From a $15 million initial commitment to roughly $300 million under management, Revo Capital has grown alongside Turkey’s venture capital ecosystem.

In this episode of TRVC, I sit down with Cenk Bayrakdar, Founding Partner and Managing Director of Revo Capital, to talk about his journey from Arçelik and Turkcell to becoming one of the pioneers of venture capital in Turkey — and what he has learned across three generations of Revo funds.

Cenk shares the personal experience that helped shape his mission: seeing world-class technology developed in Turkey passed over simply because it came from Turkey. That experience ultimately became part of the motivation behind Revo — backing Turkish technology talent and helping companies compete globally.

We discuss how Revo’s strategy has evolved from Fund I through Fund III, including why “Turk-to-Turk” exits can struggle to generate venture-scale returns, why Revo increasingly helps its portfolio companies establish themselves in global markets, and how it is now reconnecting Turkish founders already abroad with R&D talent and incentives in Turkey.

We also get into the mechanics of building a major VC platform: working with institutions such as IFC, EBRD and EIF; Revo’s hybrid Netherlands–Turkey fund structure; the benefits and constraints that come with DFI capital; and the gap Revo sees in Turkey between abundant seed funding and scarce Series A and B capital.

Cenk discusses several of Revo’s investments and exits, the firm’s expansion into San Francisco, and how Revo is building its own internal AI tools for sourcing startups, monitoring portfolio companies, identifying potential investors and buyers, and finding Turkish founders and talent around the world.

Finally, we talk about recurring mistakes Cenk sees among founders, why fundraising should be an ongoing process, the importance of hiring people better than yourself, what Turkey needs to do to benefit from its growing entrepreneurial diaspora, and where he sees the ecosystem heading over the next five to ten years.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:04 From Arçelik to Turkcell: Cenk’s early career

07:57 From corporate innovation to venture capital

11:23 The experience that shaped Cenk’s mission

13:08 Building Revo: from $15M to $300M

16:50 Why Turkish startups need to go global

18:01 Fund III, the diaspora and bringing R&D back to Turkey

21:22 The benefits — and challenges — of DFI investors

25:04 Why Turkish companies struggle to achieve global valuations

28:08 Turkey’s Series A and B funding gap

30:06 Fund III investments and Revo’s move into San Francisco

34:04 What Turkish founders get wrong

39:03 Exits, secondaries and selling to global buyers

41:01 How Revo is using AI inside the VC firm

43:04 The next 5–10 years for Turkey’s startup ecosystem

45:13 Books, podcasts and the people who made a difference

About Cenk Bayrakdar

Cenk Bayrakdar is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Revo Capital. Before founding Revo, he held senior technology and product leadership roles at Turkcell, where he worked closely with technology companies and helped develop the company’s external innovation ecosystem. Revo Capital has since grown across three funds and has backed companies including Getir, Midas and a wide range of Turkish and Turkish-founded technology businesses expanding into global markets.

About TRVC

TRVC explores Turkey’s venture capital and startup ecosystem through conversations with the investors, founders and ecosystem builders shaping its future.

Subscribe for more conversations on venture capital, technology, entrepreneurship and the Turkish startup ecosystem.

#VentureCapital #Startups #Turkey #RevoCapital #TurkishStartups #VC #Entrepreneurship #Technology

Görkem is unequivocal about this: Turkey has the biggest mobile gaming ecosystem in the world. In this episode of TRVC, I sit down with Görkem Türk, Founding Partner of Laton Ventures, to explore how Turkey built its extraordinary gaming ecosystem — and why global investors are paying attention. More than just paying attention: this year so far 75% of all VC investments in gaming companies happened in the Turkish ecosystem.Görkem had a front-row seat to the rise of Turkish gaming during his years at Google, where he worked closely with many of the founders who would go on to build some of Turkey’s most successful gaming companies. That experience eventually led him to launch Laton Ventures, a gaming-focused VC fund that has backed companies including Grand Games and Rotate Lab.We talk about why Turkey has become so strong in mobile gaming, the concentration of global gaming VC investment in the country, and how successes such as Peak, Dream Games and Grand Games have created a growing pool of talent, capital and know-how.Görkem also explains Laton’s unusually hands-on investment model. Rather than simply providing capital, the Laton team can work alongside portfolio companies on user acquisition, marketing, data analysis and growth — operating in some ways more like a gaming company than a traditional VC fund.We also discuss Rotatelab, a gaming company based in Gaziantep with a fully remote team spread across 15 cities in Anatolia; why Turkish gaming could have a broader spillover effect on Turkey’s technology ecosystem; what separates enduring gaming companies from “one-hit” successes; and why Görkem expects Turkish gaming companies increasingly to become acquirers themselves.Finally, Görkem shares his advice for aspiring gaming founders: focus relentlessly on product and marketing, and choose partners who can genuinely help make both better.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:58 From P&G and Google to Turkish gaming04:00 Why Görkem founded Laton Ventures09:29 Why build a global gaming fund from Turkey?11:35 Grand Games, Rotate Lab and the investment strategy17:35 Why global gaming investment is flowing to Turkey21:54 Can gaming transform Turkey’s broader tech ecosystem?26:02 Inside Laton’s hands-on VC model29:13 Rotate Lab: From Gaziantep to a global gaming hit32:01 What separates enduring gaming companies from one-hit wonders35:12 Exits, M&A and the future of Turkish gaming39:19 Görkem’s advice to gaming founders40:53 How big is Turkey’s gaming ecosystem?43:39 Books, podcasts and Görkem’s closing thoughts

Why are global investors paying more attention to Istanbul and Turkey’s startup ecosystem?In this episode of TRVC, I sit down with Şan Yalman, Investment Associate at Intera and co-founder of Istanbul Slush’d, to talk about investing, venture capital, and what it takes to connect Turkey’s founders with the global technology and investment ecosystem.Şan began his journey into venture capital at StartersHub in Istanbul before moving to London, where he joined Intera as its first employee. Today, he invests across private markets, including venture capital funds in the US and Europe, giving him an LP’s perspective on the industry and exposure to funds including a16z, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed and Ribbit.We discuss what LPs learn from investing across different VC funds, why smaller funds can produce extraordinary returns, and the very different economics of managing a $50 million fund versus a multi-billion-dollar fund.But much of our conversation is about Istanbul Slush’d.Şan tells the story of bringing the Slush concept from Helsinki to Istanbul and building an organization largely powered by young volunteers. From the beginning, the ambition was not simply to create another local startup conference, but to build a bridge between Turkey’s entrepreneurial talent and global capital.This year, that means bringing investors and technology leaders from around the world to Istanbul, including people from Accel, Index Ventures, OpenAI and NVIDIA. We talk about the new Investor Day, AI hackathons with OpenAI and Manus, founder-investor matchmaking, and the deliberate effort to put global GPs, Turkish VCs and local founders into the same rooms.We also step back and discuss the Turkish startup ecosystem itself. Şan argues that Turkey has exceptional entrepreneurial talent and can be a particularly demanding place to build a product: Turkish consumers are accustomed to strong digital experiences in areas such as banking and e-commerce. That high bar can be an advantage for founders who eventually want to compete globally.We finish by talking about the growing Turkish technology diaspora, the importance of connecting founders and investors across Istanbul, London, Silicon Valley and elsewhere, Şan’s podcast recommendations—and a memorable story about a stranger who rescued his trip to Slush Helsinki by bringing his forgotten passport from London.**Chapters**00:00 Introduction00:36 Şan Yalman’s journey into venture capital03:45 The LP perspective: investing in VC funds05:18 Why smaller VC funds can outperform06:59 Bringing Slush’d to Istanbul11:12 Building Istanbul Slush’d like a startup14:03 What makes Slush different17:05 OpenAI, Manus and the new AI hackathons19:12 Bringing global investors to Istanbul26:33 Turkey’s startup ecosystem, global expansion and the diaspora33:34 Personal recommendations & a memorable Slush story

What does it take for a founder from Turkey — or elsewhere in the world — to make the leap into the US startup ecosystem?In this episode of TRVC, I speak with Didem Altop, General Partner at Treeo VC, an early-stage US venture capital fund investing primarily in AI-native B2B companies and selected deep-tech opportunities with global founders who are building in the United States. A significant part of its portfolio have Turkish co-founders.Didem brings a particularly interesting perspective to this question. Long before becoming a VC, she worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship and economic development and played an important role in the early development of Endeavor Turkey. We look back at how Turkey's startup ecosystem has evolved since those early days — and at the compounding effect created when successful entrepreneurs become investors, mentors and founders of the next generation of companies.We also discuss why the United States remains such an important market for ambitious global founders. For Didem, entering the US isn't simply about accessing American customers: it means plugging into a global marketplace for capital, talent, customers, mentors and other founders.That leads us into Treeo VC itself: how Didem and her partners came together, why they decided to become first-time fund managers, the role of VC Lab in that journey, and where a sub-$10 million micro-VC fits into the much larger US venture ecosystem.AI is naturally a major part of the conversation. Rather than treating AI as a single investment category, Didem describes the different layers of the emerging AI economy and shares examples from Treeo's portfolio.Finally, we turn back to Turkey. Didem describes the Turkish startup ecosystem as having reached its “adolescence”: the country has developed considerable strength at the earliest stages, but companies can still struggle as they reach seed and Series A. We discuss what is missing, what needs to develop next, and how stronger connections with the US ecosystem can help Turkish founders scale.And we close on a more personal note: the importance of mentorship in Didem's own journey and why she sees being a resource to founders and the wider ecosystem as an important part of Treeo's mission — whether or not an investment ultimately takes place.Chapters00:00 — Introduction: Didem Altop and Treeo VC02:00 — What is Treeo VC?04:21 — Endeavor and the early days of Turkey’s startup ecosystem10:15 — How startup ecosystems create a compounding effect16:18 — From ecosystem builder to first-time VC fund manager22:22 — Why the United States? The opportunity for global founders26:41 — Treeo’s portfolio and investing in the AI stack32:00 — Where the next AI opportunities may emerge34:58 — Is Turkey’s startup ecosystem entering adolescence?45:54 — Mentorship, giving back and building bridges

My guest is Tarık Dutkuner, Partner at Skybound Capital, a new €40M venture fund investing in deep tech startups across Europe.

Before joining Skybound, Tarık was an investor at e2vc, where he worked with founders across Turkey and Eastern Europe. In this conversation, we discuss his journey into venture capital, why he decided to join Skybound, and why he believes Europe is entering a new era for deep tech investing.

We also explore what makes deep tech companies different from traditional software startups, why hardware is becoming investable again, how Europe compares to the US, and what Turkey needs to do to produce more globally successful frontier technology companies.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:30 Tarık's path into venture capital

04:50 Joining e2vc and investing across the region

07:11 Why leave e2vc for Skybound?

09:26 Inside Skybound: strategy, fund size & investment thesis

17:04 Why deep tech is having its moment

20:12 The Turkish startup ecosystem: strengths and blind spots

23:08 University spin-offs, IP and commercialization

27:45 The future of deep tech in Europe and Turkey

31:02 Advice for founders and closing thoughts

About TRVC

TRVC is a podcast featuring long-form conversations with the investors, founders and ecosystem builders shaping venture capital and entrepreneurship in Turkey.

New episodes are published regularly in both English and Turkish.

If you enjoy the conversation, please consider:

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#TRVC #VentureCapital #Startups #DeepTech #SkyboundCapital #e2vc #Turkey #EuropeanStartups #Hardware #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

Türkiye girişimcilik ekosisteminin tanınmış isimlerinden biri olan Kaan Akın bu bölümde TRVC'ye konuk oluyor.Kaan, Hackquarters'ı nasıl kurduğunu, kurumsal inovasyon programlarının nasıl ortaya çıktığını ve bugün Tenity çatısı altında hızlandırıcı programları, kurumsal inovasyon ve venture capital'i nasıl bir araya getirdiklerini anlatıyor.Sohbet boyunca ayrıca:- Hackquarters'ın kuruluş hikayesi- Kurumsal inovasyonun Türkiye'deki gelişimi- Tenity'nin yatırım stratejisi ve fon yapısı- Avrupa ve İngiltere startup ekosistemleri- Türkiye'den global şirket çıkarmanın zorlukları- VC dünyasında değişen dinamikler- AI, secondary piyasaları ve fon toplamanın geleceği- Türk girişimcilere tavsiyeler- Rapid Fire soruları- Kaan'ın önerdiği kitap ve podcastKonularını ele alıyoruz.Keyifli seyirler!Bölümde bahsettiğimiz kaynaklar📖 The Power Law (Güç Yasası) — Sebastian Mallaby🎙️ Acquired PodcastBölüm Akışı00:00 Giriş ve Kaan Akın'ın hikâyesi01:04 Mekatronikten girişimciliğe ve Hackquarters'ın kuruluşu05:04 Hackquarters: İlk yatırımlar ve kurumsal inovasyonun doğuşu10:16 Tenity'ye katılış, birleşme süreci ve yatırım modeli16:39 Yeni fonlar, diaspora girişimcileri ve Londra'nın rolü23:41 Venture Capital'in geleceği: SaaS Apocalypse, AI, secondary piyasaları ve fon toplama29:15 Türkiye startup ekosistemi ve neden ilk günden global düşünmek gerekiyor36:20 Türkiye'nin uluslararası algısı ve globalleşme tavsiyeleri39:20 Rapid Fire: Kaçırılan yatırımlar, venture capital ve unicornlar43:55 Kitap ve podcast önerileri, Namık Kural ve kariyerindeki dönüm noktalarıYoutube kanalına Abone Olun

Deep tech startups don't usually fail because the technology doesn't work—they fail because they can't finance their first factory.

In this episode of TRVC – The Turkish VC Podcast, I speak with Serhat Çiçekoğlu, Managing Partner at Sente Ventures, about one of the least-discussed challenges in venture capital: how deep tech companies bridge the gap between a successful pilot and full-scale commercialization.

Unlike traditional venture funds, Sente Ventures provides non-dilutive project financing—typically $200 million to $1.5 billion—to help deep tech startups build their first commercial manufacturing facility.

We also discuss why this financing gap exists, how project finance differs from venture capital, the future of deep tech investing, and Serhat's candid assessment of the Turkish startup ecosystem, including where he believes Turkey excels—and where it still has significant work to do.

Whether you're a founder, investor, policymaker, or simply interested in the future of venture capital, this episode offers a fascinating look at a part of the startup financing landscape that few people ever see.

Guest: Serhat Çiçekoğlu

Managing Partner, Sente Ventures

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:27 Serhat's journey from engineer to venture capitalist

01:31 Building Sente Foundry and helping Turkish startups expand to the US

04:31 Why Sente Ventures shifted to deep tech project finance

05:25 How non-dilutive factory financing works

07:24 Why Sente doesn't take equity

08:31 How Sente is funded

09:22 Which startups qualify for $200M+ financing

11:44 Why Turkey is an attractive manufacturing base

13:50 Sente's investment focus: energy, agriculture & circular economy

16:02 Why first factories are so expensive

18:50 The Turkish startup ecosystem: strengths and weaknesses

25:23 Why gaming and fintech alone aren't enough

27:40 Global trends in deep tech investing

34:10 Advice for founders

36:17 Closing thoughts

🎙 TRVC – The Turkish VC Podcast brings conversations with venture capitalists and ecosystem builders shaping startups in Turkey and beyond.

If you enjoy the episode, please like, subscribe and leave a review. It helps more people discover the show and supports the Turkish venture ecosystem.

Bu bölümde konuğum, SistersLab – Bilim ve Teknolojide Kadın Derneği'nin kurucu üyelerinden Nihal Güngör.Bu bölüm, TRVC'de alışık olduğumuz klasik girişim sermayesi veya startup kurucusu sohbetlerinden biraz farklı. Konuştuğumuz konu, girişimcilik ve teknoloji ekosisteminin geleceği açısından son derece önemli: Teknoloji alanında daha fazla kadın nasıl yetiştirilir, desteklenir ve liderlik pozisyonlarına taşınır?Nihal ile, Türkiye'de ve dünyada kadınların STEM (bilim, teknoloji, mühendislik ve matematik) alanlarındaki temsiliyetini, teknoloji girişimciliğinde ve yatırım ekosistemindeki kadınların rolünü ve SistersLab'in bu alanda nasıl bir sosyal girişim olarak ortaya çıktığını konuştuk.Sohbetimizde ayrıca:• Türkiye'de kadınların STEM alanlarına katılımındaki mevcut durumu ve uluslararası karşılaştırmaları,• Türkiye'nin kadın girişimciler ve kadın teknoloji liderleri açısından güçlü yönlerini,• Bir sosyal girişimin sıfırdan nasıl kurulup büyütülebileceğini,• Sosyal girişimcilik ile girişim sermayesi ekosistemleri arasındaki benzerlikleri,• SistersLab'in Birleşmiş Milletler, özel sektör ve uluslararası kuruluşlarla yürüttüğü çalışmaları,• Deprem bölgesindeki genç kadınların teknoloji alanında istihdamını artırmaya yönelik projeleri,Bu bölümün belki de en önemli mesajı şu: Daha kapsayıcı, daha çeşitli ve daha güçlü bir teknoloji ve girişimcilik ekosistemi inşa etmek, yalnızca eşitlik açısından değil, aynı zamanda daha başarılı şirketler ve daha güçlü bir ekosistem yaratmak açısından da kritik öneme sahip.Nihal'in de anlattığı gibi, değişim çoğu zaman büyük planlarla değil; küçük bir fikir, bir atölye çalışması veya bir kişinin başkasına yol göstermesiyle başlıyor.Konuşmada adı geçen bazı kurum ve organizasyonlar:• SistersLab• TurkNet• Birleşmiş Milletler Kadının Statüsü Komisyonu (CSW)• UN Women• Sabancı Vakfı• Sivil Toplum için Destek Vakfı• Hepsiburada• L'Oréal Türkiye• Arya Women Investment Platform• Founder One• Endeavor Türkiye• İbrahim Bodur Sosyal Girişimcilik Ödülleri• İlk Fırsat Programı• How I Built This PodcastTRVC – The Turkish VC Podcast, Türkiye girişimcilik ve yatırım ekosisteminin kurucularını, yatırımcılarını ve ekosistem liderlerini ağırlamaya devam ediyor.Kanalımıza abone olmayı, videoyu beğenmeyi ve görüşlerinizi yorumlarda paylaşmayı unutmayın.