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:

Subscribing to the channel

Liking the video

Sharing it with someone interested in startups or venture capital

Leaving a comment with your thoughts

Follow TRVC on LinkedIn for more conversations with leading private capital investors from Turkey and beyond.

#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