All in the Famiglia

JOLIET — A New York City pizza entrepreneur shared the keys to his success during a business forum last Wednesday at the University of St. Francis.

Giorgio Kolaj, co-founder and executive vice president of Famous Famiglia, told more than 100 university students, faculty and community members about his immigrant family’s humble beginnings in America and the guiding principles that led to their company’s international success.

“We never imagined we’d ever leave Manhattan,” said Kolaj, who leads global business development with more than 140 Famous Famiglia locations around the world.

Kolaj’s family immigrated to the United States when he was an infant. His recently widowed mother with one daughter and four sons had no money, no education and spoke no English, he said.

“My mother — an uneducated woman — taught me more than all the educators I’ve had my whole life,” he said. “We’re absolutely grateful to this country. This is the greatest gift we’ve ever had — the ability to go to America.”

In America, the family worked hard to survive and adapt. Kolaj got his first job delivering newspapers at age 6, and when the brothers opened their first pizzeria in 1986, the entire family still lived together in a two-bedroom apartment.

“Family is absolutely essential to what we do,” Kolaj said. “It is our company.”

Famous Famiglia began its national expansion in 2001 and franchising in 2002 after several years of planning and strategizing. A global initiative began in 2006.

“We have to be as selective about our products as we are about whom we do business with,” Kolaj said. “We’re a people business. They’re ambassadors for our brand.”

Kolaj said he could teach anyone how to make a pizza, but he can’t teach employees character or how to solve problems.

“It’s the simple things that don’t cost a penny that make the biggest impact,” he said.

Kolaj urged the university’s students to follow eight guiding principles when entering business: be jealous, be passionate, be committed, take risks, be imaginative, surround yourself with winners, be genuine and be a farmer since you’ll reap what you sow.

“You can't have any success without working hard,” he said. “The track to success will always have failures.”