Etohum

Etohum is a leading accelerator and seed investor organization in Turkey that helps entrepreneurs bring their innovative ideas to life. Each year, 40 startups are carefully selected from thousands of applicants, and provided with training, mentorship, and seed investment to help them grow and succeed. The organization has invested in over 100 startups in a variety of industries, including ecommerce, mobile, game, and software. In addition to its accelerator program, Etohum also hosts the annual "Startup Turkey" event, bringing together top internet companies and investors in the country to support and celebrate the success of Turkish startups.

Founder

Vestelnet

Head of Ecommerce

Interbank

Corporate Banking

Founder of Startup Istanbul

Burak Büyükdemir is a well-known investor, startup ecosystem builder, author, and founder. He is the founder of Etohum, a leading accelerator and seed investor organization in Turkey, as well as the founder of Startup Istanbul and Startup Turkey. Through these programs, he has supported and invested in over 100 startups, providing training, mentorship, and seed investment to help them grow and develop. He is known for his work supporting the global startup ecosystem and has a strong global network of contacts in the startup world. In addition to his work with startups, Burak has also written a book about the founding stories of internet startups in Turkey and has served as a part-time lecturer at Istanbul Technical University and Bahcesehir University.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Startup Jargon.

I'm tired of speaking in code with founders and investors. This creates an unnecessary barrier to entry in our sector.

Want to raise funding? You need to know the lingo.
Looking for an internship? Better brush up on your buzzwords.
Seeking advice? Hope you're fluent in 'startup speak'.

Every day, I learn new complex terms. And every day, 'guru' investors seem to invent more. (Example: Founder - Manager Mode) 

It's a never-ending game of catch-up. Fall behind, and you risk being easily pushed out of the ecosystem.

That's why I've created a guide to explain 30 common startup-investor terms. In very simple terms.

BURAK BUYUKDEMIR

Simple Startup Language 

Chris Tottman

Burak Buyukdemir

Confused by Startup Agreements? You’re Not Alone! 🤔

I created a simple guide to help break down the most important terms and make them easier to understand.

Just a reminder: this is not a replacement for professional advice. Always check with a startup-friendly lawyer for the full details.

Think of this as a helpful tool from one founder to another. Let's make things a little clearer together!

#Startups #FounderLife #LegalMadeSimple #StartupSupport #FoundersHelpingFounders

Confused by Startup Legal Terms? 👇

Dan Bowyer

Struggling with Legal Jargon? You're Not Alone!

I've spent countless sleepless nights trying to decode complex legal language and understand how it impacts my company. 

That’s why I created a document that simplifies the most important terms and makes it easier to grasp the key points.

But remember, this isn’t a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a founder-friendly lawyer to dive deep into the details. 

This is just a guide from a fellow startup friend to make things a bit clearer. 

#Startups #FounderLife #LegalSimplified #StartupAdvice #FoundersFirst

Struggling with Legal Jargon? You're Not Alone! 

I had an insightful conversation with Sean Ellis, who will be visiting Istanbul in February 2024 as part of his global growth-hacking world tour.

7 Key notes from our chat that I noted down.
- Nothing's perfect; through testing we improve.
- Without product-market fit validation, growth hacking just accelerates the path to failure
- Understanding human psychology is key, like our response to peer influence.
- Growth comes from a team working closely together, with shared metrics and experimentation.
- Growth hacking looks the same globally - what matters is effective cross-team execution.
- Metrics should show sustained customer value, not vanity signals like downloads.
- Growth culture builds from shared goals and wins from experimentation, not documents.

(Links in comments)
#growthhacking #growthstrategy #growthmarketing #growthhack #growth #venturecapital #entrepreneurship 

Ozgur Gen, Bora Kizil, Derek Andersen, Cagri Karahan, Eamonn Carey, Caglar Erol, Hemanshu Jain, Yavuz Selim SEN, Harun E., Kağan Tonyukuk Fikri, Scott Hartley, Jerry (Jinguang) Yang, Deniz Özkan, Andrus Oks, Shahab Anbarjafari, Akim Arhipov, Ozgur Alaz, Alex Souza,  Guillermo Goncalvez Espiga, Ozan Sonmez

Burak Buyukdemir on LinkedIn • 2 min read

Growth Hacking Tips from Sean Ellis, Bestselling Author

A good startup idea has 3 parts 

1. The problem
2. Your solution
3. Your unique insight

The best problems to solve are: 

✅ Popular (lots of people have them) 
✅ Growing (more people will have them) 
✅ Urgent (need fixing ASAP) 
✅ Expensive (people will pay to fix them) 
✅ Must-solve (not optional) 
✅ Frequent (happen often)

Pro tip: Your idea doesn't need ALL these traits, but the more the better!

This is from YC School! "How to Evaluate Startup Ideas with Kevin Hale "

What problem are you solving with your startup? Does it tick these boxes?
#StartupTips #EntrepreneurMindset #YCombinator

I recently had Touradj Barman on my podcast to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and founding Up’n Go, a contactless payment solution for restaurants.

Here are some of the key lessons I took away from our conversation:
1. Start with solving a specific, narrow problem - Up & Go began by simply focusing on easing check splitting
2. Get a customer before building the product - Partnered with a restaurant first to customize the product to their needs
3. Constraints force focus - Bootstrapping kept costs low so they could focus on the essentials rather than getting distracted
4. Turn challenges into opportunities - Pandemic accelerated contactless payment adoption, driving huge transaction growth
5. Persistence pays off - Depth of experience matters in competitive space; Up & Go now leads competitors in volume

Check comments for the full episode

How to Turn European Union into the Next Tech Valley  👇

1. More Rules, More Regulation, More Fun
2. Appoint a “Chief Innovation Officer” in Each Country
3. Host “European Start-Up Vision Summit” Annually
4. Set up a Fund of Funds to Back Only the Safest VCs
5. Mix Small Businesses with Tech Startups
6. Celebrate the "United but Different" Market
7. Turn EU Funding into a Mystery Game
8. Rotate Tech Hub Headquarters Annually
9. Host Mandatory Tech Festivals in Small Villages
10. Create an EU-Mandated “5-Year Innovation Strategy”
11. Send Startups Away, Then Wonder Why

STARTER KIT FOR EUROPEAN UNION 

YC's #1 Startup Rule 👇

1️⃣ "Until you've built a great product, almost nothing else matters."
2️⃣ Successful founders spend their time on TWO things: 1-Sitting in front of the computer, working on their product 2-Talking to their customers
3️⃣ Fundraising, press, hiring, biz dev? They're all SIGNIFICANTLY EASIER with a great product.
4️⃣ "You should be very skeptical if your time allocation is much different."

91% 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱. 𝗛𝗼𝘄?

Steve Blank used to think entrepreneurial success was about having the perfect business plan. He was wrong.

The conventional wisdom:
• Startups succeed through meticulous planning
• Failure is a career-ender
• MBAs are the best preparation for founding a company

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱:

1. Founders are artists, not managers
  They create something from nothing, driven by vision and passion.

2. Failure = Experience
  Each "failed" startup increases the odds of future success.

3. Entrepreneurship is a calling, not a job
  If you're not obsessed, you're in the wrong field.

4. Resilience trumps all
  The ability to bounce back is the most valuable asset.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: Blank once lost $35 million of investor money. Devastating, right?

Those same investors gave him another $12 million for his next venture.

The result? He returned them $1 BILLION each.

This journey completely transformed Blank's approach:
• He now embraces failure as a necessary part of growth
• He focuses on cultivating resilience above all else
• He seeks founders with unwavering passion, not perfect resumes

𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

He advocates for less case studies, more hands-on experience. Less theory, more practice. Less glorification of success, more normalization of failure.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱? 👇

What VCs Really Want! 👇

Just an amazing session with Magnus Gaarder at Startup Istanbul 🎤 If you're a startup founder looking to raise capital, this talk is a goldmine. 💰

Magnus dives deep into what venture capitalists are truly looking for. 

Check out the full video and learn how to increase your chances of getting funded!  👇

#Startups #VentureCapital #Fundraising #Entrepreneurship #StartupAdvice #MagnusGaarder #StartupIstanbul

I'm tired of startup jargon - sometimes I just don't understand the conversation. 

It feels like every meeting is a game of buzzword bingo, and I'm always a few squares short of winning. 

That's why I created the "BS Jargon Translator for Dummies version 1.0" - a guide to decode the startup world's favorite buzzwords and explain the simple ideas behind them.

BS Jargon Translator for Dummies 👇

The illusion of your destination

Phil Knight: Do you run? 
Sonny Vaccaro: No, Phil, I don't. 
Phil Knight: It’s hard. It’s suffering. It’s difficult. The illusion is that the finish line is the destination, but the act itself is the destination.

Life shows you a finish line and teaches that this is the goal. In fact, this is a great deception; remember, the action itself is the real goal.

#infinitegame #goals

Burak Buyukdemir on LinkedIn • 4 min read

The illusion of your destination

🚨 The #1 reason startups fail? 👇

Magnus Gaarder

Investors aren’t looking for startups that are 'very likely' to succeed. 

What they’re actually looking for is this: 

" most startups won't be successful, but if one does succeed, it should have the potential to become a massive company. "

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