Apply
Founder Institute Image

Istanbul is a great place to build a startup, but most of the early-stage entrepreneurs we speak to are not aware of the local resources that are available to help them.

With applications for the Istanbul Founder Institute soon coming to a close, we are excited to release the updated Istanbul Startup Ecosystem Canvas v2! It was developed by the Istanbul Founder Institute and local leaders Ali Erhat Nalbant, Basar Kaya, and Ozan Yilmaz.

We conducted research, but more input is needed, so please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document and it will be considered for the next update.

 

We've also included a text version below, for searchability: 

Startup Stages


There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

  • Inspire
    • Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters)
      1. Egirişim
      2. Girişim Haber
      3. HBR Türkiye
      4. sosyalmedya.co
      5. Startup Digest Istanbul
      6. Startupmarket
      7. Startups Watch
      8. teknosektor.com
      9. Webrazzi
    • Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
      1. Entrepreneurship Week
      2. Startup Digest Istanbul
      3. Startup Grind
      4. Tedx Istanbul
      5. TEDxReset
      6. UX Kafe Meetup
  • Educate
    • Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspirate)
      1. Startup Founder 101
    • Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development. (Ex. bootcamps and comprehensive training programs)
      1. Founder Institute
      2. Istanbul Coders Meetup
  • Validate
    • Team Formation: Resources for teaming up. (i.e. events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching)
      1. Istanbul Business Networking Meetup
      2. Startup Istanbul
      3. Venturro
    • Build First Product: Hackathons & resources to build. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)
      1. GDG DevFest


2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

  • Start
    • Establish: Law firms and banks for startups.
      1. ADMD Law Office
      2. Ahi Taygur Law Firm
      3. Aksan Law
      4. Arikan Legal Advice
      5. BTS Partners
      6. Bümin & Varlık
      7. Cerrahoglu
      8. Garanti Bank
      9. Kilic & Partners
      10. Kızılyel Law
      11. Moroglu Arseven
      12. Purut Law Firm
      13. TEB Girişim Evi
      14. Yılmaz & Cinema Law Firm
    • Workspace: Co-working and flexible workspaces.
      1. Atolye
      2. E-ofis
      3. ideapol
      4. Kamara
      5. Kolektif
      6. Le Buro
      7. plaza-cubes
      8. Workhaus
      9. Workinton
      10. Yazane
  • Develop
    • Formalize: Accounting, development and HR for early-stage startups.
      1. Crenvo
      2. Istanbul Accountants
      3. Istanbul Business Creator & Developer
      4. Profil International
    • Prepare for Seed: Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup teams)
      1. Avealabs
      2. Bilgi idlab
      3. Enkuba
      4. Erciyes Sera Kuluçka Merkezi
      5. Gemim
      6. Girisim Fabrikasi
      7. Imece
      8. Impact Hub
      9. Inovent
      10. Inventram
      11. İTÜ ARI Teknokent Uluslararası Hızlandırma Programı
      12. Startup Kitchen
      13. SUCool
      14. Teb Girişim Evi
      15. Teknopark İstanbul
      16. Turk Telekom Pilot
  • Launch
    • Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs. (i.e. Techstars and similar programs that provide seed-funding)
      1. E-Tohum
      2. Fit Startup Factory
      3. GarantiPartners
      4. Itu Cekirdek
      5. Kworks
      6. Startupbootcamp
    • Pitch & Demo: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)
      1. Bir FIKRIN mi VAR
      2. Super Founders Demo Day


3. Growth Stage

Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

  • Recognition
    • Investor Networking: Connect professional investors with founders. (i.e. events or groups that facilitate connections with professional investors)
      1. Bayraktar and Partners
      2. BIC Angels
      3. BUBA Angels
      4. Galata Business Angels
      5. Istanbul Business Angels
      6. Keiretsu Forum
      7. metutechban
      8. Şirket Ortağım
      9. Startup Turkey
      10. TBAA
      11. ValuesBox
      12. Webrazzi Summit
    • Major Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)
      1. Daily Sabah
      2. Digital Age
      3. Hurriyet
      4. Karnaval
  • Funding
    • Angels / Micro-VCs: Seed-stage investors
      1. Abdullah Orkun Kaya
      2. Ahmet Emre
      3. Alemsah Ozturk
      4. Ali Rıza Babaoğlan
      5. Aslanoba Capital
      6. Bora Samman
      7. Bora Uygun
      8. Burak Buyukdemir
      9. Can Serter
      10. Cem Sertoglu
      11. Doğa Venture
      12. Emre Kurttepeli
      13. Ersan Ozer
      14. Firat Isbecer
      15. Firat Kalsin
      16. Habib Hadda
      17. Ilab Ventures
      18. Kaan Karamanci
      19. Melih Odemis
      20. Mert Alemdar
      21. Nevzat Aydın
      22. Sina Afra
      23. Sinan Guler
      24. Technolera
      25. Umar Ozal
      26. Young Turk Ventures
    • Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
      1. 1514 Recipients
      2. 212Ltd
      3. ACT
      4. Angelwings
      5. Aslanoba Capital
      6. Doğa Venture
      7. Early Bird Istanbul
      8. Golden Horn Ventures
      9. Idacapital I ekleyebilirsiniz
      10. iLabs
      11. Istanbul Venture Capital Initiative
      12. Revo Capital
      13. Rhea Capital
      14. Tarvenn Ventures & Advisors
  • Growth
    • Infrastructure: Office space, HR, insurance & more. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
      1. Alliance Business Centers
      2. BOĞAZİÇİ Ünv. Teknopark
      3. Erciyes Teknopark
      4. GOSB Teknopark
      5. İSTANBUL Ünv. Teknopark    
      6. İTÜ ARI Teknokent             
      7. Kamara Ofis
      8. Regus
      9. ServCorp
      10. startupkariyer.net
      11. Sterling Offices
      12. Swissoffices
      13. tahincioglu
      14. YILDIZ (YTÜ) Teknopark
    • Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
      1. Ari Teknokent
      2. Arkan & Ergin
      3. Collective Spark
      4. Consult Gis
      5. DAM Growth Hackers
      6. Endeavor Turkey
      7. ODTÜ Teknokent
      8. Stanton Chase Istanbul


4. Success Stories

Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

  1. 8digits
  2. App Samurai
  3. BiSu
  4. BiTaksi
  5. Botego
  6. Commencis
  7. dakick.com
  8. Denebunu
  9. Fazla Gida
  10. Garaj Sepeti
  11. Getir
  12. Giggem
  13. Gittigidiyor
  14. Giysicini
  15. Insider
  16. Iyzico
  17. Letgo
  18. Markafoni
  19. Mornero
  20. Mutlubiev
  21. Peakgames
  22. Put.io
  23. REKMOB
  24. Setoo
  25. SInemia
  26. Spirohome
  27. Tarfin
  28. Teleporter
  29. Trendyol
  30. Yemeksepeti
  31. Zeplin


The Supporters


To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

1. Evangelists

Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.

  1. A. Erhat Nalbant
  2. Ali Karabey
  3. Ari Bencuya
  4. Barış Yaman
  5. Burak Büyükdemir
  6. Burak Yaman
  7. Cem Sertoglu
  8. Dilek Dayındarlı
  9. Doğan Taskent  
  10. Ekim Kaya
  11. Elbruz Yılmaz
  12. Emre Kurttepeli
  13. Ertan Atay
  14. Evren Ucok
  15. Gulay Ozkan
  16. Joachim Behrendt
  17. Kutlu Kazanci
  18. Merhmet Onarcan
  19. Mustafa Dalcı (UX)
  20. Numan Numan
  21. Selcuk Ergin
  22. Serkan Ünsal
  23. Yakup Bayrak


2. Government

Public organizations that facilitate local economic development

  1. Bilim sanayi ve teknoloji bakanlığı
  2. Borsa istanbul
  3. Gencbasari
  4. Gyiad
  5. Habitatkalkinma
  6. İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi
  7. Istanbul Chamber of Commerece (ITO)
  8. Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO)
  9. İstanbul Development Agency
  10. JCI
  11. Kagider
  12. kosgeb
  13. T.C. Hazine Bakanlığı
  14. TBV
  15. Tepav
  16. TOBB Genç girişimciler
  17. TTGV
  18. TUBITAK
  19. TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE


3. Talent

Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

  • Local Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
    1. Bahcesehir University
    2. Başkent University
    3. Bilgi University
    4. Boğaziçi University
    5. Erciyes Üniversitesi
    6. Istanbul Bilgi University
    7. Istanbul Commerce University
    8. Istanbul Technical University
    9. Istanbul University Business School
    10. Koç University
    11. Ozyegin University
    12. Sabanci University
    13. Şehir Üniversitesi
    14. Yıldız Teknik University
  • Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google, with large local offices)
    1. Amazon
    2. Banks
    3. Dogan Online
    4. General Electric
    5. Google Istanbul
    6. Microsoft Turkey
    7. Sahibinden
    8. Teknopark İstanbul
    9. Turkcell
    10. Turkish American Business Connection (TABC)
    11. Türk Telekom
    12. Vodafone
    13. Yandex
    14. Yemeksepeti


Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Istanbul Canvas on this collaborative Google document, or on Twitter using the hashtag #ecosystemcanvas.

Are you looking to build a startup in Istanbul? Then apply to the Istanbul Founder Institute today!

Related Insights

More insights
Founder Institute Image
Startup Ecosystem Canvas

South Carolina Startup Resource List: 100+ Accelerators, Incubators, Investors, and more

By Askshay Kumar on Jan 04, 2023
Founder Institute Image
Startup Ecosystem Canvas

Pittsburgh Startup Resource List: 500+ Accelerators, Incubators, Investors, and more

By Dustin Betz on Jan 04, 2023
Founder Institute Image
Startup Ecosystem Canvas

Georgia Startup Resource List: 240+ Accelerators, Incubators, Investors, and more

By Askshay Kumar on Sep 12, 2022

Are you ready to apply to the world's largest pre-seed accelerator?

Apply to the Program