Mustafa Degerli – 2016 - Start-up Companies Investigation - Technology Entrepreneurship and Lean Startups

TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEAN STARTUPS
Mustafa Değerli
2016

Mustafa Değerli – Start-up Companies Investigation Page 1 of 30
Table of Contents
1. Found Start-up Companies in the IT Sector....................................................................3
1.1. Around the World.........................................................................................................3
1.1.1. #1 - MODIFACE.......................................................................................................3
1.1.2. #2 - Slack...................................................................................................................4
1.1.3. #3 - The League.........................................................................................................5
1.1.4. #4 - Spotify................................................................................................................6
1.1.5. #5 - Kaltura................................................................................................................7
1.1.6. #6 - Coursera .............................................................................................................8
1.1.7. #7 - Grooveshark .......................................................................................................9
1.1.8. #8 - Gowalla ............................................................................................................10
1.1.9. #9 - Pay By Touch...................................................................................................11
1.2. From Turkey...............................................................................................................12
1.2.1. #10 - Armut .............................................................................................................12
1.2.2. #11 - Düğün.............................................................................................................13
1.2.3. #12 - Trendyol .........................................................................................................14
1.2.4. #13 - BiTaksi ...........................................................................................................15
1.2.5. #14 - Pabbuc............................................................................................................16
1.2.6. #15 - TazeDirekt......................................................................................................17

2. Detailed Information/Analysis about Companies .........................................................18
2.1. Around the World.......................................................................................................18
2.1.1. #1 - MODIFACE.....................................................................................................18
2.1.2. #2 - Coursera ...........................................................................................................20
2.1.3. #3 - Grooveshark .....................................................................................................22
2.2. From Turkey...............................................................................................................24
2.2.1. #4 - Armut ...............................................................................................................24
2.2.2. #5 - Trendyol ...........................................................................................................26
2.2.3. #6 - TazeDirekt........................................................................................................28
3. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................30

1. Found Start-up Companies in the IT Sector
1.1. Around the World
1.1.1. #1 - MODIFACE
Name MODIFACE
URL http://modiface.com/
Brief Info ModiFace Mirror
It is an augmented reality application specifically designed
for trying on make-up. Furthermore, the application is used
by dermatologists and plastic surgeons to show patients
what they will look like after a face-lift or other treatments.
Category Successful
Justification for Category
& Important Parameters
It is reported that ModiFace’s virtual makeup mirror is
improving sales by 31% as customers are more confident
that they’ll love what they’re buying.
The platform provided by the company provides a first-year
jump of as much as 84% in online sales.
The company’s annual revenue of 2015 is approximately
US $10 million.
The company is in the list of fastest growing of 500/5000
companies.
The company is SAMSUNG challenge winner.
The company is in the list of Profit Hot 50’s fastest growing
companies.
The company has been profitable from the time when it
started.
References(s) https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/19/facial-precognition/
http://theinstitute.ieee.org/career-and-
education/startups/modiface-is-transforming-the-beauty-
industry-with-augmented-reality

1.1.2. #2 - Slack
Name Slack
URL https://slack.com
Brief Info Slack
Slack is an acronym for Searchable Log of All Conversation
and Knowledge.
It is a cloud-based team collaboration tool.
Slack provides persistent chat rooms (channels) organized
by topic, besides private groups and direct messaging.
All content inside Slack is searchable, including files,
conversations, and people.
Slack integrates with a large number of third-party services
and supports community-built integrations.
Category Successful
More than 750,000 people use Slack daily.
Slack has more than 200,000 paid seats.
Slack attained $2.8 billion valuation owing to $160 million
funding from Social Capital and other venture capital firms.
In April 2016, the Slack raised an additional $200 million
of funding.
References(s) http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/16/slack-confirms-160m-
funding-round-at-2-8b-valuation/
http://fortune.com/2015/04/16/why-slack-just-raised-160-
million-at-a-2-8-billion-valuation/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_(software)

1.1.3. #3 - The League
Name The League
URL http://www.theleague.com/
Brief Info It is a discriminating dating application intended for
exclusive, successful individuals.
The League scans the social networks to ensure applicants
are in the right age group and that they are career-oriented.
The League is there to match up highly motivated and
interesting single professionals.
The League users mostly have advanced degrees.
The system has following differentiations: No Voyeurs, No
Random, No Games, No Fakes, No Noise, No Shame
The League is as fun and frictionless as Tinder, but with the
privacy controls, context and class that people want in a
dating application.
Category Successful (Fairly)
$2.1 million funding from Jon Vlassopulos, IDG Ventures
USA, Roman Feola, Naomi Gleit, Cowboy Ventures,
XSeed Capital, Peter Kelly, Russ Siegelman, Mark Leslie,
Allen DeBevoise, SherpaVentures, Structure Capital.
There are currently 100,000 people on the waitlist.
References(s) http://www.businessinsider.com/best-startups-that-
launched-so-far-in-2015-2015-5?op=1/#e-league-is-a-
dating-app-for-the-elite-3
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-league-raises-21-
million-2015-1
https://angel.co/the-league-date-intelligently
https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/28/the-league-launches-a-
rebuilt-event-centric-dating-app/
http://www.metro.us/lifestyle/the-league-vs-sparkology-
we-review-elite-online-dating-services/zsJohg---
NTj8P5O20GH6I/

1.1.4. #4 - Spotify
Name Spotify
URL https://www.spotify.com
Brief Info It is a Swedish music, podcast, and video streaming service
solution.
Spotify provides digital rights management, secure and
legal content from record labels and media companies.
With Spotify, music can be browsed or searched by artist,
album, genre, playlist, and record label.
The actual lack of sophisticated functionality has actually
proven to be an asset for Spotify for success as people
mostly love simplicity.
Category Successful
As of August 2016, Spotify had more than 100 million
active users and about half a billion registered users.
As of September 2016, Spotify has 40 million paying
subscribers worldwide, up from 30 million paying
subscribers in March 2016.
In 2011, Spotify had closed $100m in funding.
In early 2015, Spotify was valued at more than $5 billion.
Investments in the growth of the Spotify have been $1/2
billion in seven rounds of funding from 17 investors.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotify
http://thenextweb.com/eu/2011/07/14/spotify-the-story-so-
far/
https://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/
spotify-why-it%E2%80%99s-been-so-successful-and-
what-it-needs-to-do-next/
http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-
strategy/online-business-revenue-models/spotify-case-
study/

1.1.5. #5 - Kaltura
Name Kaltura
URL http://corp.kaltura.com/
Brief Info Kaltura is an open-source video platform designed for
handling, publishing and dispensing video content.
Kaltura targets and caters to several slots: Enterprise,
education and media.
Kaltura levers the various particulars comprising the use of
video online. These are copyright, information control,
quality assurance, analytics system, moderation systems,
and etc.
Category Successful
Kaltura is being used by 300,000 enterprises, education and
media organizations, including Groupon, Bank of America,
Harvard, and HBO.
Kaltura raised $25 million.
Kaltura selected a few key niches and mastered them, and
this resulted in success.
Kaltura got $165.1M in 6 rounds from 14 investors.
Kaltura has 1,000 paying corporate and educational
customers whose video content is seen by an average of 700
million people a month.
References(s) http://www.inc.com/dave-kerpen/10-wildly-successful-
startups-and-lessons-to-learn-from-them.html
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kaltura#/entity
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-
1.735734
http://www.geektime.com/2016/08/08/goldman-sachs-
brings-the-muscle-with-50-million-investment-in-israels-
kaltura/
http://nocamels.com/2016/08/kaltura-video-raises-50-
million/

1.1.6. #6 - Coursera
Name Coursera
URL https://coursera.org/
Brief Info Coursera delivers worldwide access to the world’s best
courses.
Coursera partners with top universities and organizations to
offer courses online.
Coursera is a venture-backed, for-profit, educational
technology company that offers massive open online
courses (MOOCs).
Coursera works with universities and other organizations to
make some of their courses available online.
Category Successful
As of January 2016, Coursera offers 1,563 courses from 140
partners across 28 countries.
Coursera serves 16 million online learners.
Coursera has recently raised another $49.5 million in
venture funding.
Coursera have a valuation of roughly $500 million.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera
https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/31/coursera-wins-best-
new-startup-of-2012-get-schooled/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders
/2015/08/25/courseras-online-teaching-attracts-49-5-
million-with-an-india-twist/#6a0b9cb64a4a

1.1.7. #7 - Grooveshark
Name Grooveshark
URL None available for Grooveshark.
Brief Info Grooveshark was a web-based music streaming service
owned and operated by Escape Media Group in the United
States.
Users were able to upload digital audio files, which could
then be streamed and organized in playlists.
The Grooveshark website had a search engine, music
streaming features, and a music recommendation system.
On April 30, 2015, Grooveshark shut down as part of a
settlement between the service and Universal Music Group,
Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group.
Category Unsuccessful
Caused by copyright concerns and pressure from record
labels, many third party companies avoided themselves
from Grooveshark.
Grooveshark failed to secure licenses from rights holders
for the vast amount of music on the service.
Apple pulled the Grooveshark app for iOS from App Store
on August 16, 2010, and on April 1, 2011, the Grooveshark
application was pulled from the Android Market.
In May 2012, Facebook removed Grooveshark due to a
copyright infringement complaint and at the end of April
2013 Google Search started censoring “grooveshark” term
from its autocomplete feature.
Grooveshark could have been legally responsible for
hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grooveshark
http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/30/8526105/
grooveshark-shuts-down-settles-with-labels

1.1.8. #8 - Gowalla
Name Gowalla
URL None available for Gowalla.
Brief Info Gowalla was a location-based social network started in
2007 and closed in 2012.
Users were able to check in at places in their local vicinity,
either through a dedicated mobile application or through the
mobile website.
Gamification was included in the platform.
At the start of December 2009 it was reported that Gowalla
had raised $8.4 million in a round of venture capital funding
led by Greylock Partners and angel investors Chris Sacca,
Kevin Rose and Jason Calacanis.
It was acquired by Facebook on December 2, 2011.
Foursquare took the attention.
Checking in was not user friendly and it made things
difficult.
The company was a mobile web app before smartphone
technology was advanced enough to create a positive user
experience.
Based out of Austin, Texas, the platform just couldn’t gain
the critical urban mass that powers the early growth of a
mobile social app.
It didn’t offer a simple process of check-ins and rewards,
and offered too many things at one go.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gowalla
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235028
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-gowalla-shut-
shop-and-how-facebook-profits-from-its-
acquisition/38635/

1.1.9. #9 - Pay By Touch
Name Pay By Touch
URL None available for Pay By Touch.
Brief Info Pay By Touch empowered consumers to pay for products
with a swipe of their finger on a biometric sensor.
Pay By Touch combined two technologies: Biometric
recognition and electronic financial transactions.
Pay By Touch allowed secure access to checking, credit
card, loyalty, healthcare, and other personal information.
In March, 2008, without notifying its customers, Pay By
Touch shut down and is no longer in process.
Much of the company’s time was spent on improving the
biometric authentication at in-store hardware, software
level, and the hosted software level to avoid
misidentification of a consumer as someone else.
False Rejects of the system which undermined the
consumers’ confidence in the system.
In 2007, Pay By Touch lost $137 million on $600,000 in
revenues.
During the company's most successful years, CEO John P.
Rogers was accused of domestic abuse, drug possession,
and taking company money for his own use.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_By_Touch
https://letstalkpayments.com/failure-story-what-happened-
to-pay-by-touch/
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/How-visionary-raised-
and-lost-a-fortune-3181454.php
http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/07/10-
startups-that-failed-but-should-have-succeeded/dr-koop

1.2. From Turkey
1.2.1. #10 - Armut
Name Armut
URL http://armut.com/
Brief Info An online platform to get bids regarding customer needs.
People do write down their needs and expectations and they
get offers from relevant professionals to satisfy their needs.
With the help of the system, customers get offers, historic
information and comments from relevant professionals.
It is free for consumers.
Armut offers many services like transport, cleaning,
photography, and business card printing.
Customer fills out a form and receives a quotation, and upon
agreement to the quotation, the company provides the
services required.
Category Successful
The company achieved 400% growth in the year of 2014.
Armut was listed in the top 100 start-up category of Turkey
in 2016.
Armful’s corresponding technology is moderately
advanced, qualifying nearly 95% customer satisfaction.
Armut got $3,200,000 from Hummingbird Ventures in
2016 and $1,000,000 in 2014.
References(s) http://listelist.com/turk-start-up-sirketler/
http://www.teknoparkmedya.com/en-basarili-100-startup-
aciklandi.html
https://angel.co/armut/activity
https://startupxplore.com/en/startups/armut

1.2.2. #11 - Düğün
Name Düğün
URL http://dugun.com/
Brief Info Dugun.com is a wedding planning platform, providing a
smooth end-to-end wedding preparation experience.
Dugun.com is an operator of an online wedding planning
platform.
The company provides wedding planning services to
couples through their online platform.
Category Successful
The system works for over 200,000 prospective couples
each year.
Dugun.com raised $2M from Aslanoba Capital in 2013.
The online platform is visited by nearly 40,000 people daily.
Dugun.com collaborates with more than 5000 other
companies.
References(s) http://www.aslanobacapital.com/companies/
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/dugun-com-profile-
investors-funding-valuation-and-analysis
http://www.startupdergi.com/kose-yazarlari/sedef-seckin-
buyuk/evlenmek-icin-dondu-dugun-comu-kurdu.html
http://www.isfikirleri-girisimcilik.com/dugun-com-ile-
dugun-sektorune-yonelik-girisimcilik

1.2.3. #12 - Trendyol
Name Trendyol
URL https://www.trendyol.com/
Brief Info Trendyol is a fashion e-tailer.
Trendyol.com is the online fashion destination in Turkey,
offering over 2000 brands to over 10 million customers.
Category Successful
Trendyol raised € 2,220,000 in 2010; $ 9,080,000 from
Tiger Global in 2010; and $ 25,000,000 from Kleiner
Perkins Caufield Byers and Tiger Global.
Trendyol’s annual run rate is $350 million.
The company has served more than 12 million customers
across Turkey.
70% of all women in Turkey who shop online have shopped
on Trendyol.
Trendyol has over 10 million members.
References(s) http://www.startupranking.com/startup/trendyol/funding-
rounds
http://www.haberturk.com/general/haber/1250944-
trendyol-hits-new-record-to-ship-20-million-items-
annually
https://www.everipedia.com/Trendyol_group/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trendyol_group

1.2.4. #13 - BiTaksi
Name BiTaksi
URL http://www.bitaksi.com/
Brief Info BiTaksi enables people to request a taxi from their
smartphone.
BiTaksi is a mobile taxi network, offering a secure platform
to connect passengers with the nearest available taxi.
Category Successful
Leader in Turkey regarding the relevant category.
BiTaksi raised $2,000,000 from Aslanoba Capital.
Selected as the most successful start-up in 2016 in Turkey.
References(s) http://webrazzi.com/2013/03/07/bitaksi
http://www.aslanobacapital.com/companies/
http://www.borsamatik.com.tr/haber-detay/en-basarili-
startup-bitaksi/66806/

1.2.5. #14 - Pabbuc
Name Pabbuc
URL None available for Pabbuc.
Brief Info Pabbuc was an online shoe, bags, and accessories shopping
service.
The company stopped sales operations as of 30 November
2012 for an indefinite time.
The company was closed mostly due to disagreements
among shareholders/managers.
Unless the shareholders/managers share the same or similar
visions regarding the startup, the business becomes
unmanageable as it happened for the Pabbuc.
After Gittigidiyor invested on the Pabbuc, there has been a
split of vision between partners, and partners have decided
to go different ways.
References(s) http://www.turkishtimedergi.com/dijital-girisim/50-
basarisiz-startup-ve-hatalarindan-cikarilacak-50-ders-1-15/
http://www.etohum.com/tr/startup/1154/pabbuc-com
http://en.webrazzi.com/2012/11/30/pabbuc-com-closed-
down/

1.2.6. #15 - TazeDirekt
Name TazeDirekt
URL http://www.tazedirekt.com/
Brief Info TazeDirekt was the food and delivery business.
TazeDirekt was more than just e-commerce but many of the
products it sold were its own products.
TazeDirekt was an online grocery business whose focus
was to deliver fresh, organic, and regional products of the
highest quality that people hardly find at other grocery
stores.
Taze Direkt was not be able to manage cost overruns that
developed worse each day.
Budgeted lost for the starting phase for Taze Direkt was
extremely lower than the one occurred in reality.
e-commerce regarding the foods requires more expenses
when compared to other ones which are less risky.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and
practice; but in practice there is. While doing business,
unforeseen and some sort of environmental situations make
it a must the terminate the business as it was happened for
TazeDirekt.
Insufficient managers led to the bad management of the
company.
Distribution cost were dramatically higher than the ones
estimated.
References(s) http://webrazzi.com/2016/03/02/hasan-aslanoba-
tazedirekti-neden-kapattigini-anlatti/
http://www.turkishtimedergi.com/dijital-girisim/50-
basarisiz-startup-ve-hatalarindan-cikarilacak-50-ders/
http://shiftdelete.net/tazedirekt-neden-kapandi-69101
http://www.aslanobagroup.com/markalar/taze-direkt/

2. Detailed Information/Analysis about Companies
2.1. Around the World
2.1.1. #1 - MODIFACE
Name MODIFACE
Category Successful
Profile ModiFace technology is the basis of the leading patent
portfolio on skin analysis and facial visualization, and
powers over 150 web and mobile apps which have been
downloaded nearly 60 million times.
It is reported that ModiFace’s virtual makeup mirror is
improving sales by 31% as customers are more confident
that they’ll love what they’re buying.
The platform provided by the company provides a first-year
jump of as much as 84% in online sales.
The company is in the list of fastest growing of 500/5000
companies.
The company is SAMSUNG challenge winner.
The company is in the list of Profit Hot 50’s fastest growing
companies.
History and Important
Mile-stones
ModiFace’s story started in 1999 at Stanford University,
where the initial research on automatic face analysis began.
This work continued at the University of Toronto from 2001
to 2006, including the development of signal processing
algorithms that won a world-wide innovation prize from
MIT.
In 2006, ModiFace Inc. was born.
In 2012, the company got $3.80M funding.
Mission & Vision Not available on the web.

Business or Product ModiFace Mirror - It is an augmented reality application
specifically designed for trying on make-up. Furthermore,
the application is used by dermatologists and plastic
surgeons to show patients what they will look like after a
face-lift or other treatments.
ModiFace is provider of a virtual makeover application.
The company offers an image editing application using
which users can edit their images to get a virtual makeover.
Financial Structure The company’s annual revenue of 2015 is approximately
US $10 million.
The company has been profitable from the time when it
started.
Target Customer Targets especially women around the world as end-users.
Additionally, the company targets organizations that can
enrich their businesses with skin analysis and facial
visualization with ModiFace integration.
References(s) https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/19/facial-precognition/
http://theinstitute.ieee.org/career-and-
education/startups/modiface-is-transforming-the-beauty-
industry-with-augmented-reality
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/modiface-profile-investors-
funding-valuation-and-analysis

2.1.2. #2 - Coursera
Name Coursera
Category Successful
Profile Coursera serves 16 million online learners.
On Coursera, anyone, anywhere can access over 1,000
online courses and specializations in dozens of fields in
order to achieve meaningful career, educational, and
personal enrichment goals throughout their lives.
Coursera partners with top universities and organizations to
offer courses online.
Coursera is a venture-backed, for-profit, educational
technology company that offers massive open online
courses (MOOCs).
Coursera works with universities and other organizations to
make some of their courses available online.
Mile-stones
Founded in 2012.
As of January 2016, Coursera offers 1,563 courses from 140
partners across 28 countries.
Coursera has recently (2015) raised another $49.5 million
in venture funding.
Mission & Vision Mission is providing universal access to the world’s best
education.
Vision is not available on the web.
Business or Product Coursera delivers worldwide access to the world’s best
courses.
Offers massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Financial Structure Coursera have a valuation of roughly $500 million.
Coursera has recently (2015) raised another $49.5 million
in venture funding.
Coursera got following funds till 2016:
Oct, 2015 $11.6M
Aug, 2015 $49.5M
Nov, 2013 $20M
Jul, 2013 $43M
Jul, 2012 $6M
Apr, 2012 $16M
Target Customer Anyone interested in learning something available on the
Coursera.
References(s) https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/coursera#/entity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera
https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/31/coursera-wins-best-
new-startup-of-2012-get-schooled/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders
/2015/08/25/courseras-online-teaching-attracts-49-5-
million-with-an-india-twist/#6a0b9cb64a4a

2.1.3. #3 - Grooveshark
Name Grooveshark
Profile Grooveshark was a web-based music streaming service
States.
Mile-stones
On April 30, 2015, Grooveshark shut down as part of a
settlement between the service and Universal Music Group,
Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group.
Apple pulled the Grooveshark app for iOS from App Store
on August 16, 2010, and on April 1, 2011, the Grooveshark
application was pulled from the Android Market.
In May 2012, Facebook removed Grooveshark due to a
copyright infringement complaint and at the end of April
2013 Google Search started censoring “grooveshark” term
from its autocomplete feature.
Grooveshark could have been legally responsible for
hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements.
Business or Product Grooveshark was a web-based music streaming service
States.
Users were able to upload digital audio files, which could
then be streamed and organized in playlists.
The Grooveshark website had a search engine, music
streaming features, and a music recommendation system.
Financial Structure Grooveshark got following funds till closing:
Nov, 2010 $110.6k
Apr, 2010 $3.44M
Jan, 2007 $1M

Target Customer Anyone around the world interested in contributing and
enjoying the content.
Why Failed and What
Could Have Been Done to
Make Success
Caused by copyright concerns and pressure from record
labels, many third party companies avoided themselves
from Grooveshark.
Grooveshark failed to secure licenses from rights holders
for the vast amount of music on the service.
Proactive measures could be taken to prevent copyright
issues.
The company could consistently monitor the uploads and
prevent the cases which resulted in the damages.
The company could talk to related bodies to smoothly
resolve the issues which will result in win-win situation for
all parties.
The company should have agreements with the users to
make them responsible for the uploaded content.
References(s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grooveshark
http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/30/8526105/
grooveshark-shuts-down-settles-with-labels
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/
grooveshark#/entity

2.2. From Turkey
2.2.1. #4 - Armut
Name Armut
Category Successful
Profile An online platform to get bids regarding customer needs.
People do write down their needs and expectations and they
get offers from relevant professionals to satisfy their needs.
With the help of the system, customers get offers, historic
information and comments from relevant professionals.
Mile-stones
The company was founded in 2011.
The company achieved 400% growth in the year of 2014.
Armut was listed in the top 100 start-up category of Turkey
in 2016.
Armful’s corresponding technology is moderately
advanced, qualifying nearly 95% customer satisfaction.
2016 and $1,000,000 in 2014.
Business or Product It is free for consumers.
Armut offers many services like transport, cleaning,
photography, and business card printing.
Customer fills out a form and receives a quotation, and upon
agreement to the quotation, the company provides the
services required.
Financial Structure The company achieved 400% growth in the year of 2014.
2016 and $1,000,000 in 2014.
Target Customer Anyone in Turkey who needs services in transport,
cleaning, photography, and business card printing.

References(s) http://listelist.com/turk-start-up-sirketler/
http://www.teknoparkmedya.com/en-basarili-100-startup-
aciklandi.html
https://angel.co/armut/activity
https://startupxplore.com/en/startups/armut

2.2.2. #5 - Trendyol
Name Trendyol
Category Successful
Profile Trendyol is a fashion e-tailer.
across Turkey.
on Trendyol.
Mile-stones
Trendyol raised € 2,220,000 in 2010;
$ 9,080,000 from Tiger Global in 2010;
and $ 25,000,000 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and
Tiger Global.
Business or Product Trendyol is a fashion e-tailer.
Financial Structure Trendyol’s annual run rate is $350 million.
across Turkey.
on Trendyol.
Target Customer Anyone (especially women) who want to shop online in
Turkey.

References(s) http://www.startupranking.com/startup/trendyol/funding-
rounds
http://www.haberturk.com/general/haber/1250944-
trendyol-hits-new-record-to-ship-20-million-items-
annually
https://www.everipedia.com/Trendyol_group/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trendyol_group

2.2.3. #6 - TazeDirekt
Name TazeDirekt
Profile TazeDirekt was an online grocery business whose focus
was to deliver fresh, organic, and regional products of the
highest quality that people hardly find at other grocery
stores.
Mile-stones
Started in 2014.
Lasted in 2016.
Business or Product TazeDirekt was the food and delivery business.
TazeDirekt was more than just e-commerce but many of the
products it sold were its own products.
Financial Structure Taze Direkt was not be able to manage cost overruns that
estimated.
Target Customer Anyone in Istanbul and Ankara (Turkey) interested in
buying fresh, organic, and regional products of the highest
quality that people hardly find at other grocery stores.

Why Failed and What
Could Have Been Done to
Make Success
Taze Direkt was not be able to manage cost overruns that
e-commerce regarding the foods requires more expenses
when compared to other ones which are less risky.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and
practice; but in practice there is. While doing business,
unforeseen and some sort of environmental situations make
it a must the terminate the business as it was happened for
TazeDirekt.
Insufficient managers led to the bad management of the
company.
estimated.
I would prefer to invest with more manageable amounts
instead of giant amounts.
I would collaborate with major actors in the field like
Migros and Carrefour to benefit from them and share the
risk with them.
I would outsource the distribution service as it was too
costly for TazeDirekt at the beginning stages.
I would work with more proficient managers who have
proven skills in the foods and e-commerce industry.
References(s) http://webrazzi.com/2016/03/02/hasan-aslanoba-
tazedirekti-neden-kapattigini-anlatti/
http://www.turkishtimedergi.com/dijital-girisim/50-
basarisiz-startup-ve-hatalarindan-cikarilacak-50-ders/
http://shiftdelete.net/tazedirekt-neden-kapandi-69101
http://www.aslanobagroup.com/markalar/taze-direkt/

3. Conclusion
In addition to the points they I highlighted in previous parts, I want to underline following
points for this paper.
 On the topic of start-ups in Turkey, there are too scarce information available on the
Internet. This leads to that it is too hard to draw a conclusion regarding the
performances of start-ups in Turkey. There shall be an open database to share and
disseminate information regarding the performances of start-ups.
 Knowing the customers and their needs/expectations is very invaluable for success
regarding any start-ups.
 There are always risks associated with start-up initiatives, but some of the
organizations transform relevant risks into opportunities instead of treating them as
threats.
 Although there are more and more initiatives lately, when compared to developed
countries, Turkey’s start-ups are remarkably lesser in numbers, sizes, and gains.
 Political, environmental, technological, social, and economic realities truly matter
for start-ups, and all these shall be taken into account during the whole process form
ideation to exit.

Mustafa Degerli – 2016 - Start-up Companies Investigation - Technology Entrepreneurship and Lean Startups

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