Startups in Turkey News | October, 2026 (STARTUP EDITION)

TL;DR: Startups in Turkey News, October 2026: Unicorns, Exits and How You Can Enter the Market

Table of Contents

Startups in Turkey news for October 2026 shows you a EUR 40B+ ecosystem that grew 9x between 2019 and 2024. That growth beat Saudi Arabia (6.9x), the UAE (3.3x) and the UK (2.1x), per Dealroom and the DTO. This briefing maps where Turkish money, talent and buyers sit, so you can enter the market with less guesswork and lower risk.

Scale and exits: Dealroom counts 9 Turkish unicorns, all in Istanbul, and zero decacorns so far. ScaleX Ventures reports $7B+ in exit value since 2013. Peak ($1.8B) and Dream Games ($1.2B) lead, and Peak alumni have founded 80+ startups.
Hot sectors: Midas tops Failory's 2026 list with $137M raised. Istanbul ranked first in Europe for gaming investment in H1 2026. Enterprise software (170 VC-backed ventures) now outnumbers fintech (160). See these Istanbul startups to watch for company examples.
Cities beyond Istanbul: Ankara suits cybersecurity and B2B software. Izmir leads in logistics, with companies like ShipsGo among the top İzmir startups. Bursa fits industrial and agtech founders.
Funding and entry rules: The Turkish Development Fund leads with 264 investments. Bek Ventures ranked first in Europe in PitchBook's 2025 tables. A Turkish LLC needs TRY 50,000 in minimum capital, and owning a company does not give you the right to work there.

Serial entrepreneur Violetta Bonenkamp (Mean CEO) recommends cheap tests first. She suggests validating demand remotely, pricing contracts in euros or dollars, and localizing your copy instead of only translating it. Your next step is to pick one sector, book five calls with Turkish founders this month, and use the full briefing to plan your first market test.

Check out other fresh startup news and trends that you might like:

Startups in Chile News | October, 2026 (STARTUP EDITION)

Istanbul founders don’t track burn rate in lira, they track it in glasses of Turkish tea per pitch deck revision. Unsplash

Startups in Turkey news for October 2026 tells a story most European founders still underestimate: a country of roughly 85 million people has quietly built one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I’m Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as Mean CEO. I run CADChain and Fe/male Switch in parallel, and I have spent over 20 years working across European markets. When I look at Türkiye, I see a market that founders in Amsterdam, Berlin or Tallinn keep treating as an “emerging” side note while it produces gaming exits, fintech unicorns and grocery delivery giants that rewrote global playbooks.

This briefing pulls together the latest numbers from Dealroom, Tracxn, ScaleX Ventures, Failory, StartupBlink and the Start in Istanbul news hub. Then I add what the data tables don’t show: how a European founder should read these signals, where the REAL opportunities sit, and which mistakes will burn your runway if you enter Türkiye unprepared. If you are an entrepreneur, a freelancer looking for clients, or a business owner thinking about expansion, this is your October 2026 cheat sheet.

Let’s break it down.

What are the biggest Startups in Turkey news stories as of October 2026?

Here is the quick snapshot for readers who want the headlines before the analysis. These are the facts shaping conversations among Turkish founders and investors right now:

9 unicorns and counting: Dealroom counts 9 Turkish unicorns (companies with a $1B+ valuation or exit), all of them headquartered in Istanbul.
Midas leads fresh fintech funding: the Istanbul-based investing app Midas has raised $137M, which puts it at the top of Failory’s 2026 list of Turkish startups to watch.
Exit value keeps stacking up: ScaleX Ventures reports that Turkish startups have generated more than $7 billion in exit value since 2013.
Big-ticket acquisitions in Dealroom’s dataset: Peak ($1.8B, 2020), Yemeksepeti ($1.6B, listed for 2026) and Dream Games ($1.2B, 2025).
Istanbul topped Europe in gaming investment in H1 2026 and broke into the top four European cities for AI investment, according to Start in Istanbul (July 29, 2026).
Turkish VCs climbed global rankings: Bek Ventures claimed Europe’s top spot and ranked third globally in PitchBook’s 2025 performance tables, with e2vc also featured (reported August 7, 2026).
New venture capital fund regulation from the Ministry of Industry and Technology was published in the Official Gazette on November 28, 2025 (Issue 33091) and is now shaping how funds deploy capital in 2026.
34 Turkish startups exhibited at CES 2026 in Las Vegas under the Turcorn Pavilion.

How big is the Turkish startup ecosystem in 2026?

Numbers first, opinions later. These statistics come from Dealroom, the Presidency’s DTO report produced with Dealroom (April 2025), ScaleX Ventures and Tracxn. Read them slowly, because a few of them should make European founders uncomfortable.

EUR 40+ billion: the combined value of Türkiye’s startup ecosystem, according to the 2025 DTO and Dealroom report.
9x growth between 2019 and 2024. For comparison, Saudi Arabia grew 6.9x, the UAE grew 3.3x and the UK grew 2.1x in the same period.
1,000+ VC-backed companies operate in Türkiye. Enterprise software leads with 170 ventures and fintech follows with 160.
102 tracked acquisitions since 2010, representing $6.6B in disclosed value (Dealroom).
6 “thoroughbreds”: Dealroom’s term for companies generating $100M+ in revenue.
0 decacorns (companies valued at $10B+) so far.
Peak year for new unicorns: 2021, with 3 minted in a single year.
$30B+: the combined value created by Türkiye’s top startups, per ScaleX Ventures.
Nearly 10 more companies are positioned to cross $500M valuations in the next five years, according to ScaleX’s analysis.
$2.54B raised by Getir and $1.54B by Trendyol, according to Tracxn’s funding data.

That ninefold growth figure is the SHOCKING one. A market growing faster than the UK, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, during a period of heavy currency pressure on the lira, tells you that Turkish founders learned to build under stress. In my experience, founders who survive volatile conditions build leaner companies than founders who grow up on cheap capital. You can dig into the full numbers in Dealroom’s Türkiye tech ecosystem deep dive and the ScaleX Ventures overview of the Turkish startup and VC ecosystem.

Which Turkish startups and sectors should founders watch right now?

Türkiye’s startup scene clusters around five sectors. Each one teaches a different lesson, so I’ll pair the companies with what I would steal from them as a founder.

1. Fintech: Midas, Papara and the neobank wave

Fintech (financial technology: payments, banking apps, investing platforms) is the loudest sector in the 2026 headlines. Midas, the retail investing app, leads Failory’s list with $137M raised. Papara, a neobank and payments platform, crossed the $1 billion valuation line after its cash-and-stock acquisition of Rebellion from Beka Finance, according to Fintech News UAE’s report on Turkey’s leading fintech startups. Consolidation is also visible: Pionr acquired the business finance startup Norma, and Papara bought the investment platform Finfree, both in 2024.

My take: high inflation creates demand for financial tools in a way stable markets never will. When people watch their savings lose value, they download investing apps. Founders in calmer European markets should study how Turkish fintechs explain money to ordinary users, because that copywriting skill transfers anywhere.

2. Gaming: Peak, Dream Games and Istanbul’s gaming crown

Türkiye is a gaming powerhouse. Peak Games sold for $1.8B in 2020, and Dream Games appears in Dealroom’s data at $1.2B for 2025. In H1 2026, Istanbul ranked first in Europe for gaming investment. Failory’s list also features a 2019-founded Istanbul gaming studio that raised a $31M Series A backed by Index Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Play Ventures, Arcadia Gaming Partners and Unity co-founder David Helgason.

As the founder of a game-based incubator, I find this personal. Gaming companies are TRAINING CAMPS for product thinking. They measure retention daily, test monetization weekly and kill features without emotion. That habit is exactly what I build into Fe/male Switch through gamepreneurship, where founders treat their startup like a strategy game with real consequences.

3. Quick commerce and marketplaces: Getir, Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Yemeksepeti

Getir made grocery delivery a global investment category and has raised $2.54B (Series E) according to Tracxn. Trendyol, the multi-category marketplace, raised $1.54B before its acquisition. Hepsiburada and Yemeksepeti round out the consumer giants. Smaller players also deserve attention: Vivense, the online furniture store connecting buyers with manufacturers, raised $18.6M, and Armut leads local home services such as moving and cleaning, according to StartupBlink’s ranking of top startups in Istanbul.

4. SaaS, AI and cybersecurity: the quiet B2B shift

SaaS (Software as a Service, meaning subscription software delivered online) is where I see the next wave. Insider, the customer engagement platform, became a B2B leader. In Ankara, Picus Security (cybersecurity) and ikas (e-commerce infrastructure) top StartupBlink’s local rankings. In Izmir, ShipsGo builds logistics SaaS. ScaleX Ventures notes a visible shift toward enterprise software and AI at early stages, and it expects late-stage VCs to follow.

5. Biotech and deeptech: small numbers, big upside

RS Research builds smart nanomedicines through its proprietary Sagitta platform, delivering targeted therapies with fewer side effects on healthy tissue. Failory also lists a 2015-founded Istanbul biotech, founded by Rana Sanyal and Sena Nomak, that raised $14.4M, with its latest round being a grant and backers including the European Innovation Council and Eczacıbaşı Momentum. That EIC involvement matters: Turkish deeptech can access European grant money, which many EU founders forget when they size up competition.

For the full company list, browse Failory’s top 70 Turkey startups to watch in 2026 and Tracxn’s latest Turkish funding rounds and trends.

Where are startups in Turkey located beyond Istanbul?

Istanbul holds all 9 unicorns, but four cities show real founder activity. Here is the map in one list:

Istanbul: consumer apps, gaming, fintech, marketplaces and most VC offices. Terminal Istanbul, a plan to turn the former Atatürk Airport terminals into a technology and entrepreneurship center, aims to host 2,000 startups.
Ankara: the capital leans toward deep B2B and security. Phemex (crypto exchange), ikas and Picus Security lead StartupBlink’s ranking. ODTÜ Teknokent, the tech park linked to Middle East Technical University, also invests in companies such as Insider.
Izmir: logistics and mobility, with ShipsGo, the gaming studio Mage and the automotive platform KolayOto.
Bursa: an industrial city producing agtech (Görsentam) and crypto (Bitcointry) startups.

Mean CEO tip: if you sell B2B software or industrial tooling, do not default to Istanbul. Bursa’s manufacturing base and Ankara’s defense and engineering cluster are closer to the buyers. At CADChain, our best conversations about CAD data protection happen near factories, never at glossy consumer conferences.

Who is funding startups in Turkey in 2026?

The Turkish funding scene mixes a state-backed fund of funds, local VCs climbing global rankings and international firms. Dealroom’s investor table shows who writes the most checks:

Turkish Development Fund (fund of funds, Istanbul): 264 investments, 295 portfolio companies.
EIT Food (accelerator, Leuven): 48 investments.
Keiretsu Forum (angel network, San Francisco): 44 investments.
500 Global (VC, Palo Alto): 24 investments.
Startup Wise Guys (accelerator, Tallinn): 18 investments.
Endeavor Catalyst (VC, San Francisco): 13 investments.
International Finance Corporation (Washington DC): 11 investments.
Tiger Global (New York): 10 investments.

Local names matter too. Bek Ventures ranked first in Europe and third globally in PitchBook’s 2025 performance tables, and e2vc earned a prominent spot. Etohum (behind the Startup Turkey event) and KWORKS (Koç University’s incubator) back early companies like Wask.co and Kolay IK. Check the Start in Istanbul startup ecosystem news hub for regular updates on funds and programs.

One more regulatory point: the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s “Regulation on Participation in Venture Capital Funds and Venture Capital Practices” created a structured framework for VC funds in late 2025. ISTKA (the Istanbul Development Agency) has also published a report called “Startups and Regulation: The Türkiye Perspective.” If you plan to raise from Turkish funds, read both before your first pitch meeting.

Why are exits the real story behind Turkish startup growth?

Funding rounds get headlines. Exits build ecosystems. Here is why.

A 2022 study found that Peak alumni had founded 65 startups. ScaleX Ventures now estimates the number exceeds 80. One gaming company sold for $1.8B, and its former employees went on to start dozens of new companies with cash, know-how and investor contacts. This is the “PayPal Mafia” effect, Turkish edition, and it is the single most underrated metric in this whole report.

Public markets add another exit route. Tracxn lists recent Borsa Istanbul listings including ARF Bio (January 5, 2026), Akhan Un (January 30, 2026), and Savur GYO and Gentas Kimya (both March 6, 2026). Most of these are not venture-backed tech companies, but an active local IPO window gives later-stage startups a second path besides selling to a foreign buyer.

“Founders should measure an ecosystem by how many people get rich and start again, never by how many press releases it produces.” That’s my rule of thumb, and Türkiye passes it.

What does a European serial entrepreneur see that the headlines miss?

I have pitched across Europe, the US, Asia and Australia, and I have sat in accelerators from Yes!Delft to Y Combinator Startup School. Here are my provocative takes on Turkish startups in late 2026.

Take 1: Istanbul concentration is a strength and a risk

Nine out of nine unicorns sit in one city. That density creates talent spillover, and it also means one city’s rents, salaries and politics shape the whole national scene. Founders who build in Ankara, Izmir or Bursa face less competition for engineers and lower burn. I would take that trade at seed stage.

Take 2: Zero decacorns means the ceiling is still open

Türkiye has 9 unicorns and 0 decacorns. Some read that as a weakness. I read it as a gap. With nearly 10 companies heading toward $500M valuations and B2B software growing at early stages, the first Turkish $10B company is a question of when, and the first investors and partners close to it will win the most.

Take 3: Enterprise software already outnumbers fintech

Everyone talks about fintech, yet enterprise software counts 170 VC-backed ventures against fintech’s 160. The headlines lag the reality by two to three years. If you sell to businesses, Türkiye is ready for you right now.

Take 4: Deeptech and IP protection are underbuilt

Türkiye has a heavy manufacturing and defense base, with names like Aselsan, Ford Otosan and Turkish Aerospace appearing in investor portfolios. Yet IP tooling for engineering data rarely shows up in startup lists. From my CADChain experience, every country with serious manufacturing needs better protection for CAD files and 3D data, and I believe that protection must live inside the tools engineers already use. “Protection and compliance should be invisible.” Turkish engineering startups that adopt this mindset early will sell more easily to European buyers who demand IP hygiene.

Take 5: Women founders need infrastructure, and Türkiye can provide a test case

The 2015 biotech on Failory’s list, co-founded by two women and backed by the European Innovation Council, is a reminder that strong female-led companies exist in Türkiye. My position stays the same everywhere: “Women do not need more inspiration; they need infrastructure.” Practical playbooks, access to angel networks and low-risk spaces to practice pitching matter more than another panel on empowerment.

How do you launch or expand a startup in Turkey? A step-by-step guide

This is the practical part. I’ve structured it the way I would run it myself: cheap experiments first, legal entity second, big spending last. Use it whether you are a foreign founder, a Turkish founder abroad coming home, or a freelancer testing demand.

Validate demand remotely before you incorporate. Run landing pages in Turkish, book 15 to 20 customer calls and test pricing in lira and in euros. Default to no-code tools for your first version. “Default to no-code until you hit a hard wall” is how I built Fe/male Switch, and it saves months of runway.

Pick your city by customer, not by hype. Consumer and gaming: Istanbul. Security, defense-adjacent and B2B engineering: Ankara. Logistics: Izmir. Industrial and agtech: Bursa.

Attend one high-density networking event. Startup Turkey gathers about 700 founders, angels and VCs for three days in one hotel in Antalya. Take Off Istanbul 2025 brought together 500+ startups from 40 countries and 260+ investors. Follow the Startup Turkey event page on LinkedIn for dates.

Choose your legal structure. According to Workon’s guide to starting an IT startup in Turkey, the minimum capital is TRY 50,000 for an LLC and TRY 250,000 for a joint stock company (JSC). A JSC using the registered-capital system needs TRY 500,000, and a JSC generally requires at least 25% of subscribed cash capital paid before registration.

Separate ownership from work rights. Foreign investors can generally own Turkish companies under the same company law as locals, subject to sector rules. Ownership does NOT give a foreign founder the right to work in Türkiye. Plan your work permit separately.

Set up payroll and social security before day one of hiring. SGK (Türkiye’s social security institution) registration and payroll must be ready before your first employee starts.

Map your funding ladder. Start with grants and accelerators (EIT Food, Startup Wise Guys, KWORKS, Etohum), then angels (Keiretsu Forum), then local VCs (Bek Ventures, e2vc) and international funds (500 Global, Endeavor Catalyst).

Protect your IP from week one. Register trademarks, sign IP assignment agreements with every contractor and keep a timestamped record of your source files and designs.

Hedge currency exposure. Price enterprise contracts in euros or dollars where possible, and keep part of your runway outside lira.

Go global early. 34 Turkish startups exhibited at CES 2026. Turkish companies like Peak, Dream Games and Insider built for global markets from the start, and that’s the pattern investors reward.

Note: Workon’s guide is general information as of September 2026 and does not replace advice from qualified Turkish legal and tax professionals. Confirm every material decision with them.

What mistakes do founders make when entering the Turkish market?

I’ve watched European founders repeat the same errors in every “new” market. Here are the ones that hurt most in Türkiye:

Treating Türkiye as a cheap outsourcing destination. Turkish founders build global gaming and SaaS leaders. Show up as a partner and you’ll get partners; show up looking for cheap labor and you’ll get the second-best team.
Ignoring relationships. Breakfast with founders and dinners with angels are the format of Startup Turkey for a reason. Cold emails alone rarely close Turkish deals.
Pricing only in lira. Currency swings can erase a year of margin. Build pricing scenarios before you sign.
Confusing company ownership with the right to work. This mistake gets foreign founders into immigration trouble.
Copying Istanbul consumer playbooks for B2B. Getir-style blitzscaling needs billions. B2B buyers in Ankara or Bursa want reliability and references.
Skipping localization. As a linguist, I can tell you that translated copy is not localized copy. Turkish users notice instantly when product language feels foreign.
Waiting for the “perfect” moment. The 9x growth already happened between 2019 and 2024. Every quarter you wait, local founders with Peak-alumni networks take the slot you wanted.

What should freelancers and small business owners take from this?

You don’t need a $137M round to benefit from Türkiye’s startup growth. More than 1,000 VC-backed companies need designers, developers, content writers, growth marketers, localization experts and legal advisors who understand EU markets. Platforms like Wellfound’s directory of tech startups in Istanbul list companies actively hiring.

Freelancers: offer “EU market entry” packages to Turkish startups expanding westward: GDPR-ready copy, localized landing pages, investor deck translation.
Agencies: gaming studios need user acquisition, art and community management at volume.
SMEs: partner with Turkish marketplaces (Trendyol, Hepsiburada) or local services platforms (Armut) for distribution.
Solo founders: use AI agents as your research and drafting team. I call AI a “force multiplier for small teams and solo founders,” and it lets you test the Turkish market without hiring locally first.

FAQ: Startups in Turkey news and ecosystem questions

How many unicorns does Turkey have in 2026?

Dealroom counts 9 Turkish unicorns (a $1B+ valuation or exit), all based in Istanbul, with 0 decacorns so far.

Which Turkish startup has raised the most recent headline funding?

Midas, the Istanbul investing app, leads Failory’s 2026 list with $137M raised. In total funding, Getir stands far ahead at $2.54B according to Tracxn.

Which sectors are strongest in Turkey?

Gaming, fintech, quick commerce, marketplaces, enterprise SaaS and AI. Enterprise software has the most VC-backed companies (170), followed by fintech (160).

Can a foreigner start a company in Turkey?

Yes. Foreign investors can generally own Turkish companies under the same company law as locals, with some sector restrictions. A separate work permit is needed to work in the company.

How much capital do I need to register a Turkish company?

The minimum is TRY 50,000 for an LLC and TRY 250,000 for a JSC under the ordinary capital system, or TRY 500,000 for a JSC under the registered-capital system.

Is Turkey’s startup ecosystem growing faster than Europe’s?

According to the DTO and Dealroom 2025 report, Türkiye’s ecosystem value grew ninefold between 2019 and 2024, ahead of Saudi Arabia (6.9x), the UAE (3.3x) and the UK (2.1x), making it the fastest-growing ecosystem in EMEA.

What should you do next with this October 2026 briefing?

The October 2026 picture is clear. Türkiye has EUR 40B+ in ecosystem value, 9 unicorns, $7B+ in exits since 2013, a gaming crown in Europe, a rising AI scene and local VCs ranking at the top of global performance tables. It also has currency risk, heavy Istanbul concentration and an open ceiling with zero decacorns. Those risks are exactly why the opportunity is still available to outsiders.

My advice as a parallel entrepreneur: treat Türkiye like a strategy game. Collect information, assets and relationships faster than your competitors, and do it with small, cheap tests. Here are your next steps:

Pick ONE sector from this article that matches your skills.
Book five conversations with Turkish founders or buyers this month.
Run one no-code landing page test in Turkish within 30 days.
Put Startup Turkey or Take Off Istanbul in your calendar.
Talk to a Turkish legal professional before you incorporate.

“Education must be experiential and slightly uncomfortable.” The same goes for market entry. Reading reports feels safe. Booking that first call with an Istanbul founder feels uncomfortable, and that call is where the learning starts. I’ll keep tracking Startups in Turkey news every month, so come back for the next update.

FAQ on Startups in Turkey: Cities, Investors and Market Entry in 2026

Which emerging Istanbul startups should founders track beyond the unicorns?

Look past Getir and Trendyol to Volt Lines (urban mobility), HockeyStack (marketing data), Albert Health (AI healthcare) and Magfi (investing). Study their positioning, pricing pages and hiring posts. Together they show where Istanbul's next funding rounds may land. Explore must-watch startups in Istanbul

Is Eskişehir a smart, lower-cost alternative for launching a Turkish startup?

Yes, especially for hardware, cleantech and edtech ventures. Eskişehir is a university city where salaries and rents typically run lower than in Istanbul. Local founders work on IoT, solar, air-pollution sensors and synthetic biology. Use it for R&D and prototyping, then sell nationally from day one. See top startups in Eskişehir

What niche opportunities are İzmir startups pursuing beyond logistics SaaS?

İzmir founders are building wildfire mitigation tech (Cone Fire Technologies), robotics (Advoard Robotics), VacciZone and micromobility (Hergele Mobility). The Aegean coast's wildfire risk and port economy create ready test customers. Pitch pilots to municipalities and exporters before raising capital. Discover the best startups in İzmir

How can a Turkish startup become visible to Middle East and Africa investors?

Create a profile on MAGNiTT, the verified venture data platform covering Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. Investors use it to research deals, so update your funding history, team and traction every quarter. The listing also gives you a useful SEO backlink. Learn how to list your startup on MAGNiTT

Where can women founders in Türkiye find cross-border networks and policy support?

Türkiye belongs to the WES network, which links national government and institutional representatives from 31 European countries to promote female entrepreneurship. Women founders should pair that policy access with European founder events, angel networks and pitch-practice circles. This helps them reach investors well beyond Istanbul. Find networking events for women entrepreneurs in Europe

Can Turkish startups apply for EU grants and accelerator programs?

Yes. Türkiye is associated with Horizon Europe, so Turkish deeptech companies can compete for European Innovation Council funding. EIT Food has also made 48 investments in the ecosystem, according to Dealroom. Build a list of EU consortium partners early and align IP practices with European buyers' expectations. Read the European Startup Playbook

What traction should I prove before incorporating a startup in Türkiye?

Before depositing registration capital, show a clearly defined buyer, a repeatable problem worth paying for and one credible acquisition channel. Add pricing that survives delivery and support costs, a measurable sales cycle and early retention signals. Grants extend runway but never replace market validation. Review Workon's 90-day IT startup launch guide

Which investors back Turkey's industrial, defense and telecom-adjacent companies?

Tracxn lists Dubai-based Kube VC with Turkish Aerospace, Panteon and Nortel Netas in its portfolio. Belgium's Europa holds Turk Telekom, Şişecam and Pegasus Airlines. Industrial and defense-tech founders should approach investors like these and corporate venture arms rather than consumer-focused VCs. Browse top investors in Turkey on Tracxn

Why do crypto and blockchain companies dominate some Turkish startup rankings?

StartupBlink places blockchain companies at the top in several cities: MEXC Global in Istanbul, Phemex in Ankara and Bitcointry in Bursa. Inflation fuels retail crypto demand. However, crypto service providers now need Capital Markets Board (SPK) licensing, so budget for compliance before launch. Check StartupBlink's top startups in Istanbul

Which tech companies are hiring talent and contractors in Istanbul?

Wellfound's Istanbul directory features Altinity, BLEND Localization, Welocalize, Sanction Scanner, Textify and YOCTO. Localization and compliance-tech firms stand out on the list. Translators, regtech specialists and data engineers should tailor their portfolios to these companies and pitch project-based contracts before full-time roles. See tech startups hiring in Istanbul on Wellfound

Violetta Bonenkamp

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as Mean CEO, is a female entrepreneur and an experienced startup founder, bootstrapping her startups. She has an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 10 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely. Constantly learning new things, like AI, SEO, zero code, code, etc. and scaling her businesses through smart systems.