Startup Istanbul Podcast

Last week, we chatted with Scott about entrepreneurship, early stage investments, the Fuzzy and Techie book, and many different topics. When I started writing this post, I couldn't remember when we first met and looked back at our emails. We corresponded for the first time in 2012 when he was at Mohr Davidow Ventures . Even though we did not meet physically over the years, we kept in touch regular...

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Vir Kashyap , veteran investor and entrepreneur, on the Startup Istanbul podcast. Vir has a unique background, having been born in India, educated in the US, worked at startups in Silicon Valley, and eventually returned to India in 2007 to tap into the early stage startup ecosystem there. In our conversation, Vir traces his journey from writing his colle...

I had the pleasure of talking with Mike Quinn , founder of Boost , a B2B commerce platform for retailers and distributors in Africa. We discussed his entrepreneurial journey, lessons learned from building and scaling his past startup Zoona , and advice for startup founders based on his experience leading a purpose-driven fintech in Africa for over 10 years. Persevering Through the Emotional Roller...

This video is the most popular one on our Startup Istanbul YouTube channel . We have also converted it into a podcast format. Michael Seibel 's (Managing Director and Group Partner at Y Combinator) 15 minute guide provides extremely valuable advice for entrepreneurs on how to start a successful startup. He covers the key elements like building a strong team, identifying a good idea, launching quic...

I had the pleasure of talking last week with Hemanshu Jain , founder of Khyaal , an engagement platform for senior citizens in India. We discussed his entrepreneurial journey, lessons learned from past failures, and advice for startup founders based on his experience building both Diabeto and now Khyaal. Lessons from Serial Entrepreneur Hemanshu Jain Hemanshu Jain is an experienced entrepreneur in...

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Radek Novotny, founder of Superface AI, for the Startup Istanbul podcast. Superface is an exciting startup using AI to automate integrations between software applications. Radek shared the origin story of Superface - how painful manual integrations created a "red carpet" problem to solve. He discussed pivoting to an AI-powered "agent" to connect apps and...

In a recent podcast, I had the pleasure of engaging in a conversation with Yousef Hamidaddin , a well-respected figure in the Middle Eastern startup ecosystem. Our discussion delved into various aspects of the startup scene, including recent developments, challenges, and opportunities. In this post, I will explore key highlights from our conversation, shedding light on the current state of the Mid...

Hello everyone! I'm excited to share my latest podcast interview on Startup Istanbul with Josh Gray, founder of Artemis Artemis is an early-stage startup operating in the data infrastructure space. They have developed a platform that helps teams, especially data analysts, clean and prepare messy datasets for downstream analytics and AI applications. In this interview, Josh provides an overview of...

I spoke with serial social entrepreneur Alex Souza about the importance of existential founder fit. Alex has founded 5 companies across different industries and countries, focusing on empowerment and impact. He explained how after his 4th venture, he realized he lacked existential founder fit, meaning the business did not align with his values and purpose. Don't miss our event on Nov 29, 10:00-13:...

In a recent episode of the Startup Istanbul podcast, we got to talk with Saravana Rathinam and Ben McMahan. They're the folks behind Puppetry (Former Elbo AI), a cool startup that's working on making it easier to talk to computers. Puppetry has made a platform that lets us chat with AI almost like it's another person. They're getting a lot of people interested because this is something many of us...

In the latest episode of the Startup Istanbul podcast, we had the privilege of discussing virtual reality (VR) and spatial content creation with Lesley Klassen , the co-founder and CEO of Flipside XR , an innovative startup making waves in the XR (extended reality) industry. Flipside XR has developed a unique platform designed specifically for the emerging generation of creators, drawing significa...

I'm Burak Buyukdemir, and I'm thrilled to bring you an exclusive glimpse into my recent podcast interview with Reynolds Mungai , who serves as the co-founder and CEO of Lukhu . During our engaging conversation, Reynolds generously shared insights about Lukhu's incredible journey, their mission, and the hurdles they've faced while embarking on their mission to reshape Africa's fashion commerce land...

Introducing LeaseSimple, the first banking app tailored for renters! Renting in big cities has become increasingly expensive and complex, and we aim to simplify and make it fairer for tenants. Traditional banking overlooks rent payments in your credit history, leading to a 100-point credit score gap between renters and homeowners. LeaseSimple not only allows you to pay your rent online but also co...

Source of motivation "Without actions, the world would still be an idea" — General Georges Doriot Founder, INSEAD. Startup Discovery Digest * Kiwi Launch provides an all-in-one scheduling and online booking software for service-based businesses to easily manage their online presence and generate bookings with real-time availability. (Seed, UAE) * Legal Karma is an embedded legal products company t...