She Cleaned Their Offices at Night — Then Bought the Aerospace Company

Long before Eren Ozmen became the owner of an aerospace company worth billions, she was cleaning its offices at night. She was a graduate student from Turkey, studying for her MBA at the University of Nevada, Reno. Money was tight, and she worked several jobs to pay her expenses, including making baklava to sell at a local bakery.

Another job involved cleaning the offices of Sierra Nevada Corporation, a small technology company with fewer than 20 employees. She probably knew the building better than some of the people who worked there during the day. What she couldn’t have imagined was that she would eventually own the entire company.

The Computer Her Boss Wouldn’t Buy

Eren completed her MBA in 1985 and landed a job preparing financial reports for a sprinkler company in Carson City, Nevada. She quickly noticed a problem: the company’s reports were being prepared by hand and could take weeks to complete. Eren had learned to use computers during her studies and knew the same work could be finished much faster.

She asked her manager to buy a computer for the office, but he refused because it was too expensive. So Eren bought one herself. She used the money from her first paycheck to purchase an HP computer and brought it to work.

The results were immediate. Financial reports that previously required weeks could now be completed in hours, and her bosses were impressed enough to promote her on the spot.

Eren had proved her point, but the job wouldn’t last. In 1988, the sprinkler company was sold, and she was laid off. Fortunately, her husband, Fatih, knew another business that desperately needed help organizing its finances: Sierra Nevada Corporation.

She Found a Much Bigger Problem

Fatih was already working at Sierra Nevada as an engineer. He explained that the company still prepared much of its financial reporting by hand, just as Eren’s previous employer had done. Eren joined the company and brought her computer with her.

She began improving its financial systems, making it easier to understand where money was coming from and how quickly it was being spent. One evening, while reviewing the accounts, she discovered something alarming.

Management believed general and administrative expenses were consuming about 10% of the company’s revenue. Eren’s calculations showed the actual figure was closer to 30%. At that rate, the company could run out of money within months.

She brought her findings to management and eventually went directly to the owners. The company was already struggling to survive between government contracts, and its bank wasn’t willing to extend additional financing.

Things became so desperate that payroll was suspended for three months while everyone waited for another major contract to arrive. Employees had to borrow money to cover their bills.

The contract eventually came through, and Sierra Nevada survived, but the financial problems had shown Eren just how vulnerable the business was. She and Fatih believed they could run it differently.

They Put Their House on the Line

In 1994, Eren and Fatih decided to buy Sierra Nevada Corporation. The company had about 20 employees, and purchasing it would require a significant financial commitment. They used their house as collateral to help secure the financing.

According to Forbes, the purchase price was less than $5 million. They were betting their home and financial future on a struggling business they believed could become something much bigger.

Eren took responsibility for financial management and keeping expenses under control. Fatih concentrated on engineering, developing new products, and finding opportunities with government customers. Growth came gradually.

The company expanded its work in aviation technology, communications, electronic systems, and military equipment. It also began acquiring other businesses, adding engineering expertise and new customers.

Eren remained closely involved in financial decisions. She had seen what happened when a company didn’t understand its own expenses, and she wasn’t interested in repeating the experience.

By 2017, Sierra Nevada was generating approximately $1.6 billion in annual revenue and employing nearly 4,000 people. The little company that had struggled to make payroll was becoming one of America’s largest privately owned aerospace and defense contractors.

From Airplanes to Spacecraft

As Sierra Nevada expanded, it began developing technology for much more than traditional aircraft. Its projects included intelligence and surveillance systems, secure communications equipment, and advanced aerospace technology. The company also became involved in space exploration.

In 2021, Sierra Nevada separated its space operations into a new company called Sierra Space. Among its best-known projects was Dream Chaser, a reusable spaceplane designed to transport cargo to and from orbit.

That business attracted major investment. In March 2026, Sierra Space announced that it had raised another $550 million. The financing valued the company at $8 billion, with total investment since 2021 exceeding $2 billion.

Meanwhile, the original Sierra Nevada Corporation continued expanding its aerospace and national-security work. And in 2024, it won the largest contract in its history.

A Contract Worth $13 Billion

On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Sierra Nevada Corporation had been awarded a contract worth up to $13.08 billion. The company would develop and produce the next generation of the U.S. Air Force’s airborne command aircraft. These specialized airplanes are designed to keep national leaders and military commanders connected during major emergencies, including situations where ground-based command facilities might become unavailable.

The contract covered aircraft development, production, associated ground equipment, and technical support, with work expected to continue through July 2036. It was an enormous achievement for a privately owned company that had started its remarkable expansion with approximately 20 employees.

Eren and Fatih had transformed Sierra Nevada into a major aerospace contractor while retaining ownership of the business.

And the company Eren once cleaned at night had just been entrusted with one of the most important aircraft programs in the United States.