• Artesis – Ahmet Duyar:
  
  It's product, the MCM (Motor Condition Monitor), "provides early warning of progressively deteriorating machine and process conditions, thereby maximizing a plant’s available assets through reducing unplanned downtime, and improving revenue and savings," said Ahmet Duyar, CEO of Artesis. "In addition, MCM provides information about the quality of the incoming power, energy consumption as well as the abnormalities in the plant."
  
  MCM is a unique solution that safeguards rotating machinery from common faults, both electrical and mechanical, such as misalignment, imbalance, bearing faults, short-circuits, etc. by measuring only voltages and currents. Applications include sectors of iron and steel works, glass plants, power generation plants, water departments of municipalities, cement plants etc.
  
  A subsidiary of Arcelik A.S., the company is dedicated to the research and development of state-of-the-art systems for quality assurance and condition monitoring.
  
  It received the "Editor's Choice Award" by the Control Engineering Magazine published in the USA stating that it was amongst the 40 best products in 2000.
  
  This patented core technology, a result of a 25 year-long research effort, has previously been applied in the US at NASA.



• Bizitek – Murat Şahinoğlu & Kerem Erdem:
  
  Bizitek was founded in 2000 as a subsidiary of Probil to provide companies with e-business end-to-end customer and solution oriented software, consulting services to achieve maximum efficiency, and turn changes in technology to a competitive advantage. Since 2004 Bizitek has grown by providing quality business solutions to Companies in Turkey and around the world.



• Monopoli Sigorta – Erol Esentürk & İzzet Bonofiyel:
  
  A new kind of insurance agency, buying and reselling insurance - one insurance policy for multiple needs online.



• Speedcity – Ahmet & Ali & Canan Özgün:
  
  This is a motorsports enthusiast's entertainment destination, hosting all motor racing products, clothing and accessories, simulation games, as well as a cafe.



• Türkmix – Aydın Şeker & Damla Gönül & Elda Maraşlı:
  
  By the looks of its website, Türkmix strives to be a high quality fast-food restaurant chain. With simple menu options, this could be the "McDonaldization" of Turkish food.

Labels: Awards, Endeavor, Entrepreneurship

Labels: AccessTurkey, Entrepreneurship, iLab Ventures, LeVenture, Nokta Technologies, Technology, Venture Capital

Labels: Business Plan Contests, Business Planning, Endeavor, Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Pozitron

• Weak signals are even weaker in the emerging countries.
• There is no ecosystem to support entrepreneur/idea owners or an entrepreneurial VC, so as a VC you need to disseminate your beliefs, bets, without getting tired, bring the value together from anybody possible to make things happen.
• For example in the US, the companies pretty much know what a VC expects so they tell the story according to what is being expected. That is good and bad. Good because it is easier to evaluate but bad because you are creating an environment assuming the finance world is more valuable than the ideas or idea owners. So you can actually miss big ideas just because they don’t know your rules of doing business. However, In emerging worlds, you need to understand the world of the entrepreneur/idea owner.

Labels: Emerging Markets, Entrepreneurship, Fund Closings, fundraising, Golden Horn Ventures, Venture Capital

Dear Sir,

I produce a prototype and apply to TTGV (TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OF TURKEY) for the fund that I need to create my product (TRINK).

They gave me an incubation fund to create my first pre_production prototype. But now, I need the real fund for startup and mass production for TRINK.

The problem is starting from here: TTGV is one of the biggest foundations in Turkey, but they can not invest any enterpreneur or a company directly -except the incubation fund that we get- because of our laws in Turkey (because TTGV is a FOUNDATION ). So, they(TTGV) set up another company called Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. (Technology Investment Corp.) to support new ideas/companies. Teknoloji Yatirim A.S. supports the enterpreneurs with a fund and create a new partnership company for 4 or 5 years then they exit from this partnership.

But, the problem is that we are not in the range of Teknoloji Yatirim A.S.'s investments. They are investing the new ideas in nanotechnology, advanced technology, …etc. with minimum 200.000 USD startup fund and with minimum 5 million USD income expectation. So, I am trying to find an investor for my project. Here is our situation:

1. We need ~120.000 USD
2. Our technology is not an advanced technology. It's new for Turkey but not an advanced technology (our project is a coin/change dispenser).
3. Our expected income is max. 5 million USD for 4 years in Turkey.

Labels: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Invention, Seed Capital, Seeking investment, TTGV, Venture Capital

Turkey, having a liberalised telecom industry and a continuously growing economy, is one the top priority countries for Delta Capital to invest in. With increasing competition amongst mobile operators and long distance telephony service providers, the Turkish telecom market has started to grow rapidly, proving to be one of the most thriving emerging market in the region. Thus, Delta Capital believes there is a great growth potential for companies in the Turkish telecom value chain.

Delta Capital is currently looking for companies with operations in the Telecommunications value chain (from Network infrastrucure players to retail & distribution) that are looking for potential investors in order to achieve their goals. These companies should have their operations in the MENA region including Turkey, should be running a established business with demonstrated success, and with exceptional growth potential. The potential investee companies are expected to have developed an insightful and comprehensive Business Plan that describes the continuity of the high growth. Thanks to the unique structure of Delta Capital and Delta Partners, the MENA Telecom Fund is willing to provide growth capital and can leverage its telecom expertise to help in the expansion of the associated business.

The Advisory side of Delta Partners offers strategy consulting to the main telecom players in the region, and has a solid team of more than 70 experienced professionals of 22 different nationalities, creating strong synergies with the Private Equity business. Delta Capital’s unique approach of combining a solid team with in-depth knowledge in the Private Equity business, together with top-notch intellectual capital from the Advisory side, and relevant contacts, makes it quite attractive to companies looking for partners to succeed and attain their growth objectives.

Labels: Dubai, Entrepreneurship, Fund Closings, MENA, Private Equity, Telecom, Venture Capital

• Yemeksepeti.com allows customers to browse menus of registered restaurants with delivery services and order online. It provides an easy ordering service for even the smallest and obscure eatery. Although I'm at a loss as to what round of funding they have gone through or whether they are self-funded. Maybe my readers can help on the comments line.




• Dükkan is not your ordinary butchershop (nor venture investment), but has an infectious concept of quality that could only come from a true entrepreneur. Emre Mermer's Dükkan has an amazing and educational website and delivers to all Istanbul's top hotels and restaurants.




• Pozitron is a mobile applications and closed circuit systems developer. Their website has a detailed account of their latest writeups and accolades including presenting at the March Mobile Monday event(presentation seen here on Cem Sertoglu's Mobile Monday page (2.6MB PDF)).




• Pi Works is a telecommunications (mobile technologies), operations and software development company registered in Dallas, TX, but with sales offices in Istanbul and Johannesburg, South Africa. Their software developement and engineering operate out of Turkey's largest TechnoPark.

Labels: Awards, Endeavor, Entrepreneurship, Yemeksepeti.com

1. Discipline: First of all, the Turkish entrepreneur needs to have structured ideas in the form of business planning, or atleast understand how to convey ideas in both the technical and business sense. Finding entrepreneurs with this knowledge and level of written implementation may be hard to come by. Once an entrepreneur receives funding, they must understand that it is not a golden parachute. Pursuing cash flow, profits and an exit for investors must be in the cards. If an incubator were to throw $5000 at someone, this may actually not be taken seriously - in addition to the loss of 2-10% equity. It will be up to the investor to have a hands-on approach in coaching, motivation and dispute resolution - because the idea of equity financing is still a foreign concept. To some, this may even appear foolish. A larger loan from a bank might seem cheaper to an entrepreneur despite the loss of mentorship.
   
   
2. Friends and Family: In the Turkish business world of family oligarchs, the funding of business aspirations through family bootstrapping is very prominent. According to a study by the OECD in 2000,

   "99.8% of all enterprises were SMEs employing 76.7% of the workforce. Some estimates slate that the informal economy could also represent 50% of SME activity. Nonetheless, despite the employment, SMEs operate with comparatively little capital equipment, generate relatively low levels of value added, make only a small contribution to Turkish exports and receive only a marginal share of the funds mobilised by the banking sector."

   Thus, the fundamental weaknesses of the sector were stated as insufficient know-how and very low technology. So, as I've said before, the enterprise with the ability to look past the culture of family ownership toward 3rd party investors will perhaps enjoy greater chances of expansion. For an incubator to step in and invest so little compared to the value of a father's money, for example, might be a difficult hurdle to overcome for a Turkish entrepreneur. Again, it is the concept of parting with equity that may be difficult. However, needless to say, there are still a lot of opportunities out there for SME investment, provided the pipeline, whereas good due diligence is still important at the end of the day.
   
   
3. The Turkish Angels/VC Network: The network of Turkish VC's is a small but tight group of wealthy individuals. In some cases, syndications with other VC's are simply a phone call away, while the ability of a VC to fund using their own money can be a suprisingly easy, alternative step for an entrepreneur. In the end, whether it is through a large fund, an incubator, or an angel investor, the ability of the entrepreneur to convey a differentiated idea that displaces competition while generating cash flow will definitely find funding. The crux of the problem is that the existance of private sector venture capital in Turkey has only emerged in the last 10-15 years, and even then, the top-end of private equity M&A is where most of competition for deals lies. Some colleagues have even mentioned the rush toward the high-end deals and the mid-cap, leaving a giant vacuum, and therefore minimal competition, of venture capital funding. Thus, for an incubator (or an accelerator), finding dealflow is crucial. Whether it is through contacts, universities, or business plan competitions, access to innovative Turks at the forefront of development is the deal maker or breaker. This must be considered about all else before renting that office, hiring that assistant and putting the name on the door.
   
   
4. Minority Shareholder Rights: I've mentioned before the importance of corporate governance, and the nightmarish problems of the past. Between the judicial system and bureaucracy, shareholder rights are a pivotal concern amoung investors, both foreign and domestic. Entrepreneurs giving up equity need to realize that with VC funding comes a Term Sheet detailing the rights of the investor and what it entails. This may be a hard pill to swallow for some. Finding legal aid to put together such documents and making them valid may even give a few headaches, although manageable. An incubator, just like a VC, must be able to have all legal issues at arms length, for it might very well be somewhat of a sales pitch, not to mention a little hand-holding, guiding the entrepreneur towards understanding on these issues. But in the end, if the governmental systems show any sign of not working, all of this is for naught, and the investment climate may indeed get a little cold, and very quickly.
   
   
5. The Exit: Again, with a good network of individuals, VC's, Angels, and pertinant industry contacts, an exit is not impossible, given the current climate. Series A, B or C may operate a little differently, with or without more syndication, but ideally, funding great ideas and individuals can still reap good rewards. But we must now look at whether the incubator is funded "privately" or through a larger parent company. Yes, we must also remember that certain large companies R&D departments may spin-off into their own incubators/think-tanks and gravitate toward their own interests. These do exist in Turkey (see sidebar). If this is the case, motivation toward an exit and grandstanding of such may be very minimal, if necessary at all. However, from a seperate privately-held incubator, the exit of incubation is no different from Silicon Valley to the Levent-Maslak corridor.
   
   
6. The "Export of Brains": One issue has come up of late which I have discussed with a few colleagues as a viable option when funding entrepreneurs in Turkey - The export of entrepreneurs. This is not human trafficking! You may have heard of "Brain Drain", so perhaps we can call this the "Export of Brains". The idea is simple. Most Turkish VC's have existing contacts in Silicon Valley, the US, England, France, Germany, the Middle East, Israel and other countries. An incubator, given the right opportunity, with the right entrepreneur, technology, and timing, could very well incubate entrepreneurs outside of Turkey. As long as the Term Sheet is sound, investors and their "incubatees" could set up shop on Sand Hill Road, brush elbows with known industry contacts, find more funding, place them in prime location for market penetration, and even line them up for the next great IPO. Of course, for those people who believe Turkey will be the next Silicon Valley, don't let me stop you from staying put. In the end, the VC needs to find the best resources for its investments, and if that just happens to be overseas while still maintaining investment potential, more the better.

Labels: Angel Investors, deal flow, Entrepreneurship, exits, Incubators, Venture Capital

Labels: Entrepreneurship, Incubators