csertoglu's Profile

I just answered the question "What is it like to be a partner at a venture capital firm?" on Quora. I thought it may be a good idea to repost here. The question is too generic, but i'll attempt an... Continue reading

Posted Oct 8, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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How to Share Metrics with a VC

We see about 1000 pitches every year. That's about 20 per week. With the majority of these, we know that it's not for us within the first 15 minutes. We do engage further with about 400 startups every year. The... Continue reading

Posted Sep 29, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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The Game has Changed - Power to the Audience

Now that Apple is openly encouraging ad blockers, publishers are up in arms. The topic dominated the tech conversation last week, and I think it is well understood by now. If you are not up to speed on it, here... Continue reading

Posted Sep 29, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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VC Fund Economics

If you are an entrepreneur looking to raise capital from VCs, it's important to understand VC economics. This understanding will save you time and effort by helping you identify the right VCs to target and how to frame your conversations... Continue reading

Posted Sep 28, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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The Hockey Stick

As a VC you get pitched many hockey stick stories, but infrequently see an actual one. This week, I came across one in the case of Airbnb (on TC). This is the graph of summer bookings by travelers on Airbnb.... Continue reading

Posted Sep 10, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Migrating Digital Histories

The web is aging. I remember the day my co-founder at SelectMinds, Steve Richmond, first pointed me to the new search engine, Google, in 1999. I also remember setting up my first Gmail account, this blog on Typepad, my YemekSepeti... Continue reading

Posted Sep 6, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Changing Customer Behaviors Cut Both Ways

Technology educates. Uber has taught millions of people to dip their hands in their pockets, as opposed to raising it up in the air, when they need a ride. Booking.com has taught people to consider to the flexibility of their... Continue reading

Posted Sep 3, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Stop Spamming Me from your Service Domain

I am your customer, perhaps a happy and loyal one. Therefore, I pay attention to your emails - I may have placed an order on your service, or may be expecting to hear from you. So I open your emails,... Continue reading

Posted Jun 2, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Momentum Plays a Large Role in VC Dynamics

We recently passed on an investment opportunity. What would probably be a surprise for the founders is that we were actually quite keen to invest a few weeks earlier. But the opportunity lost momentum for us. A VC fund constantly... Continue reading

Posted May 10, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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The First "Turkish Unicorn"

One of the most frequent questions we got when we were raising our Turkey & CEE-focused VC fund at Earlybird, was about the small number of large exits in the region, especially in Turkey. Our thesis was that the problem... Continue reading

Posted May 4, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Marketplace Insights via Etsy

Chicago VC Ezra Galston has a good analysis of the Etsy S1 on Techcrunch today. We are investors in many marketplace businesses (YemekSepeti, Vivense, Grupanya, Idemama, Tapu.com, Videdressing, Auctionata, Carpooling, Smava, etc.), and we watch the industry intently, as there... Continue reading

Posted Mar 30, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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The Danger of High-Valuation Series A Rounds

Tech startup valuations are exploding around the world. As a result, we are seeing higher expectations from entrepreneurs here in Turkey and CEE rising, as well, with higher "asks" in seed and Series A rounds than ever before. We find... Continue reading

Posted Mar 16, 2015 at SortiPreneur

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Book Recommendations 2014

It's a bit cliche but I love the "best of the year" lists that mushroom at the end of the year. Here are two: Auren's book recommendations don't disappoint. He's updated his favorites list with entries from 2014. And, here's... Continue reading

Posted Dec 17, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Artificial Scarcity Kills Long Term value

When it rains, it pours on this blog :) I see that I'd blogged about artificial scarcity before, and again, it was about media. The only reason I did not have eight champions league matches to choose from on my... Continue reading

Posted Dec 11, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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How to Start a Startup

I came across a blog post today by Connor Murphy on the different approaches to fundraising for your startup. It made me think of the vast amount of resources for tech entrepreneurs today, compared to 1999, when I started my... Continue reading

Posted Dec 11, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Why Price Matters

Notice a pattern in my blog titles? :) This is the age of TechCrunch and Business Insider. Numbers with a lot of zeroes are sexy, so tech startups are sexy. Again. The last link is not to be taken as... Continue reading

Posted Apr 29, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Why Deep Pockets Matter

When we set out to raise our early stage VC fund focused on Turkey and CEE in 2012, one decision we had to make was on fund size. At that point, we decided that it would have to be a... Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Earlybird Istanbul is Looking for a Rockstar Assistant

Now that we are in investment mode at Earlybird's Istanbul office, we are seeking a superstar Executive Assistant to help us run the shop. This is a key role that inherently provides a wide set of paths ahead. What will... Continue reading

Posted Mar 12, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Going East - The making of the Earlybird Digital East Fund

This is a guest blog by my partner Roland Manger. It was originally published on the Earlybird blog. VC firms aren´t really interesting, the companies they invest in are. That´s why only few people noticed how profoundly Earlybird has changed.... Continue reading

Posted Jan 21, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Scaling Startups Effectively

I am embarrassed at my blogging pace over the past few years. However, when I come across a thought that I think deserves more permanence than Twitter, this blog is still where I turn to. One of those items just... Continue reading

Posted Jan 9, 2014 at SortiPreneur

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Hiring at Startups

In my opinion, a startup founder has three primary jobs: 1. Develop and manage the company's vision 2. Form the right team to make that vision a reality 3. Make sure there's money in the bank The most important of... Continue reading

Posted Oct 1, 2013 at SortiPreneur

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Yatırım Yaptığımız Girişimci Profili

Aktif bir teknoloji yatırımcısı olarak, sık sık, ileride başarılı bir girişimci olmak için nasıl bir yol izlenmesinin daha iyi olacağı konusunda sorular alıyorum. Tabii girişimcilikte tek bir doğru yol ya da yöntem yok. Ancak bu konuya veri tabanlı bir yaklaşım... Continue reading

Posted Apr 7, 2013 at SortiPreneur

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Facebook Home: Less Utility, More Ads

So, Home is here. Facebook is coming out with a smartphone and it sits squarely at the center of the company's vision. The service is moving from a web application and service DNA to an OS DNA. Considering how the... Continue reading

Posted Apr 5, 2013 at SortiPreneur

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Progress Breaks the Web

I have been thinking of the "apps breaking the web" meme over the last couple of months. The issue is adjacent in my mind to the "mobile strategy" topic I recently blogged about. And there has been a collection of... Continue reading

Posted Dec 18, 2012 at SortiPreneur

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Product Strategy, not Mobile Strategy

It feels like the overarching theme in technology startups in 2012 was “mobile”, with mobile wisdom and sexy statistics echoing in the news, blogs and conferences. The discussion was marked with numerous milestones, such as the successes of Angry Birds,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 11, 2012 at SortiPreneur

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