At the Corner of Destiny and Ingenuity: Lessons from an Entrepreneur's Improbable Life

Paul Owhadi's improbable entrepreneurial journey began as a first-generation immigrant coming to America with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket. Having learned a remarkable level of self-reliance, as a child sent to a French boarding school at age four, he was educated in London-and then headed to New York City and a whole new life.

After an education and a career in urban planning and city management-one of the youngest city managers in the country-he excelled at creating and transfo...