The New Wave of Entrepreneurial Spirit in Turkey
This article is written by Munira Hussein, a Contributor Author at Startup Istanbul.
Ali Sabanci is an active angel investor, co-founder of the angel groups in Turkey and the current chairman of the
Pegasus Airlines.
Following the Coup d’etat attempt in Turkey on the 16 of July, 2016, the first guess is that Turkey would not recover so fast from the economic blow. Contrary to that however, Turkey has been hit with a new wave entrepreneurial spirit.
Business ideas that have been born and nurtured in Turkey have been acquired by global multimillion dollar companies. This shows the great potential that the country has.
This success can only be attributed to the youth’s desire to create value. It is also partly because of the consistency of power. In any country and Turkey, any new government tends to come up with reforms that create instability after every new election. Turkey has been lucky to have the kind of stability it does that enables the flourishing of entrepreneurship. Even despite the political happenings, Turkey is geographically beautiful.
The contribution to entrepreneurship by traditional banks and other investors has seen growth of businesses, making Turkey a hub of ideas. This trend should continue and the entrepreneurial ecosystem should not stop developing.
Entrepreneurship is not about making money but creating value. As a successful entrepreneur or a growing startup, you should take it upon yourself to educate and mentor other startups. Share what you did righty and what you did wrong and how you made it to where you are. Successful entrepreneurs should invest in startups to ensure progress, growth and consistent value creation.
Entrepreneurship is about influence and improvement. If you can influence consumption habits, people will consume without being forced to. And then you can improve utility so that they can distinguish the difference between what they are can get and what they are getting now. This consistency in improvement makes products viable and sustainable in the market.
The entrepreneurship journey is about failing and trying again, always with improved value. It is an effort by the market, product, producers and investors. This pushes forward, the country’s economy, improves living standards and also builds value addition.
The fact that StartupIstanbul was able to host a conference with over two thousand people in attendance shows a shift from what was there just about five years ago. Then, a business conference had about thirty people in attendance. Now people come into Turkey from all over the world due to the business related excitement, thrill and opportunities that there are.
With more and more people shifting from the Silicon Valley and looking into other parts of the world for sustainable ideas, Turkey has established itself as a place for ideas, enthusiasm, drive and creativity. This makes it easy for investors to take interest and start investing in Turkish startups. Even as you get into business, understand the essence of why you are doing what you want to do. The right intention should be to improve lives and have a positive impact. The money making aspect is important but it should not be the sole reason for your startup. Focus on value creation.