstraps” are overused terms, but if they were ever to fit somewhere, it would be here…
…in the “Birth & Rise of Allora USA” story, starring:
- Hamdi Acikgoz (Dad)
- Berrah Acikgoz (Mom)
- Mustafa Acikgoz (Son)
- Yukie Sherwood (Daughter)
- Deniz Ackigoz (Younger Daughter)
Now let’s time-machine ourselves to the fire-pit of hardship where it all began…*something something something*
1986 – 2006
Emigration to U.S & Humble Beginnings
TURKEY: Dad didn’t make it past elementary school. But taught himself mechanical work and picked up jobs at local Turkish factories. His natural talent and persistence led him to fix problems at manufacturing facilities worldwide. Dad met his wife Berrah and had three children: Yukie, Mustafa, and Deniz.
UNITED STATES: Dad saves up enough money to move his wife and kids to the United States. He struggles and ends up working as a plumber for a granite fabricator in Virginia. Mom starts an at-home daycare service to pay the bills. Yukie and Mustafa pick up work while studying in junior high school to help the family.
2007-2009
Chasing an Opportunity
The family continues to struggle to live off credit cards, but Dad is given an opportunity by his boss to find a new supplier with sink & faucets that are easier to install, well-priced, and don’t need as many repairs.
Dad asks Yukie to get a granite fabricator job so she can learn the business. Dad has Mustafa (whose English was better) call for him to different suppliers working late nights due to time zone differences. The family scrapes together what money they can to order samples that Dad would tear apart and test for quality.
2009
Allora USA is Born
After burning through over 100 bad product samples, Dad and Mustafa find a supplier and white label it under the brand Allora USA. Yukie leaves her job and goes to work for Allora delivering & selling sinks out of a Sprinter Van
2010 – 2012
Growing Pains
Mustafa graduates high school, mom closes her childcare business, and now the entire family works in Allora full-time. Dad and Mustafa travel to China to address some manufacturing defects and explore scaling. The family living room is converted into a small ‘warehouse.’ Eventually, they order their first shipping container of products and rent a storage unit.
2013
The Warehouse [Rebirth / Transformation]
Dad spots another opportunity – faucet manufacturers were not willing to warranty their products at the time. Mustafa and Dad head back to China to rework the CNC operations and assembly of their faucets to solve problems leading to repair issues. They start selling their faucets with a direct warranty which grows their sales to the point that they could lease a warehouse. Mom starts a new tradition of daily breakfast & lunch meetings
2019 – 2021
Another Risk
When the pandemic hits China, Dad stays calm and anticipates supply chain issues. He empties the family and company bank account to make his biggest order yet – 30 shipping containers (over 50,000 units) of sinks. The gamble pays off when shipping times for their competitors stretch out over months – and even years. And Allora USA’s improved fulfillment ops shorten the stateside shipping to less than a week. The family celebrates their 10-year anniversary.
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
– Warren Buffet –
2021
TODAY – Passing the Torch / Family Takeover
Dad and Mom finally decide to transition into a hard-earned “retirement mode” and hand off the business to their children. Deniz is finishing school at ______________, Yukie steps into the CEO role, and Mustafa runs the operations as COO.
In April 2022, Forbes Advisor ranks Allora USA #6 nationwide for sinks and faucets.
THE FUTURE OF ALLORA USA
Both continue strengthening their parents’ hard-earned legacy of a family-first business while adding more amazing people to their ‘company’ family.
Yukie and Mustafa have also launched onto an ambitious path to dominate the ADA sink & faucet category without losing the family spirit that got them this far. Their biggest fear is failing their parents, who invested and sacrificed so much for the business’s success.
Dad still sneaks into the warehouse occasionally to check up on his company and kids.
Allora's Core Philosophy
These principles and ideals established by Berrah (Dad) & advanced by Yukie & Mustafa allow Allora to continue running “run a tight ship” :
- Slow & Steady Wins the Race
-
- Rather than
-
- No Tolerance for Drama
-
- We don’t care how good you are if you spoil the atmosphere for the rest of the team members. Bad apples causing drama are removed from our team.
-
- Comfortable Work Environment
-
- Make workplace a place where employees look forward to coming. Monthly team-building events.
-
- Money is No Object
-
- Salaries are high enough so team members don’t have to worry about paychecks and instead focus on doing excellent work.
-
- Co-workers are Family
-
- If anyone has an emergency or needs help